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Grand Tour (cycling)

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In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour is one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España. Collectively they are termed the Grand Tours, and all three races are similar in format, being three-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,[1] and they are the only stage races allowed to last longer than 14 days,[2] and these differ from major stage races more than one week in duration.

The seven cyclists who have won all three tours. Of them, only Contador and Hinault have won each Grand Tour at least twice, and only Merckx, Hinault and Froome have won all three tours consecutively.

All three races have a substantial history, with the Tour de France first held in 1903, Giro d'Italia first held in 1909 and the Vuelta a España first held in 1935. The Giro is generally run in May, the Tour in July, and the Vuelta in late August and September. The Vuelta was originally held in the spring, usually late April, with a few editions held in June in the 1940s. In 1995, however, the race moved to September to avoid direct competition with the Giro.

The Tour de France is the oldest and most prestigious in terms of points accrued to racers of all three,[1] and is the most widely attended annual sporting event in the world.[3] The Tour, the Giro and the Road World Cycling Championship make up the Triple Crown of Cycling.

The three Grand Tours are men's events, and as of 2023, no three week races currently exist on the women's road cycling circuit. The Vuelta Femenina, Giro d'Italia Women and Tour de France Femmes are sometimes considered to be equivalent races for women – taking place over shorter, smaller routes around a week in length. The Vuelta Femenina was first held under that name in 2023, the Giro d'Italia Women was first held in 1988, and various women's Tour de France events have taken place since 1984 – with the Tour de France Femmes having its first edition in 2022.

Description

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In their current form, the Grand Tours are held over three consecutive weeks and typically include two rest days near the beginning of the second and third weeks. If the opening stages are in a country not neighbouring the home nation of the race, there is sometimes an additional rest day after the opening weekend to allow for transfers. The stages are a mix of long massed start races (sometimes including mountain and hill climbs and descents; others are flat stages favoring those with a sprint finish) and individual and team time trials. Stages in the Grand Tours are generally under 200 kilometres in length.

UCI rules regarding 'Grand Tours'

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Grand Tour events have specific rules and criteria as part of Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) regulations. For the UCI World Tour, more points are given in grand tours than in other races; the winner of the Tour de France receives 1000 points, and the winners of the Giro and Vuelta receive 850 points. Depending on the nature of other races, points vary for the winner of the overall classification[1] The grand tours have a special status for the length: they are allowed to last between 15 and 23 days – whereas other stage races are not allowed to last longer than 14 days.[2]

Teams

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Historically, controversy surrounds which teams are invited to the event by the organiser. Typically, the UCI prefers top-rated professional teams to enter, while operators of the Grand Tours often want teams based in their country or those unlikely to cause controversy. Between 2005 and 2007, organisers had to accept all ProTour teams, leaving only two wildcard teams per Tour. However, the Unibet team, a ProTour team normally guaranteed entry, was banned from the three Grand Tours for violating gambling advertising laws. In 2008, following numerous doping scandals, some teams were refused entry to the Grand Tours: Astana did not compete at the 2008 Tour de France and Team Columbia did not compete at the 2008 Vuelta a España.

Since 2011, under the UCI World Tour rules, all UCI WorldTeams are guaranteed a place in all three events, and obliged to participate, and the organisers are free to invite wildcard teams of UCI ProContinental status to make up the 22 teams that usually compete.[citation needed]

In 2023, Team Jumbo–Visma riders Primož Roglič, Jonas Vingegaard and Sepp Kuss won the Giro, Tour and Vuelta respectively, making the team the first to win all three Grand Tours in a single calendar year.[4]

Competitions

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The main competition is the individual general classification, decided on aggregate time (sometimes after allowance of time bonuses). There are also classifications for teams and young riders, and based on climbing and sprinting points, and other minor competitions. Five riders have won three individual classifications open to all riders (general, mountains, young and points classifications) in the same race: Eddy Merckx in the 1968 Giro d'Italia and 1969 Tour de France and 1973 Vuelta a España, Tony Rominger in the 1993 Vuelta a España, Laurent Jalabert in the 1995 Vuelta a España, Marco Pantani in the 1998 Giro d'Italia, and Tadej Pogačar in the 2020 Tour de France and 2021 Tour de France.

Riders

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It is rare for cyclists to ride all grand tours in the same year; in 2004, 474 cyclists started in at least one of the grand tours, 68 of them rode two Grand Tours and only two cyclists started in all three grand tours.[5] It is not unusual for sprinters to start each of the Grand Tours and aim for stage wins before the most difficult stages occur. Alessandro Petacchi and Mark Cavendish started all three Grand Tours in 2010 and 2011, respectively, as did some of their preferred support riders. For both riders in both years, only the Tour de France was ridden to its conclusion.

Over the years, 36 riders have completed all three Grand Tours in one year: Adam Hansen did so six years in a row. The only riders to have finished in the top 10 in each of the three tours during the same year are Raphaël Géminiani in 1955 and Gastone Nencini in 1957. In 2023 Sepp Kuss became the first rider since Nencini to start and finish all three tours in one year, while winning one of them - in Kuss' case the 2023 Vuelta a España.

