General classification

Last updated

The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulative time across all stages. [1] Hence, whoever leads the GC is generally regarded as the overall leader or winner of the race.

Contents

Riders who finish in the same group are awarded the same time, with possible subtractions due to time bonuses. Two riders are said to have finished in the same group if the gap between them is less than three seconds. A crash or mechanical incident in the final 3 kilometres of a stage that finishes without a categorised climb usually means that riders thus affected are considered to have finished as part of the group they were with at the 3 km mark, so long as they finish the stage.

It is possible to win the GC without winning a stage. It is also possible to win the GC race without being the GC leader before the last stage.

The most important stages of a bicycle race for GC contenders are mountain stages and individual time trial stages. Both of these offer the best chance for a single racer to outperform other racers.

Jerseys

In many bicycle races, the current leader of the GC gets a special jersey awarded. In the Tour de France, the leader wears a yellow jersey, in the Giro d'Italia a pink jersey, and in the Vuelta a España the leader's jersey is red.

Jerseys of the major stage races

RaceYearMaillot of the general classificationCategory UCI 2022
Flag of France.svg Tour de France 1903 Jersey yellow.svg YellowFirst (UCI WordTour)
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Tour of Belgium 1908 Jersey blue.svg BlueSecond (UCI ProSeries)
Flag of Italy.svg Giro d'Italia 1909 Jersey pink.svg PinkFirst (UCI WordTour)
Flag of Spain.svg Volta a Catalunya 1911 Jersey green lines volta.svg White with horizontal green stripesFirst (UCI WordTour)
Flag of Germany.svg Tour of Germany 1911 Jersey red.svg RedSecond (UCI ProSeries)
Flag of Spain.svg Vuelta al País Vasco 1924 Jersey yellow.svg YellowFirst (UCI WordTour)
Flag of Poland.svg Tour de Pologne 1928 Jersey yellow.svg YellowFirst (UCI WordTour)
Flag of France.svg Paris–Nice 1933 Jersey yellow.svg YellowFirst (UCI WordTour)
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Tour de Suisse 1933 Jersey yellow.svg YellowFirst (UCI WordTour)
Flag of Spain.svg Vuelta a España 1935 Jersey red.svg RedFirst (UCI WordTour)
Flag of France.svg Critérium du Dauphiné 1947 Jersey yellow-bluebar.svg Yellow with horizontal blue stripeFirst (UCI WordTour)
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Tour de Romandie 1947 Jersey green.svg GreenFirst (UCI WordTour)
Flag of France.svg 4 jours de Dunquerke 1955 Jersey pink.svg PinkSecond (UCI ProSeries)
Flag of Italy.svg Tirreno–Adriatico 1966 Jersey blue.svg BlueFirst (UCI WordTour)
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Tour de Wallonie 1974 Jersey yellow.svg YellowSecond (UCI ProSeries)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tour Down Under 1999 Jersey orange.svg OrangeFirst (UCI WordTour)
Flag of Benelux.svg Tour of Benelux 2005 Jersey blue.svg BlueFirst (UCI WordTour)

The listed year is the first edition of the race. The jersey was sometimes added later.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tour de France</span> Multi-stage cycling race

The Tour de France is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours, it consists of 21 stages over the course of 23 days, coinciding with the Bastille Day holiday. It is the oldest of the Grand Tours and generally considered the most prestigious.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giro d'Italia</span> Cycling road race held in Italy

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 Vuelta a España is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the race was first organised in 1935. The race was prevented from being run by the Spanish Civil War and World War II in the early years of its existence; however, the race has been held annually since 1955. As the Vuelta gained prestige and popularity the race was lengthened and its reach began to extend all around the globe. Since 1979, the event has been staged and managed by Unipublic, until in 2014, when the Amaury Sport Organisation acquired control. Since then, they have been working together. The peloton expanded from a primarily Spanish participation to include riders from all over the world. The Vuelta is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI WorldTeams, with the exception of the wild card teams that the organizers can invite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road bicycle racing</span> Bicycle racing sport

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Tour de France</span> Cycling race

The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between the 1st and the 23rd of July. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of Floyd Landis. Due to the United States Anti-Doping Agency announcing on August 24, 2012, that they had disqualified Lance Armstrong, a former teammate of Landis, from all of his results since August 1, 1998, including his seven Tour de France titles from 1999 to 2005, this is also the first Tour to have an overall winner since 1998. By terms of margin of victory the 2006 Tour was the 3rd closest of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991 Tour de France</span> Cycling race

The 1991 Tour de France was the 78th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 6 to 28 July. The total race distance was 22 stages over 3,914 km (2,432 mi). The race was won by Miguel Induráin, whose Banesto team also won the team classification. The points classification was won by Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, although he almost crashed out in the final stage. The mountains classification was won by Claudio Chiappucci, and the young rider classification by Álvaro Mejía.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1928 Tour de France</span> Cycling race

