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Bicycle racers at the 2005 Rund um den Henninger-Turm in Germany

Road bicycle racing is a popular bicycle racing sport held on roads (following the geography of the area), using racing bicycles. The term 'road racing' is usually applied to massed-start events where competing riders start simultaneously (unless riding a handicap event) with the winner being the first to cross the line at the end of the specified course (individual and team time trials are another form of cycle racing on roads). Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 × 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 × 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ... Fabian Wegmann (Gerolsteiner) leads team mate Marcus Zberg into the final sprint of the 2005 race. ... For the Queen song, see Bicycle Race. ... Road cycling is the most widespread and popular form of bicycle riding. ... An aluminum racing bicycle made by Raleigh and built using Shimano components. ... 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). ...

Road racing 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, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, although the sport is popular also in Australia, Russia, and the United States. Of course, many other countries without as strong a fandom (Kazakhstan, for example) have accomplished professional cyclists and/or cycling teams. For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Police officer on a bicycle Cycling is a means of transport, a form of recreation, and a sport. ...

Road bicycle began as an organized sport in 1868.^[1] The first world championship was held in 1893 and cycling has been part of the Olympic Games since the modern sequence started in Athens in 1896. It is a now practised throughout the world but is especially popular in western Europe. Police officer on a bicycle Cycling is a means of transport, a form of recreation, and a sport. ... The five Olympic rings were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920. ... This article is about the capital of Greece. ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

Road racing in its modern form originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The sport was hugely popular in the western European countries of France, Spain, Belgium, and Italy. Although road conditions were harsher, races often incredibly long, and riders under paid, the modern sport is a direct descendant of those early days. Some of Europe's earliest road bicycle races remain among the sport's marquee events. These early trailblazing races include the Paris-Roubaix (est. 1896), the Tour du France (est. 1903), the Giro D'Italia (est. 1909), the Ronde van Vlaanderen (est. 1913) and the Vuelta à España (est. 1935). They have provided a template for other races to follow around the world. While the sport has spread throughout the world, these historic races remain the most prestigious for a cyclist to win (or even take part in). Begun in 1896, Paris-Roubaix, third of the ten UCI World Cup races, has become the most famous single-day bicycle road race. ... For other uses, see Tour de France (disambiguation). ... The Giro dItalia, also simply known as the Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May or early June in and around Italy. ... The Tour of Flanders (Dutch: Ronde van Vlaanderen) is a road cycling race held in Flanders, Belgium. ... The Vuelta a España bicycle race is one of the three Grand Tours of Europe. ...

Road race types

• Single-day races: The first competitor to cross the finish line after completing the prescribed course is declared the winner. Race distances vary from a few kilometres to more than 200km. Courses may run from place to place or comprise one or more laps of a circuit; some courses combine both, ie: taking the riders from a starting place and then finishing with several laps of a circuit (usually to ensure a good spectacle for spectators at the finish). Races over short circuits (often in town or city centres) are known as criteriums. Some races, known as handicaps, are designed to match riders of different abilities and/or ages; groups of slower riders start first, with the fastest riders starting last and so having to race harder and faster to catch other competitors.

• Stage races: Consists of several races - 'stages' - ridden consecutively. The competitor with the lowest cumulative time to complete all the stages is declared the overall, or General Classification (GC), winner. Stage races may also have other classifications and awards, such as individual stage winners, the points classification winner, and the "King of the Mountains" (or Mountains classification) winner. A stage race can also be a series of road races and individual time trials (some events include team time trials). The stage winner is the first person to cross the finish line that day or the time trial rider (or team) with the lowest time on the course. The overall winner of a stage race is the rider who takes the lowest aggregate time to complete all stages (accordingly, a rider does not have to win all or any of the individual stages to win overall).

• Free Rides: Owning everyone, including Kesting and Chuck Liddell, by doing whatever the hell you want and Free Riding all day long.

A criterium, or crit, is a type of bike race held on a short course (usually less than 5 km), often run on closed-off city centre streets. ... The General Classification (or GC) in bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for bicycle riders in multi-stage bicycle races. ... The Points Classification is an award category in road bicycle racing that recognizes the most consistent finisher in a stage race. ... The King of the Mountains is the title given to the best climber in a cycling road race. ... 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). ...