Riders from the same country winning all three Grand Tours in a single year has happened only on four occasions. It first occurred in 1964 with French riders Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor, with the second occurrence in 2008 with Spanish riders Alberto Contador and Carlos Sastre. 2018 marked the only time three different riders from the same country won all three Tours, these being British riders Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Simon Yates. In 2024 Slovenian riders Tadej Pogačar (winning the Giro and the Tour) and Primož Roglič (winning the Vuelta) repeated the accomplishments of the aforementioned French, Spanish and British riders.

On four occasions, each of the three Grand Tours in the same year was won by a home rider, that is, an Italian winning the Giro, a Frenchman winning the Tour and a Spaniard winning the Vuelta. The last occasion this occurred was 1975.

Women's Grand Tour events

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As of 2024, no three week races currently exist on the women's road cycling circuit. Historically, women have participated in three week long stages races, with various women's Tour de France events taking place since 1984.[6][7] In the contemporary UCI Women's World Tour, the Giro d'Italia Women (first held in 1988), the Tour de France Femmes (first held in 2022) and the Vuelta Femenina (started in 2015, gaining its current name in 2023) are sometimes considered to be equivalent races for women – taking place over shorter, smaller routes around a week in length.[8][9] The Vuelta Femenina takes place in May, the Giro d'Italia Women is generally run in late June / early July and the Tour de France Femmes is held in late July following the men's Tour de France.

Some media and teams have referred to these women's events as Grand Tours, as they are the biggest events in the women's calendar.[10][9][11] However, they are not three week stage races, they do not have a special status in the rules and regulations of cycling (such as more points in the UCI Women's World Tour, or allowing an increased number of stages),[12][13] and some have argued that the races need to visit high mountains (such as the Alps) or contain time trial stages to be considered an equivalent event.[10][14]

Campaign groups such as Le Tour Entier and The Cyclists' Alliance continue to push organisers and the UCI to allow for longer stage races for women,[13] as well as to improve the quality and economic stability of the women's peloton to allow for three week long races in future.[14][15]

