In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Road bicycle racing is a popular bicycle racing sport held on the road (following the geography of the area), using racing bicycles. ... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... A stage in road bicycle racing is a part of a multi-day event, such as the Tour de France or the Giro dItalia. ...

• Tour de France - Tour of France
• Giro d'Italia - Tour of Italy
• Vuelta a España - Tour of Spain

Collectively they are termed the Grand Tours, and all three are similar in format. All are multi-week races with daily stages. The stages are a mix of long massed start races (sometimes including mountain and hill climbs and descents; others are flat stages favouring those with a sprint finish), as well as individual and team time trials and non-competitive exhibition and rest days. The Tour de France (French for Tour of France), often referred to as La Grande Boucle, Le Tour or The Tour, is a long-distance road bicycle racing competition for professionals held over three weeks in July in and around France and occasionally nearby countries. ... The Giro dItalia, also simply known as the Giro, is a long distance road bicycle race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May or early June in and around Italy. ... The Vuelta a España bicycle race is one of the three Grand Tours of Europe and, after the Tour de France and the Giro dItalia, the third most important road cycling stage race in the world. ... A climbing specialist is a road bicycle racer who can ride especially well on highly inclined roads, such as those found among hills or mountains. ... Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi beating Oscar Freire at a stage of the 2005 Tirreno-Adtriatico. ... An Individual Time Trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: contre la montre - literally against the watch). There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials (TTT). ... A Team Time Trial (TTT) is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). ...

The prizes include the individual General Classification, the team classification, the King of the Mountains, the points competition, and often the best young rider classification, in addition to other less-known classifications. The most contested ones are the individual general classification (Maillot jaune (yellow jersey) in the Tour de France), king of the mountains classification (Polka dot jersey in the Tour de France), and points classification (Maillot vert in the Tour de France). Only two riders have won all three in the same race: Eddy Merckx in the 1969 Tour de France and Laurent Jalabert in the 1995 Vuelta a España. The General Classification (or GC) in bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for bicycle riders in multi-stage bicycle races. ... The King of the Mountains is the title given to the best climber in a cycling road race. ... Commercial version of maillot jaune, 2004 Maillot jaune (French for yellow jersey, pronounced my-oh zhohn) is the jersey worn by the current overall leader of many bicycle races, originally and most notably the Tour de France. ... The polka dot jersey (French: maillot à pois rouge) is awarded for the best climber during the mountain stages of the Tour de France cycle race. ... The maillot vert (French for green jersey) is the jersey or t-shirt worn by the leader of the Tour de Frances points classification. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Photograph of Laurent Jalabert, present at the arrival of the Tour dAlsace at the Ballon dAlsace, France, 2005 // Biography Laurent Jalabert was born in France in 1968, a professional cyclist from 1989-2002. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

No cyclist has ever won all three Grand Tour events in the same year. Only four cyclists have won all three of the Grand Tours during their career:

• Jacques Anquetil; France; 5 Tours (1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964), 2 Giros (1960, 1964), 1 Vuelta (1963).
• Felice Gimondi; Italy; 1 Tour (1965), 3 Giros (1967, 1969, 1976), 1 Vuelta (1968)
• Eddy Merckx; Belgium; 5 Tours (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974), 5 Giros (1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974), 1 Vuelta (1973)
• Bernard Hinault; France; 5 Tours (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985), 3 Giros (1980, 1982, 1985), 2 Vueltas (1978, 1983)

Only three cyclists have won stages in all three of the Grand Tours in the same year: Jacques Anquetil (January 8, 1934 - November 18, 1987), was a French cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... Felice Gimondi, (born September 29, 1942 in Sedrina, just outside Bergamo, Italy) is a former professional cyclist. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1976 calendar). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1972 calendar). ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1972 calendar). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Bernard Hinault (born 14 November 1954) is a French cyclist best known for his five victories in the Tour de France. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• Miguel Poblet; Spain; (1956)
• Pierino Baffi; Italy; (1958)
• Alessandro Petacchi; Italy; (2003)

Each team in the Union Cycliste Internationale (International Cycling Union) ProTour must race in all three, though they may change riders between the events. Miguel Poblet in 1956. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Alessandro Petacchi is a professional road cyclist born on January 3, 1974 in La Spezia, Italy. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Entrance of UCI headquarter at Aigle (Switzerland) Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is a professional cycling union that oversees cycling events in the international community. ... The UCI ProTour logo The UCI ProTour is a competition under the International Cycling Union (UCI). ...

