Road bicycle racing is a popular bicycle racing sport held on the road (following the geography of the area), using racing bicycles. Utility cycling encompasses any bicycling not done primarily for fitness, recreation or sport. ... ... In bicycle racing sports bicycles are used in a competitive way, most often speed, sometimes a style competition. ... A road bicycle is a bicycle designed for use on roads, as opposed to rough terrain. ... a racing bicycle A racing bicycle is a bicycle designed for racing on roads according to the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). ...

It is popular all over the world, but especially in Europe. The most competitive and devoted countries are generally thought to be Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, although the United States also have a high international standing, and many countries in the world have great professional cyclists. World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... Cycling is a recreation, a sport, and a means of transport across land. ...

Road races can be categorized by length and type:

Length

• Single-day races: The competitor to cross the finish line first is declared the winner.
• Multi-stage races: Consists of several 'stages' ridden consecutively.
  The competitor with the lowest cumulative time to complete all the stages is declared the overall, or General Classification (GC), winner. Most stage races also have other categories of winners such as the stage winner, the points winner, and the "King of the Mountains" winner.

A stage race can also be a series of road races and time trials. The stage winner is the first person to cross the finish line that day or the time trial rider with the lowest time. The King of the Mountains is the title given to the best climber in a cycling road race. ...

Race/Stage Types

• Open road race: Generally going from point A to point B; can include multi-laps.
• Criterium: Generally a circuit race with multiple laps around a short, usually 4-cornered course; often includes primes (points or prizes for intermediate laps).
• Individual time trial: Every rider starts apart, and the rider with the fastest time wins.
• Team time trials: Riders start in groups or teams, usually of a fixed size. The time of the nth rider of a team counts for the classification.

A criterium is a specific type of bike race. ... An Individual Time Trial (ITT) is a road-based 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. ... 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). ...

Racing terminology

Types of riders

• An allrounder combines the powers of all types of riders excepting domestiques and, in stage races, seeks a top-10 place in the general classification. Typical allrounders are Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso.

• A climbing specialist rides exceptionally fast on highly inclined roads.

• A domestique is an individual riding in a support role for a team leader.

• A sprinter often has exploding strength, but is not built for climbing.

• A time trialist is a rider that can maintain a constant high tempo in a race against the clock.

• A cycling team should be a good mix of these four specialisations.

Lance Armstrong (born September 18, 1971) is an American cyclist from Plano, Texas. ... Jan Ullrich in the T-Mobile Team uniform during the Prologue to the 2004 Tour de France Jan Ullrich (born December 2, 1973) is a professional bicycle racer. ... Ivan Basso (born November 26, 1977) is a cyclist from Gallarate, Italy. ... A climbing specialist is a road bicycle racer who can ride especially well on highly inclined roads, like on hills or mountains. ... In the sport of road cycling, a domestique is a cyclist who works solely for the benefit of his or her team and leader. ... In the sport of road cycling, a sprinter is a rider with excellent cycling fundamentals and tremendous energy who can put on bursts of speed to pick up points and positions over short periods of time in big races. ... In the sport of road cycling, a time trialist is a cyclist who can maintain extreme speeds for long periods of time, to maximize performance during time trials. ... This article refers to road bicycle racing teams. ...

Other concepts

• An attack is an attempt by one or more riders to quickly pull ahead.

• Blocking is used by riders of one team who sit at the front of a group to control the speed, often to the advantage of one of their teammates.

• A break or breakaway is a small group of riders that have pulled away from the peloton.

• Drafting is used in small groups that ride in each other's slipstream to reduce wind resistance.

• In a drop a rider is left behind, and sometimes caught by the peloton.

• An echelon is a form of paceline used to get maximum draft in a crosswind.

• A leadout is a sprinting technique often preformed by the leadout man where the rider will accelerate to maximum speed close to the sprint point with a teammate, the sprinter, drafting them from behind. When the leadout man is exhausted he will move to the side to allow his teammate to race in the sprint.

• A paceline is formed with the riders all drafting one another. Riders will take turns at the front to break the wind, then rotate to the back of the line to rest in the draft. Larger group rides will often form double pacelines with two columns of riders.

• The peloton (from French, literally meaning ball and related to the English word platoon) or bunch is the large main group in a cycling road race.

• A sag wagon is a support vechicle following long races to pick up riders unable to complete the race.