General Classification winners

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Wins per year

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Legend
Rider won 3 Grand Tours in the same year
Rider won 2 Grand Tours in the same year
Flag icon key: List of National Flags
Year   Giro d'Italia   Tour de France   Vuelta a España
1903 started in 1909 France  Maurice Garin (1/1) started in 1935
1904 France  Henri Cornet (1/1)
1905 France  Louis Trousselier (1/1)
1906 France  René Pottier (1/1)
1907 France  Lucien Petit-Breton (1/2)
1908 France  Lucien Petit-Breton (2/2)
1909 Italy  Luigi Ganna (1/1) Luxembourg  François Faber (1/1)
1910 Italy  Carlo Galetti (1/3) France  Octave Lapize (1/1)
1911 Italy  Carlo Galetti (2/3) France  Gustave Garrigou (1/1)
1912 Italy  Team Atala (Carlo Galetti (3/3),
Giovanni Micheletto (1/1) & Eberardo Pavesi (1/1))
Belgium  Odile Defraye (1/1)
1913 Italy  Carlo Oriani (1/1) Belgium  Philippe Thys (1/3)
1914 Italy  Alfonso Calzolari (1/1) Belgium  Philippe Thys (2/3)
1915 Not contested during World War I
1916
1917
1918
1919 Italy  Costante Girardengo (1/2) Belgium  Firmin Lambot (1/2)
1920 Italy  Gaetano Belloni (1/1) Belgium  Philippe Thys (3/3)
1921 Italy  Giovanni Brunero (1/3) Belgium  Léon Scieur (1/1)
1922 Italy  Giovanni Brunero (2/3) Belgium  Firmin Lambot (2/2)
1923 Italy  Costante Girardengo (2/2) France  Henri Pélissier (1/1)
1924 Italy  Giuseppe Enrici (1/1) Italy  Ottavio Bottecchia (1/2)
1925 Italy  Alfredo Binda (1/5) Italy  Ottavio Bottecchia (2/2)
1926 Italy  Giovanni Brunero (3/3) Belgium  Lucien Buysse (1/1)
1927 Italy  Alfredo Binda (2/5) Luxembourg  Nicolas Frantz (1/2)
1928 Italy  Alfredo Binda (3/5) Luxembourg  Nicolas Frantz (2/2)
1929 Italy  Alfredo Binda (4/5) Belgium  Maurice De Waele (1/1)
1930 Italy  Luigi Marchisio (1/1) France  André Leducq (1/2)
1931 Italy  Francesco Camusso (1/1) France  Antonin Magne (1/2)
1932 Italy  Antonio Pesenti (1/1) France  André Leducq (2/2)
1933 Italy  Alfredo Binda (5/5) France  Georges Speicher (1/1)
1934 Italy  Learco Guerra (1/1) France  Antonin Magne (2/2)
1935 Italy  Vasco Bergamaschi (1/1) Belgium  Romain Maes (1/1) Belgium  Gustaaf Deloor (1/2)
1936 Italy  Gino Bartali (1/5) Belgium  Sylvère Maes (1/2) Belgium  Gustaaf Deloor (2/2)
1937 Italy  Gino Bartali (2/5) France  Roger Lapébie (1/1) Not contested during the Spanish Civil War
1938 Italy  Giovanni Valetti (1/2) Italy  Gino Bartali (3/5)
1939 Italy  Giovanni Valetti (2/2) Belgium  Sylvère Maes (2/2)
1940 Italy  Fausto Coppi (1/7) Not contested during World War II
1941 Not contested during World War II Spain  Julián Berrendero (1/2)
1942 Spain  Julián Berrendero (2/2)
1943 Not contested during World War II
1944
1945 Spain  Delio Rodríguez (1/1)
1946 Italy  Gino Bartali (4/5) Spain  Dalmacio Langarica (1/1)
1947 Italy  Fausto Coppi (2/7) France  Jean Robic (1/1) Belgium  Edward Van Dijck (1/1)
1948 Italy  Fiorenzo Magni (1/3) Italy  Gino Bartali (5/5) Spain  Bernardo Ruiz (1/1)
1949 Italy  Fausto Coppi (3/7) Italy  Fausto Coppi (4/7) Not contested for lack of interest
1950 Switzerland  Hugo Koblet (1/2) Switzerland  Ferdinand Kübler (1/1) Spain  Emilio Rodríguez (1/1)
1951 Italy  Fiorenzo Magni (2/3) Switzerland  Hugo Koblet (2/2) Not contested for lack of interest
1952 Italy  Fausto Coppi (5/7) Italy  Fausto Coppi (6/7)
1953 Italy  Fausto Coppi (7/7) France  Louison Bobet (1/3)
1954 Switzerland  Carlo Clerici (1/1) France  Louison Bobet (2/3)
1955 Italy  Fiorenzo Magni (3/3) France  Louison Bobet (3/3) France  Jean Dotto (1/1)
1956 Luxembourg  Charly Gaul (1/3) France  Roger Walkowiak (1/1) Italy  Angelo Conterno (1/1)
1957 Italy  Gastone Nencini (1/2) France  Jacques Anquetil (1/8) Spain  Jesús Loroño (1/1)
1958 Italy  Ercole Baldini (1/1) Luxembourg  Charly Gaul (2/3) France  Jean Stablinski (1/1)
1959 Luxembourg  Charly Gaul (3/3) Spain  Federico Bahamontes (1/1) Spain  Antonio Suárez (1/1)
1960 France  Jacques Anquetil (2/8) Italy  Gastone Nencini (2/2) Belgium  Frans De Mulder (1/1)
1961 Italy  Arnaldo Pambianco (1/1) France  Jacques Anquetil (3/8) Spain  Angelino Soler (1/1)
1962 Italy  Franco Balmamion (1/2) France  Jacques Anquetil (4/8) Germany  Rudi Altig (1/1)
1963 Italy  Franco Balmamion (2/2) France  Jacques Anquetil (6/8) France  Jacques Anquetil (5/8)
1964 France  Jacques Anquetil (7/8) France  Jacques Anquetil (8/8) France  Raymond Poulidor (1/1)
1965 Italy  Vittorio Adorni (1/1) Italy  Felice Gimondi (1/5) Germany  Rolf Wolfshohl (1/1)
1966 Italy  Gianni Motta (1/1) France  Lucien Aimar (1/1) Spain  Francisco Gabica (1/1)
1967 Italy  Felice Gimondi (2/5) France  Roger Pingeon (1/2) Netherlands  Jan Janssen (1/2)
1968 Belgium  Eddy Merckx (1/11) Netherlands  Jan Janssen (2/2) Italy  Felice Gimondi (3/5)
1969 Italy  Felice Gimondi (4/5) Belgium  Eddy Merckx (2/11) France  Roger Pingeon (2/2)
1970 Belgium  Eddy Merckx (3/11) Belgium  Eddy Merckx (4/11) Spain  Luis Ocaña (1/2)
1971 Sweden  Gösta Pettersson (1/1) Belgium  Eddy Merckx (5/11) Belgium  Ferdinand Bracke (1/1)
