Grand Tour (cycling)

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 race than one week 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 d'Italia.

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 Donne 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 Donne 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

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'

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

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.

Competitions

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

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.[4] 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, 34 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.

Riders from the same country winning all three Grand Tours in a single year has happened only on three 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.

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

As of 2023, 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.[5][6] In the contemporary UCI Women's World Tour, the Giro Donne (first held in 1988), the Tour de France Femmes (first held in 2022) and the Vuelta Femenina (started in 2015, gaining its current name with an extension to seven days from 2023) are sometimes considered to be equivalent races for women – taking place over shorter, smaller routes around a week in length.[7][8] The Vuelta Femenina takes place in May, the Giro Donne 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.[9][8][10] 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),[11][12] 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.[9][13]

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,[12] as well as to improve the quality and economic stability of the women's peloton to allow for three week long races in future.[13][14]

General Classification winners

Wins per year

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
1903started in 1909France Maurice Garin (1/1)started in 1935
1904France Henri Cornet (1/1)
1905France Louis Trousselier (1/1)
1906France René Pottier (1/1)
1907France Lucien Petit-Breton (1/2)
1908France Lucien Petit-Breton (2/2)
1909Italy Luigi Ganna (1/1)Luxembourg François Faber (1/1)
1910Italy Carlo Galetti (1/3)France Octave Lapize (1/1)
1911Italy Carlo Galetti (2/3)France Gustave Garrigou (1/1)
1912Italy Team Atala (Carlo Galetti (3/3),
Giovanni Micheletto (1/1) & Eberardo Pavesi (1/1))
Belgium Odile Defraye (1/1)
1913Italy Carlo Oriani (1/1)Belgium Philippe Thys (1/3)
1914Italy Alfonso Calzolari (1/1)Belgium Philippe Thys (2/3)
1915Not contested during World War I
1916
1917
1918
1919Italy Costante Girardengo (1/2)Belgium Firmin Lambot (1/2)
1920Italy Gaetano Belloni (1/1)Belgium Philippe Thys (3/3)
1921Italy Giovanni Brunero (1/3)Belgium Léon Scieur (1/1)
1922Italy Giovanni Brunero (2/3)Belgium Firmin Lambot (2/2)
1923Italy Costante Girardengo (2/2)France Henri Pélissier (1/1)
1924Italy Giuseppe Enrici (1/1)Italy Ottavio Bottecchia (1/2)
1925Italy Alfredo Binda (1/5)Italy Ottavio Bottecchia (2/2)
1926Italy Giovanni Brunero (3/3)Belgium Lucien Buysse (1/1)
1927Italy Alfredo Binda (2/5)Luxembourg Nicolas Frantz (1/2)
1928Italy Alfredo Binda (3/5)Luxembourg Nicolas Frantz (2/2)
1929Italy Alfredo Binda (4/5)Belgium Maurice De Waele (1/1)
1930Italy Luigi Marchisio (1/1)France André Leducq (1/2)
1931Italy Francesco Camusso (1/1)France Antonin Magne (1/2)
1932Italy Antonio Pesenti (1/1)France André Leducq (2/2)
1933Italy Alfredo Binda (5/5)France Georges Speicher (1/1)
1934Italy Learco Guerra (1/1)France Antonin Magne (2/2)
1935Italy Vasco Bergamaschi (1/1)Belgium Romain Maes (1/1)Belgium Gustaaf Deloor (1/2)
