Wichita Falls is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita Counties. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 102,316, making it the 39th-most populous city in Texas.
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. The most recent edition was held on 9 April 2023.
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.
Jure Robič was a Slovenian cyclist and a soldier in the Slovenian Army. He became prominent for his multiple wins in the men's solo category of Race Across America (RAAM). He died on 24 September 2010 in a head-on collision during training. He was descending on his bike on a narrow mountain forest road in Plavški Rovt near Jesenice in Slovenia and hit an oncoming car.
Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international competitions recognized by the FEI. There are endurance rides worldwide. Endurance rides can be any distance, though they are rarely over 160 km for a one-day competition.
Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common competition formats are mass start events, where riders start simultaneously and race to a set finish point; and time trials, where individual riders or teams race a course alone against the clock. Stage races or "tours" take multiple days, and consist of several mass-start or time-trial stages ridden consecutively.
The Bordeaux–Paris professional cycle race was one of Europe's classic cycle races, and one of the longest in the professional calendar, covering approximately 560 km (350 mi) – more than twice most single-day races. It started in northern Bordeaux in southwest France at 2am and finished in the capital Paris 14 hours later. The professional event was held from 1891 until 1988. It was held as an amateur event in 2014.
The Tour of Flanders, formerly the Tour of Flanders for Women, is an annual road bicycle racing event in Flanders, Belgium, held in early April. It is held on the same day as the men's race, on much of the same roads but at a shorter distance. Dutch riders Mirjam Melchers, Annemiek van Vleuten, Belgian Lotte Kopecky and German Judith Arndt hold the record with two wins each. Lotte Kopecky won the most recent edition in 2023.
The 1997 Amstel Gold Race was the 32nd edition of the annual road bicycle race "Amstel Gold Race", held on Sunday April 26, 1997, in the Dutch province of Limburg. The race stretched 258 kilometres, with the start in Heerlen and the finish in Maastricht. The race was the third fastest edition ever with an average speed of 41.689kmh.
Ronde van Drenthe is an elite men's and women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Drenthe, Netherlands and sanctioned by the Royal Dutch Cycling Union. The women's event is part of the UCI Women's World Tour, and the men's event is part of the UCI Europe Tour.
The 1997 Paris–Roubaix was the 95th running of the Paris–Roubaix single-day cycling race, often known as the Hell of the North. It was held on 13 April 1997 over a distance of 273 kilometres. These are the results for the 1997 edition of the Paris–Roubaix cycling classic, in which Frédéric Guesdon won in a final sprint between eight riders.
Dimitri Konyshev is a Soviet/Russian former road bicycle racer. Over his 17 year professional cycling career, Konyshev won nine Grand Tour stages becoming one of the few riders to win a stage in all three Grand Tours. He won 4 apiece in the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, and he also won a single stage in the Vuelta a Espana. Konyshev was the first Soviet and first Russian to win a medal in the Men's Road race at the UCI Road World Championships. He won a Silver medal in 1989 behind Greg LeMond and a Bronze medal in 1992 behind Gianni Bugno and Laurent Jalabert.
Thomas Edward Godwin (1912–1975) was an English cyclist who held the world cycling record for most miles covered in a year and the fastest completion of 100,000 mi (160,000 km).
Eric Wohlberg is a Canadian former professional racing cyclist. He competed for his native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996. Wohlberg won two medals at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He also won the Tour of the Gila in 2000. He is also a multi-time Canadian National Time Trial Champion. He still races as an amateur against regional professionals in Northern California & Nevada. He is a directeur sportif (DS) for Rally Cycling.
RideLondon is an annual festival of cycling held in London. Intended as an annual legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it was first held in 2013. The festival consists of a series of cycling events on closed roads around London and Essex.
The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) is a 3,083.8 mi (4,962.9 km), off-road bicycle touring route between Jasper, Alberta, Canada and Antelope Wells, New Mexico, USA. Completed in 1997, the GDMBR was developed by Adventure Cycling Association, who continue to maintain highly detailed route maps and a guidebook.
Motor-paced racing and motor-paced cycling refer to cycling behind a pacer in a car or more usually on a motorcycle. The cyclist follows as close as they can to benefit from the slipstream of their pacer. The first paced races were behind other cyclists, sometimes as many as five riders on the same tandem. Bordeaux-Paris and record attempts have been ridden behind cars. More usually races or training are behind motorcycles.
The Nevada City Classic, is a one-day road cycling race held in Nevada City, California. Established in 1960, the Nevada City Classic commonly occurs on Father's Day and brings in thousands of visitors to Nevada County. While the first race brought out approximately 1,500 spectators, the numbers have swelled to 15,000 spectators in recent years. Sponsored by the Nevada City Chamber of commerce, the schedule includes Women's, Junior's, and Master's races, in addition to the Men's main event. Past winners include Greg LeMond.
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.
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).
Dušan Kalaba (SRB)