1972 Belgium  Eddy Merckx (6/11) Belgium  Eddy Merckx (7/11) Spain  José Manuel Fuente (1/2)
1973 Belgium  Eddy Merckx (9/11) Spain  Luis Ocaña (2/2) Belgium  Eddy Merckx (8/11)
1974 Belgium  Eddy Merckx (10/11) Belgium  Eddy Merckx (11/11) Spain  José Manuel Fuente (2/2)
1975 Italy  Fausto Bertoglio (1/1) France  Bernard Thévenet (1/2) Spain  Agustín Tamames (1/1)
1976 Italy  Felice Gimondi (5/5) Belgium  Lucien Van Impe (1/1) Spain  José Pesarrodona (1/1)
1977 Belgium  Michel Pollentier (1/1) France  Bernard Thévenet (2/2) Belgium  Freddy Maertens (1/1)
1978 Belgium  Johan De Muynck (1/1) France  Bernard Hinault (2/10) France  Bernard Hinault (1/10)
1979 Italy  Giuseppe Saronni (1/2) France  Bernard Hinault (3/10) Netherlands  Joop Zoetemelk (1/2)
1980 France  Bernard Hinault (4/10) Netherlands  Joop Zoetemelk (2/2) Spain  Faustino Rupérez (1/1)
1981 Italy  Giovanni Battaglin (2/2) France  Bernard Hinault (5/10) Italy  Giovanni Battaglin (1/2)
1982 France  Bernard Hinault (6/10) France  Bernard Hinault (7/10) Spain  Marino Lejarreta (1/1)
1983 Italy  Giuseppe Saronni (2/2) France  Laurent Fignon (1/3) France  Bernard Hinault (8/10)
1984 Italy  Francesco Moser (1/1) France  Laurent Fignon (2/3) France  Éric Caritoux (1/1)
1985 France  Bernard Hinault (9/10) France  Bernard Hinault (10/10) Spain  Pedro Delgado (1/3)
1986 Italy  Roberto Visentini (1/1) United States  Greg LeMond (1/3) Spain  Álvaro Pino (1/1)
1987 Republic of Ireland  Stephen Roche (1/2) Republic of Ireland  Stephen Roche (2/2) Colombia  Luis Herrera (1/1)
1988 United States  Andrew Hampsten (1/1) Spain  Pedro Delgado (2/3) Republic of Ireland  Sean Kelly (1/1)
1989 France  Laurent Fignon (3/3) United States  Greg LeMond (2/3) Spain  Pedro Delgado (3/3)
1990 Italy  Gianni Bugno (1/1) United States  Greg LeMond (3/3) Italy  Marco Giovannetti (1/1)
1991 Italy  Franco Chioccioli (1/1) Spain  Miguel Induráin (1/7) Spain  Melcior Mauri (1/1)
1992 Spain  Miguel Induráin (2/7) Spain  Miguel Induráin (3/7) Switzerland  Tony Rominger (1/4)
1993 Spain  Miguel Induráin (4/7) Spain  Miguel Induráin (5/7) Switzerland  Tony Rominger (2/4)
1994 Russia  Eugeni Berzin (1/1) Spain  Miguel Induráin (6/7) Switzerland  Tony Rominger (3/4)
1995 Switzerland  Tony Rominger (4/4) Spain  Miguel Induráin (7/7) France  Laurent Jalabert (1/1)
1996 Russia  Pavel Tonkov (1/1) Denmark  Bjarne Riis (1/1) Switzerland  Alex Zülle (1/2)
1997 Italy  Ivan Gotti (1/2) Germany  Jan Ullrich (1/2) Switzerland  Alex Zülle (2/2)
1998 Italy  Marco Pantani (1/2) Italy  Marco Pantani (2/2) Spain  Abraham Olano (1/1)
1999 Italy  Ivan Gotti (2/2) No winner[A] Germany  Jan Ullrich (2/2)
2000 Italy  Stefano Garzelli (1/1) No winner[A] Spain  Roberto Heras (1/4)
2001 Italy  Gilberto Simoni (1/2) No winner[A] Spain  Ángel Casero (1/1)
2002 Italy  Paolo Savoldelli (1/2) No winner[A] Spain  Aitor González (1/1)
2003 Italy  Gilberto Simoni (2/2) No winner[A] Spain  Roberto Heras (2/4)
2004 Italy  Damiano Cunego (1/1) No winner[A] Spain  Roberto Heras (3/4)
2005 Italy  Paolo Savoldelli (2/2) No winner[A] Spain  Roberto Heras (4/4)
2006 Italy  Ivan Basso (1/2) Spain  Óscar Pereiro (1/1)[16] Kazakhstan  Alexander Vinokourov (1/1)
2007 Italy  Danilo Di Luca (1/1) Spain  Alberto Contador (1/7) Russia  Denis Menchov (1/2)
2008 Spain  Alberto Contador (2/7) Spain  Carlos Sastre (1/1) Spain  Alberto Contador (3/7)
2009 Russia  Denis Menchov (2/2) Spain  Alberto Contador (4/7) Spain  Alejandro Valverde (1/1)
2010 Italy  Ivan Basso (2/2) Luxembourg  Andy Schleck (1/1) Italy  Vincenzo Nibali (1/4)
2011 Italy  Michele Scarponi (1/1) Australia  Cadel Evans (1/1) United Kingdom  Chris Froome (1/7)[16]
2012 Canada  Ryder Hesjedal (1/1) United Kingdom  Bradley Wiggins (1/1) Spain  Alberto Contador (5/7)
2013 Italy  Vincenzo Nibali (2/4) United Kingdom  Chris Froome (2/7) United States  Chris Horner (1/1)
2014 Colombia  Nairo Quintana (1/2) Italy  Vincenzo Nibali (3/4) Spain  Alberto Contador (6/7)
2015 Spain  Alberto Contador (7/7) United Kingdom  Chris Froome (3/7) Italy  Fabio Aru (1/1)
2016 Italy  Vincenzo Nibali (4/4) United Kingdom  Chris Froome (4/7) Colombia  Nairo Quintana (2/2)
2017 Netherlands  Tom Dumoulin (1/1) United Kingdom  Chris Froome (5/7) United Kingdom  Chris Froome (6/7)
2018 United Kingdom  Chris Froome (7/7) United Kingdom  Geraint Thomas (1/1) United Kingdom  Simon Yates (1/1)
2019 Ecuador  Richard Carapaz (1/1) Colombia  Egan Bernal (1/2) Slovenia  Primož Roglič (1/5)
2020 United Kingdom  Tao Geoghegan Hart (1/1) Slovenia  Tadej Pogačar (1/4) Slovenia  Primož Roglič (2/5)
2021 Colombia  Egan Bernal (2/2) Slovenia  Tadej Pogačar (2/4) Slovenia  Primož Roglič (3/5)
2022 Australia  Jai Hindley (1/1) Denmark  Jonas Vingegaard (1/2) Belgium  Remco Evenepoel (1/1)
2023 Slovenia  Primož Roglič (4/5) Denmark  Jonas Vingegaard (2/2) United States  Sepp Kuss (1/1)
2024 Slovenia  Tadej Pogačar (3/4) Slovenia  Tadej Pogačar (4/4) Slovenia  Primož Roglič (5/5)
Year   Giro d'Italia   Tour de France   Vuelta a España