1936Italy Gino Bartali (1/5)Belgium Sylvère Maes (1/2)Belgium Gustaaf Deloor (2/2)
1937Italy Gino Bartali (2/5)France Roger Lapébie (1/1)Not contested during the Spanish Civil War
1938Italy Giovanni Valetti (1/2) Italy Gino Bartali (3/5)
1939Italy Giovanni Valetti (2/2)Belgium Sylvère Maes (2/2)
1940Italy Fausto Coppi (1/7)Not contested during World War II
1941Not contested during World War IISpain Julián Berrendero (1/2)
1942Spain Julián Berrendero (2/2)
1943Not contested during World War II
1944
1945Spain Delio Rodríguez (1/1)
1946Italy Gino Bartali (4/5)Spain Dalmacio Langarica (1/1)
1947Italy Fausto Coppi (2/7)France Jean Robic (1/1)Belgium Edward Van Dijck (1/1)
1948Italy Fiorenzo Magni (1/3)Italy Gino Bartali (5/5)Spain Bernardo Ruiz (1/1)
1949Italy Fausto Coppi (3/7)Italy Fausto Coppi (4/7)Not contested for lack of interest
1950Switzerland Hugo Koblet (1/2)Switzerland Ferdinand Kübler (1/1)Spain Emilio Rodríguez (1/1)
1951Italy Fiorenzo Magni (2/3)Switzerland Hugo Koblet (2/2)Not contested for lack of interest
1952Italy Fausto Coppi (5/7)Italy Fausto Coppi (6/7)
1953Italy Fausto Coppi (7/7)France Louison Bobet (1/3)
1954Switzerland Carlo Clerici (1/1)France Louison Bobet (2/3)
1955Italy Fiorenzo Magni (3/3)France Louison Bobet (3/3)France Jean Dotto (1/1)
1956Luxembourg Charly Gaul (1/3)France Roger Walkowiak (1/1)Italy Angelo Conterno (1/1)
1957Italy Gastone Nencini (1/2)France Jacques Anquetil (1/8)Spain Jesús Loroño (1/1)
1958Italy Ercole Baldini (1/1)Luxembourg Charly Gaul (2/3)France Jean Stablinski (1/1)
1959Luxembourg Charly Gaul (3/3)Spain Federico Bahamontes (1/1)Spain Antonio Suárez (1/1)
1960France Jacques Anquetil (2/8)Italy Gastone Nencini (2/2)Belgium Frans De Mulder (1/1)
1961Italy Arnaldo Pambianco (1/1)France Jacques Anquetil (3/8)Spain Angelino Soler (1/1)
1962Italy Franco Balmamion (1/2)France Jacques Anquetil (4/8)Germany Rudi Altig (1/1)
1963Italy Franco Balmamion (2/2)France Jacques Anquetil (6/8)France Jacques Anquetil (5/8)
1964France Jacques Anquetil (7/8)France Jacques Anquetil (8/8)France Raymond Poulidor (1/1)
1965Italy Vittorio Adorni (1/1)Italy Felice Gimondi (1/5)Germany Rolf Wolfshohl (1/1)
1966Italy Gianni Motta (1/1)France Lucien Aimar (1/1)Spain Francisco Gabica (1/1)
1967Italy Felice Gimondi (2/5)France Roger Pingeon (1/2)Netherlands Jan Janssen (1/2)
1968Belgium Eddy Merckx (1/11)Netherlands Jan Janssen (2/2)Italy Felice Gimondi (3/5)
1969Italy Felice Gimondi (4/5)Belgium Eddy Merckx (2/11)France Roger Pingeon (2/2)
1970Belgium Eddy Merckx (3/11)Belgium Eddy Merckx (4/11)Spain Luis Ocaña (1/2)
1971Sweden Gösta Pettersson (1/1)Belgium Eddy Merckx (5/11)Belgium Ferdinand Bracke (1/1)
1972Belgium Eddy Merckx (6/11)Belgium Eddy Merckx (7/11)Spain José Manuel Fuente (1/2)
1973Belgium Eddy Merckx (9/11)Spain Luis Ocaña (2/2)Belgium Eddy Merckx (8/11)
1974Belgium Eddy Merckx (10/11)Belgium Eddy Merckx (11/11)Spain José Manuel Fuente (2/2)
1975Italy Fausto Bertoglio (1/1)France Bernard Thévenet (1/2)Spain Agustín Tamames (1/1)
1976Italy Felice Gimondi (5/5)Belgium Lucien Van Impe (1/1)Spain José Pesarrodona (1/1)
1977Belgium Michel Pollentier (1/1)France Bernard Thévenet (2/2)Belgium Freddy Maertens (1/1)
1978Belgium Johan De Muynck (1/1)France Bernard Hinault (2/10)France Bernard Hinault (1/10)
1979Italy Giuseppe Saronni (1/2)France Bernard Hinault (3/10)Netherlands Joop Zoetemelk (1/2)
1980France Bernard Hinault (4/10)Netherlands Joop Zoetemelk (2/2)Spain Faustino Rupérez (1/1)
1981Italy Giovanni Battaglin (2/2)France Bernard Hinault (5/10)Italy Giovanni Battaglin (1/2)
1982France Bernard Hinault (6/10)France Bernard Hinault (7/10)Spain Marino Lejarreta (1/1)
