Team classification

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The team classification is one of the different rankings for which competitors can compete in a multiple stage cycling race. It differs from the other usual rankings (general classification, points, king of the mountain and best young rider competition) in the sense that it awards the effort of a whole team, rather than the performance of the individual riders.

Cycle sport competitive physical activity using bicycles

Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, time trialling, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling sports include artistic cycling, cycle polo, freestyle BMX and mountain bike trials. 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.

Examples include:

The Team classification in the Giro d'Italia, also known as the Trofeo Fast Team, is a prize that is contested in the Giro d'Italia. It has been awarded since the race's inception. In more recent editions the classification is calculated by adding up the top three riders' times from each team, and then the team with the lowest total time is the leader of the classification. In case of a tie, the teams are separated by the sum of the places obtained by their three best riders at the finish. In 2012, the first team received a bonus of €500, the second a premium of 300 euros and last a premium of 100 euros. A total of 18,900 euros has been awarded for this award during the race.

Team classification in the Tour de France

The team classification is a prize given in the Tour de France to the best team in the race. It has been awarded since 1930, and the calculation has changed throughout the years. There is no colored jersey for this, but the numbers on the jerseys of the members of the team with the best performance in the general classification at the end of the previous stage are against a yellow background instead of white.

The team classification in the Vuelta a España is a prize that is contested in the Vuelta a España. It has been awarded since the race's inception in 1935.

Status

The team classification is considered less important than the individual general classification, and it is rare that a team starts one of the major cycling events with the main goal of winning the team classification. Although this is also subject to cultural preference as well, as Spanish teams are for instance well known for taking great interest in winning the team classification.[ citation needed ]

The general classification in bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for bicycle riders in multi-stage bicycle races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest time when all the stage results are added together and compounded. Hence, whoever wins the GC is generally reckoned as the winner of the race.

If during the race a team is in a good position to win the team classification, the team may change tactics in order to win. [2] When Lance Armstrong lost hopes of winning the 2010 Tour de France, he instructed his team mates to keep an eye on their main rivals for the team classification, and his Team RadioShack won the team classification for that event. [2]

Lance Armstrong American cyclist

Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist, infamous for the biggest doping scandal in cycling history.

2010 Tour de France

The 2010 Tour de France was the 97th edition of the Tour de France cycle race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 3 July with an 8.9 km prologue time trial in Rotterdam, the first start in the Netherlands since 1996. The race visited three countries: the Netherlands, Belgium and France, and finished on 25 July on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

Team RadioShack was a professional road bicycle racing team, with RadioShack as the title sponsor, the creation of which was announced on July 23, 2009. Lance Armstrong co-owned and led the team, which raced in the Grand Tours and the UCI ProTour. The team was managed by Capital Sports and Entertainment, an Austin, Texas sports and event management group that also manages the Trek-Livestrong U23 development cycling team and that ran the former Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team.

In some races, a good performance in the team classification may help a team to qualify for the next event. In 2010, a system was set up to determine which teams qualify as UCI ProTeams in the Tour de France, and the team classification in the Tour de France was part of this system. [2]

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Giro dItalia cycling road race held in Italy

The Giro d'Italia is an annual multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. The first race was organized in 1909 to increase sales of the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport; however it is currently run by RCS Sport. The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1909, except when it was stopped for 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 ProTeams, with the exception of the teams that the organizers can invite.

In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour is one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España. Collectively they are termed the Grand Tours, and all three races are similar in format being multi-week races with daily stages. They have a special status in the UCI regulations: more points for the UCI World Tour are distributed in Grand Tours than in other races, and they are the only stage races allowed to last longer than 14 days.

2006 Giro dItalia

The 2006 Giro d'Italia was the 89th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro began in the Belgian city of Seraing with a 6.2 km (3.9 mi) individual time trial. The race came to a close with a 140 km (87.0 mi) mass-start road stage that stretched from Museo del Ghisallo to Milan. Twenty two teams entered the race that was won by the Italian Ivan Basso of the Team CSC team. Second and third were the Spain José Enrique Gutiérrez and Italian Gilberto Simoni.

The 2000 Giro d'Italia was the 83rd edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro began with a 4.6 km (3 mi) prologue that navigated through the Italian capital Rome. The race came to a close on June 4 with a mass-start stage that ended in the Italian city of Milan. Twenty teams entered the race that was won by the Italian Stefano Garzelli of the Mercatone Uno–Albacom team. Second and third were the Italian riders Francesco Casagrande and Gilberto Simoni.

The 1998 Giro d'Italia was the 81st edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro began on May 16 with a brief 8 km (5 mi) prologue that navigated through the streets of the French city Nice. The race came to a close on June 7 with a mass-start stage that ended in the Italian city of Milan. Eighteen teams entered the race that was won by the Italian Marco Pantani of the Mercatone Uno–Bianchi team. Second and third were the Russian rider Pavel Tonkov and Italian Giuseppe Guerini.