Tactics

Though the objective of a race is quite simple - to be the first rider to cross the line - a number of tactics are employed. They are based on the benefit of riding in the slipstream of another rider and thus making it possible to save a considerable amount of energy. A group that breaks away from the main field, bunch or peloton, has more space and freedom and can therefore be at an advantage in certain situations. A small group of riders can work together smoothly and effciently to maintain a higher speed than the peloton, where the remaining riders may not be as motivated or organized to chase effectively. Usually a rider or group of riders will try to break from the peloton by attacking and riding ahead to reduce the number of riders competing for the win. If the break doesn't succeed, and the body of cyclists comes back together, the winner will often be a sprinter. Teamwork between riders (both pre-arranged and ad-hoc) is important in many aspects: to prevent a break from getting away, helping riders in a break get clear of the bunch, and sometimes in delivering a sprinter to the front of the field. The peloton (from French, literally meaning ball and related to the English word platoon), bunch or pack is the large main group in a road bicycle race. ... Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi beating Óscar Freire at a stage of the 2005 Tirreno-Adriatico. ...

Races often feature difficult sections such as tough climbs, fast descents, and sometimes technical surfaces (such as the cobbled pave used in the Paris-Roubaix race) to make the course more selective. Stronger riders will be able to drop weaker riders during such sections to reduce the number of direct competitors able to take the win. In order to be successful, riders must develop excellent bike handling skills in order to be able ride at high speeds in close quarters with other riders. Individual riders can approach speeds of 110 km/h while descending winding mountain roads and may reach speeds of 60-80 km/h during the final sprint to the finish line. Begun in 1896, Paris-Roubaix, third of the ten UCI World Cup races, has become the most famous single-day bicycle road race. ...

In more organized races there is a bus (the Broom Waggon) that follows the race, picking up stragglers. The Broom Waggon (also referred to as Sag Waggon) is the affectionate name for the vehicle that follows a Cycle Road Race picking up stragglers (or sweeping them up) who are unable to make it to the finish the race within the time permitted. ...

In all road racing, drafting is a very important concept whereby one rider can save a lot of effort by closely following the rider in front in order to stay in his slipstream. Riding in a peloton can save as much as 35% of the energy employed in forward motion when compared to riding in the wind. ^{[citation needed]}. Some teams will designate a leader, while the rest of the team is charged with keeping that rider out of the wind and in a good position until a critical section of the race.. This can be used as a strength or a weakness by competitors; riders can cooperate and draft each other to ride at high speed (a paceline), or one rider can sit on a competitor's wheel, forcing him to do a greater share of the work to maintain the pace and potentially tiring earlier. Drafting may not be employed in a time trial, unless it is a team time trial. This article is about the racing technique. ... dddeath ...

Teams

While the principle remains of the winner being the first to cross the line, many of the riders are grouped together in teams with commercial sponsors. The teams them take their sponsors name. The size of the team varies, from three in an amateur event for club riders to a dozen in professional races. Team riders decide between themselves, before and during the race, which has the best chance of winning. The choice will depend on hills, the chances that the whole field will finish together in a sprint, and other factors. The rest of the team will devote itself to promoting its leader's chances, taking turns into the wind for him, refusing to chase with the peloton when he escapes, and so on.

Types of riders

The main specialities in road bicycle racing are:

• Climber
• Time Trialist
• Sprinter
• Domestique
• All-rounder

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. ... A time trialist is a road bicycle racer who can maintain high speeds for long periods of time, to maximize performance during individual or team time trials. ... Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi beating Óscar Freire at a stage of the 2005 Tirreno-Adriatico. ... A domestique is a road bicycle racer who works solely for the benefit of his or her team and leader. ... The following terminology is used in the general sport of cycling, as well as the more specific road bicycle racing and mountain bicycle racing. ...

Famous bicycle races

The Grand Tours

The most famous cycling race is the Tour de France, a multi-stage tour over three weeks nominally 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) and Belgium (the Ronde van Vlaanderen). These three races make up the "Grand Tours". This article is about the capital of France. ... In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage 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, and all three are similar...

Olympic games

The historian Wlodzimierz Golebiewski says: "Cycling has become a major event on the Olympic programme... Like many other sports it has undergone several changes over the years. Just as there used to be track and field events such as the standing high jump or throwing the javelin with both hands, cyclists, too, used to compete for medals in events which today have been forgotten; for example in Athens in 1896, they attempted a 12-hour race, and in London, in 1908, one of the events was a sprint for 603.49 metres (660 yards)." ^[2] The Olympic Games has never been as important in road cycling as in other sports. Until the distinction ended, the best riders were professionals rather than amateurs and so didn't take part. ^[3] Athletics, also known as track and field or track and field athletics, is a collection of sport events. ... This article is about the athletic event. ... Look up Javelin on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Javelin can refer to several things: For the spear-like object,used as a thrown weapon in ancient times see Javelin Ancient For the modern athletic discipline see Javelin throw. ... This article is about the capital of Greece. ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Look up sprint in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