1983Italy Giuseppe Saronni (2/2)France Laurent Fignon (1/3)France Bernard Hinault (8/10)
1984Italy Francesco Moser (1/1)France Laurent Fignon (2/3)France Éric Caritoux (1/1)
1985France Bernard Hinault (9/10)France Bernard Hinault (10/10)Spain Pedro Delgado (1/3)
1986Italy Roberto Visentini (1/1)United States Greg LeMond (1/3)Spain Álvaro Pino (1/1)
1987Republic of Ireland Stephen Roche (1/2)Republic of Ireland Stephen Roche (2/2)Colombia Luis Herrera (1/1)
1988United States Andrew Hampsten (1/1)Spain Pedro Delgado (2/3)Republic of Ireland Sean Kelly (1/1)
1989France Laurent Fignon (3/3)United States Greg LeMond (2/3)Spain Pedro Delgado (3/3)
1990Italy Gianni Bugno (1/1)United States Greg LeMond (3/3)Italy Marco Giovannetti (1/1)
1991Italy Franco Chioccioli (1/1)Spain Miguel Induráin (1/7)Spain Melcior Mauri (1/1)
1992Spain Miguel Induráin (2/7)Spain Miguel Induráin (3/7)Switzerland Tony Rominger (1/4)
1993Spain Miguel Induráin (4/7)Spain Miguel Induráin (5/7)Switzerland Tony Rominger (2/4)
1994Russia Eugeni Berzin (1/1)Spain Miguel Induráin (6/7) Switzerland Tony Rominger (3/4)
1995Switzerland Tony Rominger (4/4)Spain Miguel Induráin (7/7)France Laurent Jalabert (1/1)
1996Russia Pavel Tonkov (1/1)Denmark Bjarne Riis (1/1)Switzerland Alex Zülle (1/2)
1997Italy Ivan Gotti (1/2)Germany Jan Ullrich (1/2)Switzerland Alex Zülle (2/2)
1998Italy Marco Pantani (1/2) Italy Marco Pantani (2/2) Spain Abraham Olano (1/1)
1999Italy Ivan Gotti (2/2)No winner[A]Germany Jan Ullrich (2/2)
2000Italy Stefano Garzelli (1/1)No winner[A]Spain Roberto Heras (1/4)
2001Italy Gilberto Simoni (1/2)No winner[A]Spain Ángel Casero (1/1)
2002Italy Paolo Savoldelli (1/2)No winner[A]Spain Aitor González (1/1)
2003Italy Gilberto Simoni (2/2)No winner[A]Spain Roberto Heras (2/4)
2004Italy Damiano Cunego (1/1)No winner[A]Spain Roberto Heras (3/4)
2005Italy Paolo Savoldelli (2/2)No winner[A]Spain Roberto Heras (4/4)
2006Italy Ivan Basso (1/2)Spain Óscar Pereiro (1/1)[15]Kazakhstan Alexander Vinokourov (1/1)
2007Italy Danilo Di Luca (1/1)Spain Alberto Contador (1/7)Russia Denis Menchov (1/2)
2008Spain Alberto Contador (2/7)Spain Carlos Sastre (1/1)Spain Alberto Contador (3/7)
2009Russia Denis Menchov (2/2)Spain Alberto Contador (4/7)Spain Alejandro Valverde (1/1)
2010Italy Ivan Basso (2/2)Luxembourg Andy Schleck (1/1)Italy Vincenzo Nibali (1/4)
2011Italy Michele Scarponi (1/1)Australia Cadel Evans (1/1)United Kingdom Chris Froome (1/7)[15]
2012Canada Ryder Hesjedal (1/1)United Kingdom Bradley Wiggins (1/1)Spain Alberto Contador (5/7)
2013Italy Vincenzo Nibali (2/4)United Kingdom Chris Froome (2/7)United States Chris Horner (1/1)
2014Colombia Nairo Quintana (1/2)Italy Vincenzo Nibali (3/4)Spain Alberto Contador (6/7)
2015Spain Alberto Contador (7/7)United Kingdom Chris Froome (3/7)Italy Fabio Aru (1/1)
2016Italy Vincenzo Nibali (4/4)United Kingdom Chris Froome (4/7)Colombia Nairo Quintana (2/2)
2017Netherlands Tom Dumoulin (1/1)United Kingdom Chris Froome (5/7)United Kingdom Chris Froome (6/7)
2018United Kingdom Chris Froome (7/7)United Kingdom Geraint Thomas (1/1)United Kingdom Simon Yates (1/1)
2019Ecuador Richard Carapaz (1/1)Colombia Egan Bernal (1/2)Slovenia Primož Roglič (1/4)
2020United Kingdom Tao Geoghegan Hart (1/1)Slovenia Tadej Pogačar (1/2)Slovenia Primož Roglič (2/4)
2021Colombia Egan Bernal (2/2)Slovenia Tadej Pogačar (2/2)Slovenia Primož Roglič (3/4)
2022Australia Jai Hindley (1/1)Denmark Jonas Vingegaard (1/2)Belgium Remco Evenepoel (1/1)
2023Slovenia Primož Roglič (4/4)Denmark Jonas Vingegaard (2/2)United States Sepp Kuss (1/1)
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.[16]