A. a b c d e f g Lance Armstrong was declared the winner of seven consecutive Tours from 1999 to 2005. However, on 22 October 2012, he was stripped of all his titles by the UCI for his use of performance-enhancing drugs. The organizers of the Tour de France announced that the winner's slot would remain empty in the record books, rather than transfer the win to the second-place finishers each year.[17]

Wins per rider

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Rank Rider Total Giro Tour Vuelta
1 Belgium  Eddy Merckx 11 5 (1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974) 5 (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974) 1 (1973)
2 France  Bernard Hinault 10 3 (1980, 1982, 1985) 5 (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985) 2 (1978, 1983)
3 France  Jacques Anquetil 8 2 (1960, 1964) 5 (1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964) 1 (1963)
4 Italy  Fausto Coppi 7 5 (1940, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953) 2 (1949, 1952)
Spain  Miguel Indurain 7 2 (1992, 1993) 5 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995)
Spain  Alberto Contador 7 2 (2008, 2015) 2 (2007, 2009) 3 (2008, 2012, 2014)
United Kingdom  Chris Froome 7 1 (2018) 4 (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017) 2 (2011, 2017)
8 Italy  Alfredo Binda 5 5 (1925, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1933)
Italy  Gino Bartali 5 3 (1936, 1937, 1946) 2 (1938, 1948)
Italy  Felice Gimondi 5 3 (1967, 1969, 1976) 1 (1965) 1 (1968)
Slovenia  Primož Roglič 5 1 (2023) 4 (2019, 2020, 2021, 2024)
  • Active riders marked in bold.

Wins by country

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Grand Tour general classification wins by country
Country Giro Tour Vuelta Total
  Italy 69 10 6 85
  France 6 36 9 51
  Spain 4 12 32 48
  Belgium 7 18 8 33
  Great Britain 2 6 3 11
   Switzerland 3 2 5 10
  Slovenia 2 3 4 9
  Luxembourg 2 5 0 7
  United States 1 3 2 6
  Netherlands 1 2 2 5
  Colombia 2 1 2 5
  Germany 0 1 3 4
  Russia 3 0 1 4
  Denmark 0 3 0 3
  Ireland 1 1 1 3
  Australia 1 1 0 2
  Sweden 1 0 0 1
  Canada 1 0 0 1
  Ecuador 1 0 0 1
  Kazakhstan 0 0 1 1

All three wins in the same year by one country

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Year Country Giro Tour Vuelta
1964 France France  Jacques Anquetil France  Jacques Anquetil France  Raymond Poulidor
2008 Spain Spain  Alberto Contador Spain  Carlos Sastre Spain  Alberto Contador
2018 United Kingdom United Kingdom  Chris Froome United Kingdom  Geraint Thomas United Kingdom  Simon Yates
2024 Slovenia Slovenia  Tadej Pogačar Slovenia  Tadej Pogačar Slovenia  Primož Roglič

Winners of all three Grand Tours

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Seven cyclists have won all three of the Grand Tours during their career:[18]

Rider Total Giro Tour Vuelta
France  Jacques Anquetil 8 2 (1960, 1964) 5 (1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964) 1 (1963)
Italy  Felice Gimondi 5 3 (1967, 1969, 1976) 1 (1965) 1 (1968)
Belgium  Eddy Merckx 11 5 (1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974) 5 (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974) 1 (1973)
France  Bernard Hinault 10 3 (1980, 1982, 1985) 5 (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985) 2 (1978, 1983)
Spain  Alberto Contador 7 2 (2008, 2015) 2 (2007, 2009) 3 (2008, 2012, 2014)
Italy  Vincenzo Nibali 4 2 (2013, 2016) 1 (2014) 1 (2010)
United Kingdom  Chris Froome 7 1 (2018) 4 (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017) 2 (2011, 2017)

Hinault and Contador are the only cyclists to have won each Grand Tour at least twice.