UCI ProTour events

Professional racing is governed by the Union Cycliste Internationale. In 2005 it instituted the UCI ProTour to replace the UCI Road World Cup series. While the World Cup contained only one-day races, the ProTour includes the Grand Tours and other large stage races such as Tour de Suisse, Paris-Nice and the Critérium de Dauphiné Libéré. 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 is a competition under the International Cycling Union (UCI). ... The UCI Road World Cup was a season-long road bicycle racing competition comprised to ten one-day events. ... The Tour de Suisse (English: Tour of Switzerland) is a UCI ProTour stage race held annually in June. ... Paris-Nice, nicknamed the race to the sun, is an annual professional cycling stage race held annually each March. ... The Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré is an annual cycling road race, run over eight stages in the Dauphiné region in France during the first half of June. ...

The former UCI Road World Cup one-day races - which include all five Classic cycle races or 'Monuments' - are also part of the ProTour: Milan-Sanremo (Italy), Ronde van Vlaanderen (Belgium), Paris-Roubaix (France), Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Belgium) and Amstel Gold Race (Netherlands) in the spring, and Clásica de San Sebastián (Spain), HEW Cyclassics (Germany), Züri-Metzgete (Switzerland), Paris-Tours (France) and Giro di Lombardia (Italy) in the autumn season. The UCI Road World Cup was a season-long road bicycle racing competition comprised to ten one-day events. ... The Classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional cycling road races in the international calendar. ... 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 (the oldest woman), is one of the five Monuments of the European professional road cycling calendar, and the oldest. ... The Amstel Gold Race is a road bicycle racing race held (mostly) in the southern part of the province of Limburg, The Netherlands. ... The Clasica San Sebastian is a bicycle race held every summer since 1981 in the Basque region of Spain. ... Before the start of the 2004 HEW Cyclassics The HEW Cyclassics is an annual one-day pro and amateur cycling race in and around Hamburg. ... The Championship of Zürich is a classic cycling race, held in the month of October in Zürich. ... Paris-Tours is a French single day classic cycling race which takes place in October towards the end of the European season. ... The Giro di Lombardia (English: Tour of Lombardy) is an Italian cycle race, based in the Lombardy region. ...

UCI Also holds races in the United States, like the Nationals Race in 7 Springs, Pennsylvania.

Other notable races

Philadelphia International Championship, the highest ranked single-day race in all of North and South America. Philadelphia International Championship is the current name given to an annual bicycle race held in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

The Tour of California: The longest North American race (10 stages) The Amgen Tour of California is a professional cycling stage race which made its debut on February 19, 2006. ...

The Tour of Georgia The Tour de Georgia is a U.S. professional cycling stage race across the state of Georgia. ...

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 (5,000 km) or 4,830 kilometers long over 9 days with cyclists racing approximately 22 hours a day. The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra marathon bicycle race across the USA that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race. ... Modern day marathon runners The word marathon refers to a long-distance road running event of 42. ...

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

The season

Cycle racing on the road is a summer sport, although the season can start in early spring and end in autumn. The months of the season depend on the hemisphere. A racing year is divided between lesser races, single-day classics and stage races. The classics include the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix and Milan-Sanremo. The other important one-day race is the World Championships. Unlike other classics, the World Championships is held on a different course each year and ridden by national rather than sponsored teams. The winner wears a white jersey with coloured bands (often called "rainbow bands") around the chest. There are numerous stage races, that include the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta à España. For other uses, see Classics (disambiguation). ... Milan - San Remo, nicknamed la primavera, is an annual cycling race between Milan and San Remo. ...

History of road races

The first races

The acknowledged first races were held in the Parc de St-Cloud, now in western Paris on Friday 31 May 1868. They were held there because of the influence of the former royal family of France, which owned the park and which had been caught up in the enthusiasm for riding the newly devised bicycles with pedals. It explains too the accounts of spectators dressed in their finery. This article is about the capital of France. ... Year 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

The races were organised by the Compagnie Parisienne, which the previous year had taken over the bicycle company run by Pierre Michaux and his family. In 1866, Michaux produced a new machine with an iron frame which sloped down to contain the back wheel, made like the front, of wood.^[1] Pierre Michaux (June 26, 1813 - 1883) was a blacksmith who furnished parts for the carriage trade in Paris during the 1850s and 1860s. ...