Wins per rider

Rank Rider Total Tour Giro Vuelta
1 Belgium Eddy Merckx 11 5 (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974) 5 (1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974) 1 (1973)
2 France Bernard Hinault 10 5 (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985) 3 (1980, 1982, 1985) 2 (1978, 1983)
3 France Jacques Anquetil 8 5 (1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964) 2 (1960, 1964) 1 (1963)
4 Italy Fausto Coppi 7 2 (1949, 1952) 5 (1940, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953)
Spain Miguel Indurain 7 5 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995) 2 (1992, 1993)
Spain Alberto Contador 7 2 (2007, 2009) 2 (2008, 2015) 3 (2008, 2012, 2014)
United Kingdom Chris Froome 7 4 (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017) 1 (2018) 2 (2011, 2017)
8 Italy Alfredo Binda 5 5 (1925, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1933)
Italy Gino Bartali 5 2 (1938, 1948) 3 (1936, 1937, 1946)
Italy Felice Gimondi 5 1 (1965) 3 (1967, 1969, 1976) 1 (1968)
11 Switzerland Tony Rominger 4 1 (1995) 3 (1992, 1993, 1994)
Spain Roberto Heras 4 4 (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005)
Italy Vincenzo Nibali 4 1 (2014) 2 (2013, 2016) 1 (2010)
Slovenia Primož Roglič 4 1 (2023) 3 (2019, 2020, 2021)
  • Active riders marked in bold.

Wins by country

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
 Luxembourg 2 5 0 7
 Slovenia 1 2 3 6
 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

Winners of all three Grand Tours

Seven cyclists have won all three of the Grand Tours during their career:[17]

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

Winners of three or more consecutive Grand Tours

During Fausto Coppi achievement, the Vuelta a España didn't run (1951–1954).

During Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault achievements, the Vuelta a España was the first Grand Tour of the season.

Winners of multiple Grand Tours in a single year

Ten riders have achieved a double by winning two grand tours in the same calendar year.

Seven cyclists have won the Tour and the Giro in the same calendar year:[17]

The Tour/Vuelta double has been achieved by three cyclists:[17]

The Giro/Vuelta double has been achieved by three cyclists:[17]

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

Finished in the top ten in all three Grand Tours in a single year

Few riders have finished all three in a single year, of whom 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).

Smallest margin between 1st and 2nd placed rider

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

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

Mountains classification winners

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

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

Young rider classification winners

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 one rider – Tadej Pogačar.

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

Grand Tour stage wins

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.[18]

Cyclists whose names are in bold are still active.[19] This list is complete up to and including the 2023 Tour de France.

