The Monuments are five classic cycle races generally considered to be the oldest, hardest, longest and most prestigious one-day events in men's road cycling, with distances between 240 and 300 km.[1][2][3]
They each have a long history and specific individual characteristics. They are currently the one-day races in which most points can be earned in the UCI World Tour and the only 3rd categorized UCI races, only behind Grand Tour races; Tour de France (1st category) and Giro and Vuelta (both 2nd category). As of 2025[update], four of the five monuments hold women's races as part of the UCI Women's World Tour – with only Giro di Lombardia not having a women's race.
Eddy Merckx is by far the most successful monument rider with 19 wins in total. He is the only cyclist in history to win three monuments in one season, a feat he achieved in 1969, 1971, 1972 and 1975.
List of monuments
The five monuments are:
Milan–San Remo– the first major Classic of the year, its Italian name is La Primavera (the spring), because it is held in late March, or "La Classicissima". First run in 1907, it is considered the sprinter's classic. This race is particularly long (ca. 300km (190mi)) though mostly flat along the Ligurian coast, enabling sprinters to compete, but almost every type of cyclist can try to win Milan-San Remo.
Tour of Flanders– the Ronde van Vlaanderen in Dutch, the first of the Cobbled classics, is raced every first Sunday of April. It was first held in 1913, making it the youngest of the five Monuments. Notable for the narrow short hills (hellingen) in the Flemish Ardennes, usually steep and cobbled, the route forces the best riders to continually fight for space at the front. The course changes slightly every year: since 2017 the race has started in Antwerp and since 2012 has finished in Oudenaarde.
Paris–Roubaix– the Queen of the Classics or l'Enfer du Nord ("The Hell of the North") is raced traditionally one week after the Tour of Flanders and is the last of the cobbled races. It was first organized in 1896. Its decisive sites are the many long sections of pavé (roads of cobblestones) making it the most unpleasant one-day race. It is considered by many to be the most heroic one-day cycling event of the year.[citation needed] The race finishes on the iconic Roubaix Velodrome. At the end of the race, riders are usually covered in dirt and mud in what is considered one of the most brutal tests of mental and physical endurance in all of cycling.
Liège–Bastogne–Liège– held in late April. La Doyenne, the oldest Classic, is the last of the Ardennes classics and usually the last of the spring races. It was first organized in 1892 as an amateur event; a professional edition followed in 1894. It is a long and arduous race notable for its many sharp hills in the Ardennes, favouring climbers and even grand tour specialists.
Giro di Lombardia– the Autumn Classic or the Race of the Falling Leaves, is held in October or late September. Initially organized as Milano–Milano in 1905, it was called the Giro di Lombardia (Tour of Lombardy) in 1907 and Il Lombardia in 2012. It is notable for its hilly and varied course around Lake Como. It is often won by climbers with a strong sprint finish, because it has a very difficult route, with many hills, especially near Como or Bergamo, like Madonna del Ghisallo, Civiglio or Valcava.
Origin
The expression "cycling monument" has been used since the early days of cycle racing. In 1904, Henri Desgrange wrote in L'Auto that "The "Tour de France" is over and its second edition will, I fear, have also been the last. […] And yet, it seemed to us and it still seems to us that we had built with this great event the most lasting and most imposing monument to the sport of cycling".[4]
In 1949, French sports journalist Albert Baker d'Isy wrote about the 47th edition of the Paris–Roubaix race, titling his article in the French newspaper Ce soir "Paris–Roubaix: "monument" du cyclisme". The term was used again by journalist Jacques Goddet in 1950, writing about Fausto Coppi's victory at Paris–Roubaix – "Monument of international cycling, Paris-Roubaix crushed the riders with its legend as well as its diabolical difficulties".[5]
Since 2010, the races are considered by the Union Cycliste Internationale to be more prestigious than other one-day races that are raced by the professional peloton, with only the Grand Tour stage races gaining more ranking points for the winner.[5]
In 2017, L'Équipe wrote that the five monuments were "the oldest one-day races, the most famous, the most unique" and that they had "prestigious entry fields" of champion riders.[5]
Future monuments
Media and riders have discussed whether other classic cycling races meet the criteria of a cycling monument. By the 2020s, Strade Bianche – an Italian one-day race first held in 2007, defined by its use of white gravel roads – was considered to be the most likely candidate,[8][9][10] with Cycling News stating in 2025 that "there is no longer any debate that Strade Bianche is cycling's sixth Monument".[11] However, others have criticised that Strade Bianche does not have the length or longevity to be titled a monument,[12] and rider Philippe Gilbert noted that Clásica de San Sebastián and Amstel Gold Race were more important historically.[13][6]
Six riders won four different monuments. With multiple victories in all the other monuments, Sean Kelly almost joined the top group, finishing second in the Tour of Flanders on three occasions (1984, 1986 and 1987). Kelly is the only other rider, after Merckx, to win four different monuments on multiple occasions.
