The Tour de France is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France. It is the oldest of the three Grand Tours and is generally considered the most prestigious.
The Giro d'Italia is an annual multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 1909 to increase sales of the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, and the race is still run by a subsidiary of that paper's owner. The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1909, except during the two world wars. As the Giro gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened, and the peloton expanded from primarily Italian participation to riders from all over the world. The Giro is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI WorldTeams, with some additional teams invited as 'wild cards'.
The general classification of the Tour de France is the most important classification of the race and determines the winner of the race. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey.
The 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 2–24 July, with 21 stages covering a distance 3,593 km (2,233 mi). It has no overall winner—although American cyclist Lance Armstrong originally won the event, the United States Anti-Doping Agency announced on 24 August 2012 that they had disqualified Armstrong from all his results since 1 August 1998, including his seven Tour de France wins from 1999 to 2005. The verdict was subsequently confirmed by the UCI.
The Tour Down Under is a cycling race in and around Adelaide, South Australia, and is traditionally the opening event of the UCI World Tour and features all 19 UCI WorldTeams. It also runs as a UCI Women's ProSeries event and features a one-day circuit race as a 'prelude' to the main race.
The Giro Donne is an annual women's cycle stage race around Italy. First held in 1988, the race is currently part of the UCI Women's World Tour, and is currently organised by Starlight / PMG Sport. The race was previously branded as the Giro d'Italia Femminile prior to 2013, and the Giro Rosa from 2013–2020.
The 2005 Tour de Georgia was the third annual bicycle road racing event held in the state of Georgia, United States. The six-day, six stage 550 mile (1033.4 km) race was held April 19 through April 24, 2005 with the overall title and yellow jersey won by Tom Danielson of the Discovery Channel. However, Danielson in 2012, was disqualified due to doping, along with a number of other riders. This left the first non-disqualified rider as Floyd Landis.
The Tour of Missouri was a professional road bicycle racing stage race in Missouri that started on September 11, 2007 with six days of racing. The organizers, who also run the Tour de Georgia and the Amgen Tour of California, billed it as the third highest profile race in the United States.
The combativity award is a prize given in the Tour de France for the most combative rider overall during the race. Historically, it favored constant attackers as it was based on the distance spent in a breakaway, included winning checkpoints and outright stage wins. Today, the winner is chosen by a jury. Besides the overall winner, the jury also awards a combativity award to the most aggressive rider at the end of each stage, with this rider allowed to wear a golden number the following race day.
Young rider classification is a cycling jersey competition in multi-day stage race events, such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and many others, which awards the current leader by overall time for riders below the age of twenty-six years depending on the race rules. At the Tour Down Under recipients are aged under twenty-six. Recipients are commonly known as the Best young rider.
The 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco. The race visited six countries: Monaco, France, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland and Italy, and finished on 26 July on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
The 2008 Vuelta a España was the 63rd edition of the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The race began with a 7 km (4.3 mi) team time trial on 30 August in Granada. The Vuelta came to a close twenty-three days later with a 102.2 km (63.5 mi) flat stage, which brought the peloton into the streets of Madrid. Nineteen teams entered the race, which was won by the Spaniard Alberto Contador of Astana. Second and third respectively were the American Levi Leipheimer of Astana and the Spanish Carlos Sastre of CSC–Saxo Bank.
The points classification is a secondary competition in the Tour de France, which started in 1953. Points are given for high finishes in a stage and for winning intermediate sprints, and these are recorded in a points classification. It is considered a sprinters' competition. The leader is indicated by a green jersey, which has become a metonym for the points classification competition.
The 2010 Tour of California was the fifth running of the Tour of California cycling stage race. It was held from May 16–23, and was the first edition of the race held in the month of May, after the first four occurred in February. It was rated as a 2.HC event on the UCI America Tour. It began in Nevada City and concluded in the Agoura Hills.
The 2010 Tour Down Under was the 12th edition of the Tour Down Under cycling stage race. It was held from 19 to 24 January 2010 in and around Adelaide, South Australia. It was the first event in the 2010 UCI World Calendar. The race was won by André Greipel of Team HTC–Columbia after he won the sprint finishes to three of the race's stages.
The Tour of Oman is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Oman since 2010, as part of the UCI Asia Tour through 2019 and on the UCI ProSeries since 2022. It was scheduled to become part of the new UCI ProSeries in 2020, but both the 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2011 Santos Tour Down Under was the 13th edition of the Tour Down Under stage race. It took place from 18 to 23 January in and around Adelaide, South Australia, and was the first race of the 2011 UCI World Tour. The Tour was preceded by the Cancer Council Classic race, on Sunday, 16 January, that consisted in a circuit of 30 laps around the Rymill Park in Adelaide's East End, totaling 51 kilometres (32 mi).
The General classification in the Tour of Britain is the most prestigious classification out of the four in the Tour of Britain, the one which is won by the overall winner. Historically the leader of this competition has worn a yellow jersey, but, from the 2011 edition due to sponsorship, it became known as the IG Markets Gold Jersey. In 2017, it became a green jersey in light of sponsorship from Ovo Energy.
The 2020 Vuelta a España was the 75th edition of the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's three grand tours. It was won for the second consecutive year by Primož Roglič of Team Jumbo–Visma.
Chris Horner (USA)
Kanstantsin Sivtsov (BLR)