Winners of three or more consecutive Grand Tours

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Winners of multiple Grand Tours in a single year

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No rider has won all three Grand Tours in a single year in any classification (general, points, mountain, young rider). Few riders have even finished all three in a single year; of those who have, two finished in the top ten in each: Raphaël Géminiani (4th, 6th and 3rd in the Giro, Tour and Vuelta in 1955) and Gastone Nencini (1st, 6th and 9th in 1957).

Eleven riders have achieved a double by winning two grand tours in the same calendar year.[18]

Of the above eleven, Pantani, Roche and Battaglin's doubles were their only Grand Tour victories in their careers.

Smallest margin between 1st and 2nd placed rider

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The margins between the winner of a Grand Tour and the runner-up are often narrow, and rarely larger than a few minutes.

As of 2021, there have been 54 Grand Tours with a winning margin less than one minute. The smallest margins are as follows:

Rank Winner Time Runner-up Margin Race
1 France  Éric Caritoux 90h 08' 03"" Spain  Alberto Fernández +00h 00' 06" Vuelta a España (1984)
2 United States  Greg LeMond 87h 38' 35" France  Laurent Fignon +00h 00' 08" Tour de France (1989)
3 Spain  José Manuel Fuente 86h 48' 18" Portugal  Joaquim Agostinho +00h 00' 11" Vuelta a España (1974)
Italy  Fiorenzo Magni 124h 51' 52" Italy  Ezio Cecchi Giro d'Italia (1948)
5 Belgium  Eddy Merckx 113h 08' 13" Italy  Gianbattista Baronchelli +00h 00' 12" Giro d'Italia (1974)
6 Italy  Angelo Conterno 105h 37' 52" Spain  Jesús Loroño +00h 00' 13" Vuelta a España (1956)
Italy  Fiorenzo Magni 108h 56' 12" Italy  Fausto Coppi Giro d'Italia (1955)
8 Spain  Augustín Tamames 88h 00" 56' Spain  Domingo Perurena +00h 00' 14" Vuelta a España (1975)
Slovenia  Primož Roglič 85h 29" 02' United Kingdom  Geraint Thomas Giro d'Italia (2023)
10 Canada  Ryder Hesjedal 91h 39' 02" Spain  Joaquim Rodríguez +00h 00' 16" Giro d'Italia (2012)

The biggest winning margin in a Grand Tour was 2h 59' 21" in Maurice Garin's win at the first Tour de France in 1903. The biggest margin in the history of Giro d'Italia was in 1914 when Alfonso Calzolari won by 1h 57' 26", and the biggest margin in the history of Vuelta a España was in 1945 when Delio Rodríguez finished 30' 08" clear.

Points classification winners

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The Tour/Giro/Vuelta triple has been achieved by five riders – Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Mark Cavendish, Laurent Jalabert, Eddy Merckx and Alessandro Petacchi.

Rank Rider Total Giro Tour Vuelta
1 Germany  Erik Zabel 9 0 6 (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001) 3 (2002, 2003, 2004)
2 Republic of Ireland  Sean Kelly 8 0 4 (1982, 1983, 1985, 1989) 4 (1980, 1985, 1986, 1988)
Slovakia  Peter Sagan 8 1 (2021) 7 (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019) 0
4 France  Laurent Jalabert 7 1 (1999) 2 (1992, 1995) 4 (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997)
5 Belgium  Eddy Merckx 6 2 (1968, 1973) 3 (1969, 1971, 1972) 1 (1973)

Mountains classification winners

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The Tour/Giro/Vuelta triple has been achieved by two riders – Federico Bahamontes and Luis Herrera.

Rank Rider Total Giro Tour Vuelta
1 Italy  Gino Bartali 9 7 (1935, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1946, 1947) 2 (1938, 1948) 0
Spain  Federico Bahamontes 9 1 (1956) 6 (1954, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964) 2 (1957, 1958)
3 Belgium  Lucien Van Impe 8 2 (1982, 1983) 6 (1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1983) 0
4 France  Richard Virenque 7 0 7 (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2004) 0
5 Spain  Julio Jiménez 6 0 3 (1965, 1966, 1967) 3 (1963, 1964, 1965)

Young rider classification winners

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The Tour/Giro double has been achieved by three riders – Egan Bernal, Nairo Quintana and Andy Schleck. The Giro/Vuelta double has been achieved by one rider – Miguel Ángel López. The Tour/Vuelta double has been achieved by two riders – Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel.

