When it comes to the initial point of bicycle racing, it dates back to mid 19^th century. However, the form of bicycle racing as it’s at present was not appeared until the beginning of 20^th century. There are a couple of races still popular today although they are among the world’s first bicycle races. Some of these famous races include Olympics races, the Grand Tours, and (UCI) Union Cycliste Internationale. These actually are the races held on road. Besides, there also exist some other kinds of racing like cyclo-cross racing and mountain bike racing.

The Olympics
Since 1896 Olympics, cycling has became a vital part of the Olympics games. At present, bike racing participators in the Olympic Games participate in road cycling, BMX competition, track cycling, and mountain bike races.

Grand Tours
There are 3 Grand Tours of bicycle racing, and Tour de France is the most famous one among them. This 3 weeks long cycling, originally started in 1903, passes all the way through France and end finally in Paris. The race covers almost 2000 miles, and includes 20 different stages between certain towns. The one who complete each stage in shortest time is said to be the winner. Other Grand Tours are the Giro d’Italia, founded in 1909, and Vuelta a Espana in Spain.

UCI Races
In order the replace the earlier UCI World Cup, UCI ProTour actually started its journey. The UCI ProTour, founded in 2005, includes the Grand Tours, Paris-Nice, Criterium de Dauphine Libere, Tour de Suisse, and many other multi-day races. Moreover, it also includes several one day races that are the parts of UCI World Cup: Paris-Roubaix and Paris-Tours in France, Giro di Lombardia and Milan-Sanremo in Italy, Liege-Bastonge-Liege races and Ronde van Vlaanderan in Belgium, Switzerland’s Zuri-Metzgete, Clasica de San Sebastan in Spain, Germany’s Hew Cyclassics, and Netherlands’s Amstel Gold Race.

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1. [...] as sport. If you prefer cycling as sport you’ll be accessing a lot pleasure from it. Many cycle racing competitions indeed are held for purpose of body exercise, or to accumulate funds for some noble [...]

   Pingback by Cycling News and Informations » Cycling – Much More Than A Mere Transportation Option — January 31, 2009 @ 3:56 am

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