IN DEPTH: ONE- WEEK STAGE RACES
THE ONE- WEEK STAGE RACES MAY NOT BE AS PRESTIGIOUS AS THE GRAND TOURS, BUT THEY ARE MORE THAN JUST TRAINING GROUNDS FOR BIGGER, LONGER EVENTS. PROCYCLING ANALYSES THE RESULTS OF THE TOP WEEK- LONG RACES, TO FIND OUT WHO EXCELS AT THEM
We examine the week-long stage races which form the backbone of the international calendar
There was a vociferous online movement around the time of Strade Bianche this year which promoted the idea that the Italian classic should be designated a monument. Various pros and cons were put forward. The ayes felt that the evidence of the race itself, which is epic, unpredictable and throws up an exciting battle between different kinds of riders, was enough to justify its promotion. The noes pointed out that one of the defining features of a monument is its history. (Some reasonable heads said that it didn’t matter either way, and we should just enjoy the racing, which is a good attitude to take with many of cycling’s ongoing debates.)
We ran a feature last year about cycling’s ‘big nine’ - the biggest and most prestigious events in the sport, which are the three grand tours, the five monuments and the World Championships. Whenever anybody suggests that 10 would be a nice round number, Strade Bianche is often posited as the ‘sixth monument’. Cases are also made for Amstel Gold Race, not least by former winner Philippe Gilbert, who feels that the history and distance of the Dutch classic put it above Strade Bianche. If history and distance are a factor then Paris-Tours, recently fallen on harder times but with a long and prestigious winners’ list, could also be a candidate.
But whether Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold or Paris-Tours should join the nine other races at cycling’s top table or not, what’s clear, and a little weird, is that hardly anybody suggests that a stage race should sit in that final slot.
While the grand tours hog the limelight, the week-long stages of cycling give the season its backbone. The Tour Down Under is now considered by all to be the true start of the cycling season. The UAE Tour in February is the first real runout for the grand tour contenders. March is when things really get going, with Paris-Nice, TirrenoAdriatico and the Volta Catalunya. And so on, through Itzulia Basque Country in April, the Tour de Romandie in May and the pre-Tour de France Critérium du Dauphiné and Tour de Suisse in June. These are the biggest one-week stage races, but even between these events, there is an almost constant succession of smaller races, over five days, four or even fewer.
Few riders make a career out of one-week stage races. Stage racers are measured by the grand tours and nothing else. The one-week stage races are often measured themselves by how effective they are at preparing riders for bigger targets. Is Paris-Nice or TirrenoAdriatico better preparation for Milan-San Remo? The Tour de Romandie used to be the traditional Giro d’Italia warm-up; now it’s a race for Tour contenders to give