The 1928 Tour de France was the 22nd edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 17 June to 15 July. It consisted of 22 stages over 5,376 km (3,340 mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Tour de France</span> Cycling race

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Tour de France</span> Cycling race

The 2011 Tour de France was the 98th edition of the race. It started on 2 July at the Passage du Gois and ended on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 24 July. The cyclists competed in 21 stages over 23 days, covering a distance of 3,430.5 kilometres (2,131.6 mi). The route entered Italy for part of two stages. The emphasis of the route was on the Alps, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the mountain range first being visited in the Tour. Cadel Evans of the BMC Racing Team won the overall general classification. Andy Schleck of Leopard Trek was second, with his brother and teammate Fränk third.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Tour de France</span> Cycling race

The 2013 Tour de France was the 100th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on the island of Corsica on 30 June and finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 21 July. The Tour consisted of twenty-one stages and covered a total distance of 3,403.5 km (2,115 mi). The overall general classification was won by Chris Froome of Team Sky. Second and third respectively were Nairo Quintana and the Team Katusha rider Joaquim Rodríguez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Tour de France</span> Cycling race

The 2012 Tour de France was the 99th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in the Belgian city of Liège on 30 June and finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 22 July. The Tour consisted of 21 stages, including an opening prologue, and covered a total distance of 3,496.9 km (2,173 mi). As well as the prologue, the first two stages took place in Belgium, and one stage finished in Switzerland. Bradley Wiggins won the overall general classification, and became the first British rider to win the Tour. Wiggins's teammate Chris Froome placed second, and Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas–Cannondale) was third.

The 2012 season for Team Sky began in January at the Tour Down Under and ended in October at the Tour of Beijing. As a UCI ProTeam, they were automatically invited and obliged to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour. The team took a total of 47 victories in the season with the most notable being Bradley Wiggins' overall victory in the Tour de France. Wiggins (2), Mark Cavendish (3) and Chris Froome also took stage victories in the event, with Froome finishing second to Wiggins in the overall standings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Tour de France</span> Cycling race

The 2014 Tour de France was the 101st edition of the race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 3,660.5-kilometre (2,274.5 mi) race included 21 stages, starting in Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, on 5 July and finishing on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 27 July. The race also visited Belgium for part of a stage. Vincenzo Nibali of the Astana team won the overall general classification by more than seven minutes, the biggest winning margin since 1997. By winning, he had acquired victories in all Grand Tours. Jean-Christophe Péraud placed second, with Thibaut Pinot (FDJ.fr) third.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Yates</span> English racing cyclist (born 1992)

Adam Richard Yates is a British road and track racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam UAE Team Emirates. He is the Overall Winner of the 2023 Tour de Romandie. Yates placed fourth overall at the 2016 Tour de France and became the first British rider to win the young rider classification, one year ahead of his twin brother Simon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Tour de France</span> Cycling race

The 2015 Tour de France was the 102nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 3,360.3 km (2,088 mi)-long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 4 July in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and concluding on 26 July with the Champs-Élysées stage in Paris. A total of 198 riders from 22 teams entered the race. The overall general classification was won by Chris Froome of Team Sky, with the second and third places taken by Movistar Team riders Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Tour de France</span> Cycling race

The 2016 Tour de France was the 103rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 3,529 km (2,193 mi)-long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 2 July in Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy, and concluding on 24 July with the Champs-Élysées stage in Paris. A total of 198 riders from 22 teams entered the race. The overall general classification was won by Chris Froome of Team Sky, with the second and third places were taken by Romain Bardet and Nairo Quintana, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Tour de France</span> Cycling race

The 2017 Tour de France was the 104th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 21-stage race took place across 3,540 km (2,200 mi), commencing with an individual time trial in Düsseldorf, Germany on 1 July, and concluding with the Champs-Élysées stage in Paris on 23 July. A total of 198 riders from 22 teams entered the race. The overall general classification won by Chris Froome of Team Sky, his third consecutive victory and fourth overall. Rigoberto Urán (Cannondale–Drapac) and Romain Bardet finished second and third, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Tour de France</span> Cycling race

The 2018 Tour de France was the 105th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tours. The 3,351 km (2,082 mi)-long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 7 July in Noirmoutier-en-l'Île, in western France, and concluding on 29 July with the Champs-Élysées stage in Paris. A total of 176 riders from 22 teams participated in the race. The overall general classification was won by Geraint Thomas of Team Sky. Tom Dumoulin placed second, with Thomas's teammate and four-time Tour winner Chris Froome coming third.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Tour de France</span> Cycling race

The 2020 Tour de France was the 107th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tours. Originally scheduled to start on 27 June 2020, it was postponed until 29 August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. The race began in Nice on 29 August and concluded with its traditional run on the Champs-Élysées on 20 September. A total of 176 riders from 22 teams participated in the race. The overall general classification was won for the first time by a Slovenian, Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates. His fellow countryman Primož Roglič finished second, while Australian Richie Porte (Trek–Segafredo) came third.

References

See also