Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Monuments' or classics of the European calendar, and contributes points towards the UCI World Ranking.
Challenge riding is a form of cycling where the riders challenge themselves rather than each other. Some challenge rides are charity events or pledge rides. Some are organised as pre- or early-season training events. Others, often referred to as Randonnées, brevets or Audax events occur simply for the sake of the challenge; cyclosportive events allow cyclists to test themselves over challenging race routes used, for example L'Étape du Tour in the Tour de France. Most challenge rides are open to all comers, but a few require qualification to attend.
Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling sports include artistic cycling, cycle polo, freestyle BMX, mountain bike trials, hardcourt bike polo and cycleball. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the world governing body for cycling and international competitive cycling events. The International Human Powered Vehicle Association is the governing body for human-powered vehicles that imposes far fewer restrictions on their design than does the UCI. The UltraMarathon Cycling Association is the governing body for many ultra-distance cycling races.
L'Étape du Tour de France is an organised mass participation cyclosportive that allows amateur cyclists to race over the same route as a Tour de France stage. First held in 1993, and now organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), it takes place each July, normally on a Tour rest day.
Randonneuring is a long-distance cycling sport with its origins in audax cycling. In randonneuring, riders attempt courses of 200 km or more, passing through predetermined "controls" (checkpoints) every few tens of kilometres. Riders aim to complete the course within specified time limits, and receive equal recognition regardless of their finishing order. Riders may travel in groups or alone as they wish, and are expected to be self-sufficient between controls. A randonneuring event is called a randonnée or brevet, and a rider who has completed a 200 km event is called a randonneur. The international governing body for randonneuring is Audax Club Parisien (ACP), which works with other randonneuring organisations worldwide through Les Randonneurs Mondiaux (RM). Randonneuring is popular in France, and has a following in the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Ireland, India, Indonesia, Korea, Japan and Malaysia.
The Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge is New Zealand's largest mass participation cycling event. First held in 1977, it takes place on the last Saturday of each November and circumnavigates Lake Taupō, a volcanic crater lake in the centre of the North Island. The ride starts and finishes in Taupō with one full circuit being approximately 160 km. Around 7,000 riders take part each year.
The Audax Club Parisien (ACP) is a French Cyclist Touring Club. It is a non-profit voluntary association formed in Paris in 1904. It organizes long-distance rides in France. The most popular event is the Paris-Brest-Paris Randonneur, held every four years. The Audax Club Parisien is also the international reference for randonneuring and works with other randonneuring organizations worldwide through the international association Les Randonneurs Mondiaux (LRM).
La Marmotte is an annual, one-day cyclosportive event in France for amateur cyclists. It is named after the large ground squirrel that is known to inhabit the slopes of the final climb to the finish in Alpe d'Huez. The first event held in 1982 makes it one of the oldest cyclosportive events of its kind and in France it is often called La Doyenne, borrowing the nickname given to the professional road race Liège–Bastogne–Liège. The Marmotte remains one of the most popular cyclosportive events today in Europe, with interest in participation exceeding the 7000 places available.
The Strade Bianche is a road bicycle race in Tuscany, Central Italy, starting and finishing in Siena. First held in 2007, it is raced annually on the first or second Saturday of March. The name stems from the historic white gravel roads in the Crete Senesi, which are a defining feature of the race. One-third of the total race distance is raced on dirt roads, covering 63 km (39 mi) of strade bianche, spread over 11 sectors.
Dragon Ride L'Etape Wales by Le Tour de France is a cyclosportive event based in South Wales, UK.
The Etape du Dales is a cyclosportive held in May each year, in the Yorkshire Dales in the UK. It was originally established as an alternative to the oversubscribed Fred Whitton Challenge; like the Fred Whitton, the Etape du Dales is a long day's ride over steep hills, and the proceeds go to charity – the Dave Rayner fund.
A century ride is a road cycling ride of 100 kilometers or more in metric system countries or 100 miles or more in imperial system countries, usually as a cycling club-sponsored event. Many cycling clubs sponsor an annual century ride as both a social event for cyclists and as a fund-raiser for the club’s other activities.
A Gran Fondo is a type of long-distance road cycling ride originating in Italy in 1970, and roughly translates into English as "Big Ride". Italian Gran Fondos are officially defined and certified by the Italian Cycling Federation as a bicycle event at least 120 kilometres (75 mi) long, and are individually chip-timed races with prizes for the fastest riders in each category. The starts are done en masse, and the format allows for riders of every level to participate, much like a marathon, where most participants are competing against the clock instead of other participants. Traditionally a large meal is served to the participants at the end of the event, and roads are shut down.
The London–Surrey Classic was an annual 193 km (119.9 mi) men's professional one-day road cycling race, starting and finishing in London and routed via the picturesque Surrey Hills. The first race of its kind was the London–Surrey Cycle Classic, on 14 August 2011, a 1.2 classification 140 km preparatory event for the 2012 Summer Olympics, which was won by sprinter Mark Cavendish. The men's and women's Olympic road races were held on a longer variation of the same course the following year. On 4 August 2013, the race found a permanent home as part of the Prudential RideLondon weekend, a two-day cycling festival held in London, a legacy event of the Olympics.
The definition of ultra-distance cycling is far more vague than in ultra running or in ultra-triathlon. Any bike race or ride longer than a century ride, which is 100 miles (160 km), is sometimes considered to be ultra-distance cycling. However, such events are relatively common, so using a longer distance to define the category is more useful, such as any race or ride that is longer than 200 kilometres (120 mi), 300 kilometres (190 mi) or even a double century, 200 miles (320 km).
The 2017 Tour de Romandie was a road cycling stage race that took place between 25 and 30 April in Romandie, Switzerland. It was the 71st edition of the Tour de Romandie and the nineteenth event of the 2017 UCI World Tour.
The 2018 Étoile de Bessèges was a road cycling stage race that took place between 31 January and 4 February 2018. The race was rated as a 2.1 event as part of the 2018 UCI Europe Tour, and was the 48th edition of the Étoile de Bessèges cycling race. The race included five stages; the first four were road stages while the fifth and final stage was a 10.7-kilometre (6.6 mi) individual time trial.
Jonas Abrahamsen is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam Uno-X Mobility.
The 2021 Grand Prix du Morbihan was the 44th edition of the Grand Prix du Morbihan, a one-day road cycling race held on 16 October 2021 in and around Grand-Champ, Morbihan, in the Brittany region of northwestern France. This edition was the race's first in the UCI ProSeries; the 2020 edition was expected to feature in the inaugural UCI ProSeries but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also the fifteenth and penultimate event of the 2021 French Road Cycling Cup. The race was originally due to be held on 15 May but was postponed by COVID-19 precautions.
The 2022 Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var was a road cycling stage race that took place between 18 and 20 February 2022 in the departments of Alpes-Maritimes and Var in southeastern France. The race was rated as a category 2.1 event on the 2022 UCI Europe Tour calendar, and was the 54th edition of the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var.