Rank Rider Total Giro Tour Vuelta
1 Slovenia  Tadej Pogačar 5 0 4 (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023) 1 (2019)
2 Luxembourg  Andy Schleck 4 1 (2007) 3 (2008, 2009, 2010) 0
3 Germany  Jan Ullrich 3 0 3 (1996, 1997, 1998) 0
Colombia  Nairo Quintana 3 1 (2014) 2 (2013, 2015) 0
Colombia  Miguel Ángel López 3 2 (2018, 2019) 0 1 (2017)

Grand Tour stage wins

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Three cyclists have won stages in all three of the Grand Tours in the same season: Miguel Poblet in 1956, Pierino Baffi in 1958 and Alessandro Petacchi in 2003.[19] The rider with the most Grand Tour stage wins in one season is Freddy Maertens who won 20 stages in 1977: 13 in the Vuelta a España and 7 in the Giro d'Italia.

Cyclists whose names are in bold are still active.
This list is complete up to and including the 2024 Vuelta a España.[20]
Rank Rider Total Giro Tour Vuelta Years
1 Belgium  Eddy Merckx 64 24 34 6 1967–1975
2 Italy  Mario Cipollini 57 42 12 3 1989–2003
3 United Kingdom  Mark Cavendish 55 17 35 3 2008–2024
4 Italy  Alessandro Petacchi 48 22 6 20 2000–2011
5 Italy  Alfredo Binda 43 41 2 0 1925–1933
6 France  Bernard Hinault 41 6 28 7 1978–1986
7 Italy  Learco Guerra 39 31 8 0 1930–1937
Spain  Delio Rodríguez 39 0 0 39 1941–1947
9 Belgium  Rik Van Looy 37 12 7 18 1958–1969
10 Belgium  Freddy Maertens 35 7 15 13 1976–1981
11 Italy  Fausto Coppi 31 22 9 0 1940–1955
12 Italy  Costante Girardengo 30 30 0 0 1919–1923
13 Italy  Gino Bartali 29 17 12 0 1935–1954
14 Italy  Marino Basso 27 15 6 6 1969–1975
Italy  Francesco Moser 27 23 2 2 1973–1986
16 Italy  Guido Bontempi 26 16 6 4 1981–1993
Italy  Raffaele Di Paco 26 15 11 0 1930–1938
Spain  Miguel Poblet 26 20 3 3 1955–1961
Slovenia  Tadej Pogačar 26 6 17 3 2019–2024
Italy  Giuseppe Saronni 26 24 0 2 1978–1985
21 Italy  Franco Bitossi 25 21 4 0 1964–1975
France  Laurent Jalabert 25 3 4 18 1992–2001
France  André Leducq 25 0 25 0 1927–1938
Belgium  Rik Van Steenbergen 25 15 4 6 1949–1957
25 Belgium  Roger De Vlaeminck 24 22 1 1 1970–1984
Australia  Robbie McEwen 24 12 12 0 1999–2007
27 France  André Darrigade 23 1 22 0 1953–1964
28 France  Jacques Anquetil 22 5 16 1 1957–1964
Slovenia  Primož Roglič 22 4 3 15 2016–2024
Germany  André Greipel 22 7 11 4 2008–2017
Netherlands  Jean Paul van Poppel 22 4 9 9 1986–1994

Grand Tour finishers

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Only 36 riders have finished all three Grand Tours in one season. Adam Hansen has done this six times consecutively, Marino Lejarreta four times and Bernardo Ruiz achieved it in three different years, while Eduardo Chozas and Carlos Sastre have completed the accomplishment twice.[21][22]

The rider with most participations on Grand Tours is Matteo Tosatto with 34 (12 Tours, 13 Giros and 9 Vueltas). The rider who has finished most Grand Tours is also Matteo Tosatto, with 28 (12 Tours, 11 Giros and 5 Vueltas). Adam Hansen has finished the most consecutive Grand Tours: 20 tours from 2011 Vuelta a España till 2018 Giro d'Italia. Bernardo Ruiz was the first rider to ride every tour of a season on three occasions which he completed in 1957. Marino Lejarreta completed every grand tour of the season for the 4th time in 1991 and of these 12 tours he finished in the top 10 of eight of them. His record of 4 was not passed until Adam Hansen completed the Vuelta in 2016.

Gastone Nencini (1957) and Sepp Kuss (2023) are the only cyclists to both ride all three Grand Tours and win one in the same season. The best average finish was the first time three Grand Tours were finished in one season, when Raphaël Géminiani finished 4th, 6th and 3rd in the Giro, Tour and Vuelta, respectively.

