Grand Tour (cycling)
:For other uses see Grand Tour
There are three Grand Tour cycling races:-
- In Italy, the Giro d'Italia
- In France, the Tour de France
- In Spain, the Vuelta Ciclista a España
This is the order they are raced in each year.
All three are in the "ProTour Calendar", that is they are part of the UCI ProTour.
They got the name of Grand Tour because they are some of the oldest, hardest and longest stage races in the calendar.
Seven cyclists have won all three of the Grand Tours during their career:[1]
Jacques Anquetil (FRA): 5 Tours (1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964), 2 Giros (1960, 1964), 1 Vuelta (1963).
Felice Gimondi (ITA): 1 Tour (1965), 3 Giros (1967, 1969, 1976), 1 Vuelta (1968)
Eddy Merckx (BEL): 5 Tours (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974), 5 Giros (1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974), 1 Vuelta (1973)- Bernard Hinault (FRA): 5 Tours (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985), 3 Giros (1980, 1982, 1985), 2 Vueltas (1978, 1983)
Alberto Contador (ESP): 2 Tours (2007, 2009), 2 Giros (2008, 2015), 3 Vueltas (2008, 2012, 2014)- Vincenzo Nibali (ITA): 1 Tour (2014), 2 Giros (2013, 2016), 1 Vuelta (2010).
Chris Froome (GBR): 4 Tours (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017), 1 Giro (2018), 2 Vueltas (2011, 2017).
References
- ↑ "Historical Results – The Grand Tours". Archived from the original on 2002-08-11. Retrieved 2012-07-20.