This article is about the racing technique. ... The Slipstream of a moving object is a region of reduced pressure or even suction (negative pressure), exerted in the neighbourhood of the object and in the direction of its movement, and caused by its movement through a medium. ... Wind resistance is overall drag on a body due to its interaction with the atmosphere. ... The peloton (from French, literally meaning ball and related to the English word platoon) or bunch is the large main group in a road bicycle race. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... See also Platoon (movie) and platoon (automobile) for the concept for reducing traffic congestion. ...

Famous bicycle races

A criterium in Burlington, Vermont, April 2004

The most famous cycling race is the Tour de France, a multi-stage tour over three weeks through France, traditionally ending in Paris. Similar long multi-stage tours are held in Italy (the Giro d'Italia) and Spain (the Vuelta a España). These three races make up the "Grand Tours". Download high resolution version (1560x1002, 1267 KB)Criterium race at Burlington, Vermont, April 2004 From stock. ... Download high resolution version (1560x1002, 1267 KB)Criterium race at Burlington, Vermont, April 2004 From stock. ... Burlington, Vermont Burlington is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont of which it is the county seat. ... The (Le) Tour de France (French for Tour of France), also simply known as Le Tour, is an epic long distance road bicycle racing competition for professionals held over three weeks in July in and around France. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... The Giro dItalia, also simply known as the Giro, is a long distance road bicycle race for professionals 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. ... In bicycle racing a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European cycling races: Tour de France - Tour of France Giro dItalia - Tour of Italy Vuelta a España - Tour of Spain Collectively they are termed the Grand Tours. ...

Professional racing is governed by the Union Cycliste Internationale. In 2005 a new series UCI ProTour was unveiled to replace the UCI World Cup series which contained only one-day races. In contrast, the new UCI ProTour includes stage races such as the grand tours Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, and smaller stage races such as Paris-Nice and the Critérium de Dauphiné Libéré. Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is a professional cycling union that oversees cycling events in the international community. ... The UCI ProTour is a system of a set of professional cycling teams and cycling races, in which all of these teams are required to, and guaranteed to, participate. ... Paris-Nice, nicknamed the race to the sun, is an annual cycling stage race held in April. ... The Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré is an annual cycling road race, run over several stages in the Dauphiné region in France. ...

The most important one-day races, including all five Classic cycle races or 'Monuments', are part of this new ProTour: Milan-San Remo (Italy), Tour of Flanders (Belgium), Paris-Roubaix (France), Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Belgium) and Amstel Gold Race (Netherlands) in spring, Clasica San Sebastian (Spain), HEW-Cyclassics Cup (Germany), Championship of Zürich (Switzerland), Paris-Tours (France) and Giro di Lombardia (Italy) in autumn. The Classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional cycling road races in Europe. ... Milan - San Remo, nicknamed la primavera, is an annual cycling race between Milan and San Remo. ... The Tour of Flanders (Dutch: Ronde van Vlaanderen) is a road cycling race held in Flanders, Belgium. ... Begun in 1896, Paris-Roubaix, third of the ten UCI World Cup races, has become the most famous single-day bicycle road race. ... Liège-Bastogne-Liège, often called La Doyenne, is one of the five Monuments of the European professional cycling calendar, and the oldest. ... The Amstel Gold Race is a road cycling race held (mostly) in the southern part of the province of Limburg, The Netherlands. ... The Tour of Lombardy (Italian: Giro di Lombardia) is an Italian cycling race. ...

The Race Across America, or RAAM is an ultra marathon road race. It is a single stage race without designated rest periods about 3,000 miles or 4,830 kilometers long over 9 days with cyclists racing approximately 22 hours a day. The Race Across America, or RAAM is a ultra marathon bicycling road race across the USA that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race. ... A marathon is an athletic event and the town in Greece (and site of a battle) for which the sport was named; the name of a village and a town in New York; the name of a place in Ontario; an island in the Florida Keys; until 1990, the name...

For a more extensive list see: List of important cycling events This is a list of important cycling events. ...

Bicycle championships

• Olympic Games and
• Commonwealth Games
• World Cycling Championship

For months before the Olympic Games, runners relay the Olympic Flame from Olympia to the opening ceremony. ... Commonwealth Games is a multi-sport event held every four years involving the elite athletes of The Commonwealth. ... The first professional World Cycling Championship took place in 1927 at the Nürburgring in Germany and was won by Alfredo Binda, of Italy. ...

Calendar

• Road Cycling season 2005