Recent Winners

The Giro dItalia, also simply known as the Giro, is a long distance road bicycle race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May or early June in and around Italy. ... The Tour de France (French for Tour of France), often referred to as La Grande Boucle, Le Tour or The Tour, is a long-distance road bicycle racing competition for professionals held over three weeks in July in and around France and occasionally nearby countries. ... The Vuelta a España bicycle race is one of the three Grand Tours of Europe and, after the Tour de France and the Giro dItalia, the third most important road cycling stage race in the world. ... Denis Menchov (born 25 January 1978 in Orel) is a professional Russian road bicycle racer. ... Damiano Cunego (born in Cerro Veronese, Verona province, September 19, 1981) is a professional cyclist. ... Paolo Savoldelli (born in Clusone, Province of Bergamo, May 7, 1973) is the Italian road racing cyclist for UCI Pro Tour team Discovery Channel and winner of the 2002 and 2005 Giro dItalia. ... Aitor González Jiménez (born February 27, 1975 in Zumárraga, Spain), is an active professional Spanish road bicycle racer. ... Gilberto Simoni with team manager Mauro Gianetti. ... Angel Luis Casero Moreno (born September 27, 1972 in Valencia) is a Spanish cyclist. ... Stefano Garzelli (born July 16, 1973, in Varese) is an Italian professional road racing cyclist. ... Roberto Heras Hernández (born 1 February 1974 in Béjar, Spain) is a professional cyclist who won the Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain) a record-tying three times. ... Lance Armstrong (born on September 18, 1971 in Plano, Texas) is a retired American professional road racing cyclist. ... Marco Pantani (January 13, 1970, Cesena – February 14, 2004, Rimini) was an Italian cyclist widely regarded as being one of the best climbers of all times in professional road bicycle racing. ... Ábraham Olano Manzano (born on January 22, 1970 in Anoeta, Spain) was a professional cyclist from Spain. ... Ivan Gotti is an Italian professional road racing cyclist. ... Jan Ullrich in the T-Mobile Team uniform in Pforzheim during the 2005 Tour de France Jan Ullrich in Hanover Jan Ullrich (born December 2, 1973 in Rostock, Germany) is a successful German professional road bicycle racer. ... Pavel Tonkov (born February 9, 1969 in Ichevsk) is an former professional road racing cyclist from Russia. ... Bjarne Lykkegård Riis (born April 3, 1964), nicknamed the Eagle from Herning (Danish: Ørnen fra Herning), was a Danish professional road bicycle racer who won the 1996 Tour de France, and is now the team owner and manager of Danish UCI ProTour outfit Team CSC. Other career highlights include... Alex Zülle is a Swiss road bicycle racer born on July 5, 1968 in Wil, Switzerland. ... Photograph of Laurent Jalabert, present at the arrival of the Tour dAlsace at the Ballon dAlsace, France, 2005 // Biography Laurent Jalabert was born in France in 1968, a professional cyclist from 1989-2002. ... Eugeni Berzin (born March 6, 1970 in Viborg, Russia) is a Russian cyclist whose best year was 1994, when he won the Giro dItalia and Liege-Bastogne-Liege. ... Tony Rominger (born 27 March 1961 in Velje, Denmark) is a Swiss cyclist who won major tours four times in his career—the Vuelta a España three consecutive years (1992, 1993, 1994) and Giro dItalia once (1995). ... Miguel Ángel Induráin Larraya (born July 16, 1964, Villava, Navarre) is a retired Spanish road bicycle racer. ...

See also

• Triple Crown of Cycling