The 1999 Giro d'Italia was the 82nd edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro began on May 15 with a mass-start stage that stretched from Agrigento to Modica. The race came to a close on June 6 with a mass-start stage that ended in the Italian city of Milan. Eighteen teams entered the race that was won by the Italian Ivan Gotti of the Team Polti team. Second and third were the Italians riders Paolo Savoldelli and Gilberto Simoni.

1932 Giro dItalia

The 1932 Giro d'Italia was the 20th edition of the Giro d'Italia, a cycling race organized and sponsored by the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. The race began on 14 May in Milan with a stage that stretched 207 km (129 mi) to Vicenza, finishing back in Milan on 5 June after a 271 km (168 mi) stage and a total distance covered of 3,235 km (2,010 mi). The race was won by the Antonio Pesenti of the Wolsit team. Second and third respectively were the Belgian Jef Demuysere and Italian Remo Bertoni.

Steven Kruijswijk Dutch road bicycle racer

Steven Kruijswijk is a Dutch road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Team Jumbo–Visma. Kruijswijk is best known for his strong ability in the mountains where he has taken his greatest success. He has finished in the top 5 in all three Grand Tours, and was very close to win the Giro d'Italia in 2016 but ruined his chances when he crashed into a snow bank on the penultimate mountain stage.

Richie Porte Racing cyclist

Richard Julian Porte is an Australian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Trek–Segafredo. He is a two-time winner of Paris–Nice.

Thibaut Pinot road bicycle racer

Thibaut Pinot is a French professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Groupama–FDJ. Considered one of the most promising talents in French cycling, he ended third overall in the 2014 Tour de France and first in the young rider classification. He has won stages in all three Grand Tours, with 2 in the Tour de France, 1 in the Giro d'Italia and 2 in the Vuelta a España. Pinot has also won the Giro di Lombardia in 2018 and finished 3rd in the race in 2015.

2011 Vuelta a España

The 2011 Vuelta a España was held from 20 August to 11 September. The race began in Benidorm with a team time trial and ended, as is traditional, in Madrid. The 2011 Vuelta was the 66th edition of the race and was the first Vuelta in 33 years that visited the Basque Country. The 33-year absence from the region was due to fear of political protests.

2012 Giro dItalia

The 2012 Giro d'Italia was the 95th edition of Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in the Danish city of Herning, and ended in Milan. The complete route of the 2012 Giro d'Italia was announced in mid October. For the first time since the 2007 edition no climbing time trial was included in the route. The colour of the jersey for the mountains classification was changed for this year's edition from green to blue. The move came at the behest of sponsor Banca Mediolanum, who renewed its support of the mountains classification for a further four years.

Nairo Quintana Colombian road bicyclist

Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas, ODB, is a Colombian racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Movistar Team.

2013 Giro dItalia Cycling race in Italy, 2013 edition

The 2013 Giro d'Italia was the 96th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in Naples and finished in Brescia. Vincenzo Nibali of team Astana won the general classification.

2016 Giro dItalia 2016 edition of the Giro dItalia

The 2016 Giro d'Italia was the 99th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The Giro started in Apeldoorn on 6 May with a 9.8 km (6 mi) individual time trial, followed by two other stages in the Netherlands, both between Nijmegen and Arnhem. After a rest day, there were 18 further stages to reach the finish on 29 May. These stages were principally in Italy, although two stages partly took place in France.

The 2017 UCI Women's World Tour was the second edition of the UCI Women's World Tour. For the 2017 season, the calendar consisted of 20 races, up from 17 in 2016. Two one-day races – the Amstel Gold Race and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, to complete an Ardennes classics week – were added along with the Ladies Tour of Norway and the Holland Ladies Tour; all 2016 races returned for the 2017 calendar, with the exception of the cancelled Philadelphia International Cycling Classic.

2018 Giro dItalia 2018 edition of the Giro dItalia cycle race

The 2018 Giro d'Italia was the 101st edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The race started in Jerusalem on 4 May, with a 9.7 km (6 mi) individual time trial followed by two additional stages within Israel. After a rest day, there were 18 further stages in Italy before the tour reached the finish in Rome on 27 May.

2018 Giro Rosa

The 29th running of the women's Giro d'Italia, or Giro Rosa, was held from 6 to 15 July 2018. Raced over ten stages, it is considered the most prestigious stage race of the women's calendar. It was the 14th event of the 2018 UCI Women's World Tour. Two-time winner Anna van der Breggen was the defending champion.

References

  1. "www.cyclingnews.com presents the 91st Giro d'Italia". Autobus.cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2012-08-19.
  2. 1 2 3 "Five good reasons to follow the team classification". Letour.fr. Amaury Sport Organisation. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.