Dutch rider Hennie Kuiper won each monument except Liège–Bastogne–Liège, in which he finished second in 1980. Frenchman Louison Bobet also won all but Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Belgian rider Fred De Bruyne came close as well, finishing second in the Giro di Lombardia in 1955 and winning the other four races during his career. Germain Derycke also won four, all except the Giro di Lombardia. Philippe Gilbert is the most recent rider to win four different monuments, all except Milan–San Remo, in which he finished third twice.[15]
23 riders have won at least five monuments in their career.
Eddy Merckx also holds the record of most victories in a single Monument, winning Milan-San Remo seven times.[16]
26 different riders (including Eddy Merckx) have managed to win two Monuments in the same year. The most common "double" consists of the two cobbled classics (Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix), which have been won by the same rider in the same year on 13 occasions. The Italian "double" (Milan–San Remo and Giro di Lombardia) has been achieved 11 times (including Merckx in 1971 and 1972). Only Merckx has won the combinations Milan–San Remo/Tour of Flanders and Tour of Flanders/Liège–Bastogne–Liège, when he won all three Monuments in 1969 and 1975. Only twice have two riders (Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel) won two Monuments each in the same year (2023 and 2024).
Unlike the men's events, the women's editions do not have a higher points status above other one-day races. Media have therefore discussed other races that may be worthy of the "monument" moniker, including Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio (the oldest one-day race on the women's calendar) and Strade Bianche Donne.[14][17][18]
As of 2025[update], four of the five monuments hold women's races as part of the UCI Women's World Tour. Since 2017, at least two monuments have had women's races in each calendar year. As of 2025[update], Giro di Lombardia is the only monument without an equivalent race for women.[19]
Milan–San Remo Women– a women's version of Milan–San Remo, named Primavera Rosa, was first held in 1999, but cancelled after 2005. Since 2025, the race takes place as Milano–San Remo Donne, on the same day and over a shorter course as the men's race.[20]
Tour of Flanders– a women's edition of the Tour of Flanders has been held continuously since 2004. The first of the Cobbled classics takes place on the same day as the men's event over a shorter route.
Paris–Roubaix Femmes– First held in October 2021, after the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The race takes place the day before the men's event over a shorter route.
↑ The result in 1949 took several months and two international conferences to sort out. André Mahé was first but his win was challenged because he took the wrong course. Mahé was in a break of three that reached Roubaix velodrome in the lead, but he was misdirected by officials and entered the track by the wrong gate. Mahé was declared winner but a few minutes later other riders arrived using the correct route and Serse Coppi, brother of famous Fausto, won the sprint for what was assumed to be the minor placings. After a protest and several months, Serse Coppi was named joint winner with Mahé.
↑ Two riders shared the 1957 race. Germain Derijcke was first over the line, but because he crossed a closed rail crossing, the second-place rider, Frans Schoubben, was promoted to first as well. Derijcke was not disqualified, because he had won by three minutes advantage; judges felt he had not gained that much time from illegally crossing the railway.
↑ The 2020 Paris–Roubaix was initially moved to October and subsequently cancelled in its entirety due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
1 2 Robinson, Joe (2021-03-08). "The day Strade Bianche finally became a Monument". Cyclist. Retrieved 2025-03-19. the concept of a Monument was only brought to fruition in the mid-1990s by then UCI President Hein Verbruggen and certain race organisers as a marketing tool to better promote certain races.
↑ Farrand, Stephen (2025-03-09). "Strade Bianche was spectacular yet again, but here is how we think it can be even better". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2025-03-11. In just 19 years, Strade Bianche has become one of most loved races in the sport, with the women's race as important as the men's race. There is no longer any debate that Strade Bianche is cycling's sixth Monument.
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