Rank Rider Tour Giro Vuelta Total
1Belgium Eddy Merckx3424664
2Italy Mario Cipollini1242357
3United Kingdom Mark Cavendish3417354
4Italy Alessandro Petacchi6222048
5Italy Alfredo Binda241043
6France Bernard Hinault286741
7Italy Learco Guerra831039
8Spain Delio Rodríguez003939
9Belgium Rik Van Looy7121837
10Belgium Freddy Maertens1571335
11Italy Fausto Coppi922031
12Italy Costante Girardengo030030
13Italy Gino Bartali1217029
14Italy Marino Basso615627
Italy Francesco Moser223227
16Italy Guido Bontempi616426
Italy Raffaele Di Paco1115026
Spain Miguel Poblet320326
Italy Giuseppe Saronni024226
20Italy Franco Bitossi421025
France Laurent Jalabert431825
France André Leducq250025
Belgium Rik Van Steenbergen415625
24Belgium Roger De Vlaeminck122124
Australia Robbie McEwen1212024
26France André Darrigade221023
27France Jacques Anquetil165122
Netherlands Jean Paul van Poppel94922
Germany André Greipel117422
30Luxembourg Charly Gaul1011021
Republic of Ireland Sean Kelly501621
Switzerland Tony Rominger351321

The rider with the most Grand Tour stage wins in one season is Freddy Maertens who won 20 Grand Tour stages in 1977: 13 stages in the Vuelta a España and 7 in the Giro d'Italia.

Grand Tour finishers

Only 35 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.[20][21]

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 Kuss202314121
Belgium Thomas De Gendt2019516056
Australia Adam Hansen (6)20179311395
Spain Alejandro Valverde20163612
Australia Adam Hansen (5)201668100110
France Sylvain Chavanel2015365447
Australia Adam Hansen (4)20157711455
Australia Adam Hansen (3)2014736453
Australia Adam Hansen (2)2013727260
Australia Adam Hansen20129481123
Germany Sebastian Lang20115611377
Spain Carlos Sastre (2)20108208
New Zealand Julian Dean2009136121132
Italy Marzio Bruseghin200832710
Germany Erik Zabel2008804349
Belgium Mario Aerts2007207028
Spain Carlos Sastre20064344
Italy Giovanni Lombardi200588118114
Spain Jon Odriozola2001586983
Italy Mariano Piccoli1999385058
Italy Guido Bontempi1992407562
Australia Neil Stephens1992577466
Spain Eduardo Chozas (2)1991101111
Italy Marco Giovannetti199183018
Spain Marino Lejarreta (4)19915533
Spain Inaki Gaston1991236114
Spain Alberto Leanizbarrutia1991643944
Russia Vladimir Poulnikov1991118866
Italy Valerio Tebaldi1991478987
Spain Eduardo Chozas199011633
Spain Marino Lejarreta (3)19907555
Spain Marino Lejarreta (2)198910520
Spain Luis Javier Lukin1988328260
Spain Marino Lejarreta198741034
France Philippe Poissonnier1985869066
Spain José Luis Uribezubia1971295027
Spain Jose Manuel Fuente1971397254
Spain Federico Bahamontes19581786
Italy Pierino Baffi1958236337
Italy Mario Baroni1957745346
Italy Gastone Nencini1957169
Spain Bernardo Ruiz (3)195755243
Italy Arrigo Padovan1956122619
Spain Bernardo Ruiz (2)1956387031
Spain José Serra195626819
France Raphaël Géminiani1955463
Spain Bernardo Ruiz1955282214
France Louis Caput1955685455

References

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  2. "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. 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.
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  8. 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.
  9. Frattini, Kirsten; Price, Matilda (2022-08-02). "9 conclusions from historic 2022 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
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  11. "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
  12. Frattini, Kirsten (16 October 2021). "A closer look reveals the inequity at Tour de France Femmes". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  13. Rogers, Owen (2022-07-31). "Seven woman teams a possibility at the 2023 Tour de France Femmes". cyclingweekly.com. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  14. 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.
  15. Later declared the legitimate winner
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