Eddy Merckx
Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx, better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is widely seen as the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an unequalled eleven Grand Tours, all of the five Monuments, three World Championships, the hour record, every major one-day race other than Paris–Tours, and extensive victories on the track.
Sprinter (cycling)
A sprinter is a road bicycle racer or track racer who can finish a race very explosively by accelerating quickly to a high speed, often using the slipstream of another cyclist or group of cyclists tactically to conserve energy.
Alessandro Petacchi
Alessandro Petacchi is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who last rode for the Southeast Pro Cycling team. A specialist sprinter, Petacchi has won 48 grand tour stages with wins of the points jersey in the Giro d'Italia in 2004, the Vuelta a España in 2005 and the Tour de France in 2010. He also won the classics Milan – San Remo in 2005 and Paris-Tours in 2007. His career spanned over 18 years during which he earned 183 victories.
Rik Van Looy
Henri "Rik" Van Looy is a Belgian former professional cyclist of the post-war period, nicknamed the King of the Classics or Emperor of Herentals. He was twice world professional road race champion, and was the first cyclist to win all five 'Monuments': the most prestigious one-day classics – a feat since achieved by just two others. With 379 road victories he's second to Merckx only. He is ninth on the all-time list of Grand Tour stage winners with thirty-seven victories.
Points classification in the Giro d'Italia
The points classification in the Giro d'Italia is one of the secondary classifications in the Giro d'Italia. It is determined by points awarded for placings in the daily stages, regardless of time gaps. From 1967 to 1969 the leader wore a red jersey but in 1970 it was changed to mauve, and named the maglia ciclamino, the name of the colour in Italian being derived from the alpine flower the cyclamen. The red jersey was re-introduced in 2010, as the maglia rosso passione. However, in April 2017 RCS Sport, the organisers of the Giro, announced that the maglia ciclamino would be revived for the 2017 Giro d'Italia.
Francesco Moser
Francesco Moser, nicknamed "Lo sceriffo", is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer.
Abraham Olano
Abraham Olano Manzano is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist, who raced between 1992 and 2002. He won the World Road Championship in 1995, and the World Time Trial Championship in 1998, becoming the first and so far only male cyclist to win both.
José Manuel Fuente
José Manuel Fuente Lavandera was a professional road racing cyclist and noted climbing specialist.
Combination classification in the Vuelta a España
The combination classification is one of the primary awards in the Vuelta a España cycling stage race. This classification is calculated by adding the numeral ranks of each cyclist in the general, points, and mountains classifications, with the lowest cumulative total signifying the leader of this competition.
List of Giro d'Italia general classification winners
The Giro d'Italia is an annual road bicycle race held in May. Established in 1909 by newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Giro is one of cycling's three "Grand Tours"; along with the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. The race usually covers approximately 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi), passing through Italy and neighbouring countries such as France. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages. Individual finishing times for each stage are totalled to determine the overall winner at the end of the race. The course changes every year, but has traditionally finished in Milan.
List of Vuelta a España general classification winners
The Vuelta a España is an annual road bicycle race. Established in 1935 by the Spanish newspaper Informaciones, the Vuelta is one of cycling's three "Grand Tours", along with the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia. Initially, the race was held in April/May, but in 1995 it was moved to September. The race usually covers approximately 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi), although this has varied, passing through Spain and countries with a close proximity in Europe. The race is broken into day-long segments called stages. Individual finishing times for each stage are totalled to determine the overall winner at the end of the race. The course changes every year, but has traditionally finished in Madrid.
List of Grand Tour general classification winners
The Grand Tours are the three most prestigious multi-week stage races in professional road bicycle racing. The competitions are the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España, contested annually in that order. They are the only stage races permitted to last longer than 14 days. No cyclist has won all three Grand Tours in the same calendar year, but Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Chris Froome have won all three in succession. The only other cyclists to win all three Grand Tours at some point in their career are Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Alberto Contador, and Vincenzo Nibali. Contador is the youngest, at 25 years, to win every Tour. It is rare for cyclists to ride all Grand Tours in the same year; in 2004, for example, 474 cyclists started in one of the Grand Tours, 68 rode two and only two cyclists started all three.
List of Grand Tour points classification winners
The Grand Tours are the three most prestigious multi-week stage races in professional road bicycle racing. The competitions are the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España, contested annually in that order. They are the only stage races permitted to last longer than 14 days. No cyclist has won all three Grand Tours's points classifications in the same year; the only cyclists to win all three Grand Tours's points classifications in their career are Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Mark Cavendish, Laurent Jalabert, Eddy Merckx and Alessandro Petacchi. It is rare for cyclists to ride all Grand Tours in the same year; in 2004, 474 cyclists started in one of the Grand Tours, 68 rode two and two cyclists started all three.
List of Grand Tour mountains classification winners
The Grand Tours are the three most prestigious multi-week stage races in professional road bicycle racing. The competitions are the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España, contested annually in that order. They are the only stage races permitted to last longer than 14 days. No cyclist has won all three Grand Tours's mountains classifications in the same year; the only cyclists to win all three Grand Tours's mountains classifications in their career are Federico Bahamontes and Luis Herrera. It is rare for cyclists to ride all Grand Tours in the same year; in 2004, 474 cyclists started in one of the Grand Tours, 68 rode two and two cyclists started all three.
2017 Vuelta a España
The 2017 Vuelta a España was a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race that took place in Spain between 19 August and 10 September 2017. The race was the 72nd edition of the Vuelta a España and the final Grand Tour of the 2017 cycling season. The race started in Nîmes, France, and finished in Madrid. It was the first time the race has started in France and only the third time it has started outside Spain, after 1997 (Portugal) and 2009 (Netherlands).