Historians dispute in which order races were run, although it seems certain there was more than one. One of those races was won by a 19-year-old English immigrant called James Moore. He was a friend of the Michaux family and rode one of their new bicycles. It is now in the museum at Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. At the time, Cycling Record wrote that he set off "as fast as lightning,"^[4] overtook the favourite, François Drouet and then another rider, Palocini, and won by 20 metres. The race ran 1,200m from the fountains to the gates of the park and back. James Moore is the name of more than one person of note: James Moore, colonial governor of South Carolina from 1700-03 and 1719-21. ... Statistics Population: 15,102 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: TL535799 Administration District: East Cambridgeshire Shire county: Cambridgeshire Region: East of England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Cambridgeshire Historic county: Cambridgeshire Services Police force: Ambulance service: East of England Post office and telephone Post town: ELY... Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs) is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

Paris-Rouen

The success of the races in the Parc de St-Cloud inspired the Compagnie Parisienne and the magazine Le Vélocipède Illustré to run a race from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to the cathedral in Rouen on Sunday 7 November 1869. It was the world's first long-distance road race and also won by Moore, who took 10 hours and 25 minutes to cover 134km. The runners-up were the Count André Castéra, who had come second to Moore at St-Cloud, and Jean Bobillier, riding a farm bike that weighed 35kg. The only woman to finish within 24 hours was the self-styled Miss America, in reality an unknown English woman who, like several in the field, had preferred not to compete under her real name. This article is about the monument in Paris. ... Rouen (pronounced in French, sometimes also ) is the historical capital city of Normandy, in northwestern France on the River Seine, and currently the capital of the Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy) région. ... For the patriotically-themed comic book superheroines, see Miss America (comics). ...

International development

The growth of organised cycle racing led to the development of national administrative bodies, in Britain in 1878, France 1881, the Netherlands 1883, Germany 1884 and Sweden 1900. Sometimes, as in Britain, cycling was originally administered as part of athletics, since cyclists often used the tracks used by runners. This could, says the historian James McGurn, lead to disputes within countries and internationally. 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1881 (MDCCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Äž: For the film, see: 1900 (film). ... Look up athletics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The large and growing jargon of poker includes many terms. ...

"The Bicycle Union [of Britain], having quarrelled with the Amateur Athletic Association over cycle race jurisdiction on AAA premises, took issue with the Union Vélocipèdique de France over the French body's willingness to allows its 'amateurs' to compete for prizes of up to 2,000 francs, the equivalent of about sixteen months' pay for a French manual worker." ^[1]

The first international body was the International Cycling Association (ICA), established by an English schoolteacher called Henry Sturmey. It opened in 1893 and held its first world championship in Chicago, USA, the same year. The British objected and new organisation, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), was set up on 15 April, 1900 during the Olympic Games in Paris. Britain was not initially a member. It joined in 1903. The UCI has run the sport ever since. It is based in Switzerland. The Amateur Athletic Association of England (formerly simply the Amateur Athletic Association) or AAA (pronounced three As) is the oldest athletics organization in the UK, having been established in 1880. ... The word amateur has at least two connotations. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Entrance of UCI headquarter at Aigle (Switzerland) Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is a professional cycling union that oversees cycling events in the international community. ... Äž: For the film, see: 1900 (film). ... The five Olympic rings were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920. ... This article is about the capital of France. ...

Bicycle championships

• Olympic Games
• Commonwealth Games
• World Cycling Championship

The five Olympic rings were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920. ... Current flag of the Commonwealth Games Federation Locations of the games, and participating countries Commonwealth Games Federation seal, adopted in 2001 The Commonwealth Games is a multinational, multi-sport event. ... The UCI Road World Championships, often referred to as the World Cycling Championships, is the annual world championship for bicycle road racing organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). ...

Calendar

• Road Cycling season 2005

This is a list of all the road bicycle races of 2005. ...

See also

• Cycling
• Road cycling
• Bicycling terminology
• Cycling.tv

Police officer on a bicycle Cycling is a means of transport, a form of recreation, and a sport. ... Road cycling is the most widespread and popular form of bicycle riding. ... The following terminology is used in the general sport of cycling, as well as the more specific road bicycle racing and mountain bicycle racing. ... Cycling. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} On Your Bicycle, James McGurn, John Murray 1987
2. ^ "The Olympic Games", ed: Killanin, Rodda, Collier Books, New York
3. ^ "The Olympic Games", ed: Killanin, Rodda, Collier Books, New York
4. ^ cited This Island Race, Mousehold Press, UK