Rider Year Final GC position
Giro Tour Vuelta
United States  Sepp Kuss 2023 14 12 1
Belgium  Thomas De Gendt 2019 51 60 56
Australia  Adam Hansen (6) 2017 93 113 95
Spain  Alejandro Valverde 2016 3 6 12
Australia  Adam Hansen (5) 2016 68 100 110
France  Sylvain Chavanel 2015 36 54 47
Australia  Adam Hansen (4) 2015 77 114 55
Australia  Adam Hansen (3) 2014 73 64 53
Australia  Adam Hansen (2) 2013 72 72 60
Australia  Adam Hansen 2012 94 81 123
Germany  Sebastian Lang 2011 56 113 77
Spain  Carlos Sastre (2) 2010 8 20 8
New Zealand  Julian Dean 2009 136 121 132
Italy  Marzio Bruseghin 2008 3 27 10
Germany  Erik Zabel 2008 80 43 49
Belgium  Mario Aerts 2007 20 70 28
Spain  Carlos Sastre 2006 43 4 4
Italy  Giovanni Lombardi 2005 88 118 114
Spain  Jon Odriozola 2001 58 69 83
Italy  Mariano Piccoli 1999 38 50 58
Italy  Guido Bontempi 1992 40 75 62
Australia  Neil Stephens 1992 57 74 66
Spain  Eduardo Chozas (2) 1991 10 11 11
Italy  Marco Giovannetti 1991 8 30 18
Spain  Marino Lejarreta (4) 1991 5 53 3
Spain  Inaki Gaston 1991 23 61 14
Spain  Alberto Leanizbarrutia 1991 64 39 44
Russia  Vladimir Poulnikov 1991 11 88 66
Italy  Valerio Tebaldi 1991 47 89 87
Spain  Eduardo Chozas 1990 11 6 33
Spain  Marino Lejarreta (3) 1990 7 5 55
Spain  Marino Lejarreta (2) 1989 10 5 20
Spain  Luis Javier Lukin 1988 32 82 60
Spain  Marino Lejarreta 1987 4 10 34
France  Philippe Poissonnier 1985 86 90 66
Spain  José Luis Uribezubia 1971 29 50 27
Spain  Jose Manuel Fuente 1971 39 72 54
Spain  Federico Bahamontes 1958 17 8 6
Italy  Pierino Baffi 1958 23 63 37
Italy  Mario Baroni 1957 74 53 46
Italy  Gastone Nencini 1957 1 6 9
Spain  Bernardo Ruiz (3) 1957 55 24 3
Italy  Arrigo Padovan 1956 12 26 19
Spain  Bernardo Ruiz (2) 1956 38 70 31
Spain  José Serra 1956 26 81 9
France  Raphaël Géminiani 1955 4 6 3
Spain  Bernardo Ruiz 1955 28 22 14
France  Louis Caput 1955 68 54 55

References

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  1. ^ a b c "UCI Cycling regulations—Part 2: Road Races" (PDF). January 1, 2017. p. 64. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-07-12. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  2. ^ a b "UCI Cycling regulations". p. 41. Archived from the original on 2011-06-23. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  3. ^ McMahon, Daniel. "Tour de France, world's biggest annual sporting event, is an amazing race and breathtaking logistical feat". Business Insider.
  4. ^ "Kuss crowned Vuelta champion as Jumbo-Visma make history". france24.com. 17 September 2023. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  5. ^ Riche, Antoine (19 March 2005). "Doubler deux Grands Tours revient à la mode" (in French). CyclisMag. Archived from the original on 20 November 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  6. ^ "Why is there no women's Tour de France?". BBC Sport. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  7. ^ Macur, Juliet; Jaques, Monique (27 July 2022). "For Women's Cyclists, It's a Steep Climb to Tour Equality". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  8. ^ Rogers, Owen (2020-11-19). "Giro Rosa: fading glory". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  9. ^ a b Goldman, Tom (22 July 2022). "After more than 30 years, a multiday women's Tour de France is back". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-08-04. After the Tour de France femmes avec Zwift announced its record $250,000 purse, another women's grand tour event, the Giro d'Italia Donne, matched the Tour's prize money amount.
  10. ^ a b Frattini, Kirsten; Price, Matilda (2022-08-02). "9 conclusions from historic 2022 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  11. ^ "All info on the 2022 Giro Donne, the first women's Grand Tour of the year for the Movistar Team | Movistar Team". Movistar Team. 2022-06-18. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  12. ^ "UCI CYCLING REGULATIONS PART 2 ROAD RACES" (PDF). Union Cycliste Internationale. 1 April 2022. p. 59. Retrieved 4 August 2022. Elite women world circuit The duration of events ... is limited to 6 days unless an exemption is made by the UCI Management Committee
  13. ^ a b Frattini, Kirsten (16 October 2021). "A closer look reveals the inequity at Tour de France Femmes". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  14. ^ a b Rogers, Owen (2022-07-31). "Seven woman teams a possibility at the 2023 Tour de France Femmes". cyclingweekly.com. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  15. ^ Ostlere, Lawrence (22 July 2022). "Why the inaugural Tour de France Femmes 'changes everything'". The Independent. Retrieved 23 July 2022. I think if you asked everyone in the peloton what's more important, the prize money or the TV coverage, I think most would say TV coverage.
  16. ^ a b Later declared the legitimate winner
  17. ^ "The History of Tour de France". letour.fr.
  18. ^ a b "Historical Results – The Grand Tours". Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  19. ^ "Petacchi equals Poblet and Baffi". cyclingnews.com. September 9, 2003.
  20. ^ "Most stage wins". Pro Cycling Stats.
  21. ^ L'impresa di Adam Hansen: completati Giro, Tour e Vuelta in un anno, Spazio Ciclismo, 9. sept. 2012
  22. ^ "Tour Xtra: Tour Records". cvccbike.com.