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Who will win the Giro d’Italia?

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Stats

Historical stats

– The first edition took place in 1892 and was won by Leon Houa

– Eddy Merckx holds the record for the most victories: 5, between 1969 and 1975

– The same Merckx has the most podiums: 7

– Belgium leads the nations standings, with 59 wins, followed by Italy (12) and Switzerland (10)

– Seven riders have won both Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège in the same season: Moreno Argentin, Philippe Gilbert Ferdi Kubler, Eddy Merckx, Stan Ockers, Davide Rebellin and Alejandro Valverde

– No U23 winner went on to take the victory as a pro

– Four cyclists from outside of Europe nabbed the win: Simon Gerrans (Australia), Tyler Hamilton (U.S.A.), Maxim Iglinskiy (Kazahstan) and Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazahstan)

– Since Bernard Hinault (1980), no other reigning Tour de France champion has won the Belgian Monument

– Moreno Argentin, in 1987, was the last rainbow jersey wearer to finish first

– Biggest winning margin was recorded in 1893, when Leon Houa came home half an hour ahead of his fellow countryman, Michel Borisowski

– The inaugural edition had 33 riders at the start, with only 17 of them getting to the finish

– Besides Belgium, only Italy got to place three cyclists on the podium, at the 2005 edition of Liège–Bastogne–Liège

– The race has been affected by snow in 1919, 1957 and 1980

– Until 1973, ten editions have finished on the Stade Vélodrome de Rocourt, a 40 000-seat arena

– Since 1992, the race ends in Ans, a suburb of Liège

– Longest dry spell without a Belgian victory was between 2000 and 2011

– In 1957, the win was awarded to two riders: Germain Derycke and Frans Schoubben

– Youngest ever winner is Victor Fastre (18 years and 362 days); oldest one is Alexandr Vinokourov (36 years and 221 days)

– Davide Rebellin is the rider with the most editions completed, 14

2016 stats

– 25 teams (18 World Tour and 7 Pro Continental) will line-up for the 102nd edition

– Only one of these teams hasn’t scored a victory this season: Giant-Alpecin

– The course is 253-km long and includes ten categorized climbs

– Three former winners are at the start of the race: Simon Gerrans, Daniel Martin and Alejandro Valverde

– The cyclists who will ride the 2016 edition have won a combined total of 11 Monuments, 2 world titles, 6 Grand Tours and more than 90 Grand Tour stages

– Of the riders who are at the start, Joaquim Rodriguez has the most participations: 13

– France is the country with the most riders in the race – 38 – followed by Belgium (26) and the Netherlands (18)

– Alejandro Valverde can become the first rider in 18 years to claim back-to-back victories

– Laurens De Plus (20 years) is the youngest rider who will line-up in Liège, while Haimar Zubeldia is the oldest one (39 years)

– Liège–Bastogne–Liège marks 1827 days since the last win of the hosts in this event

– Five winners of the U23 race will ride the 102nd edition: Jan Bakelants, Guillaume Martin, Anthony Turgis, Michael Valgren and Tosh Van der Sande

– 11 neo-pros will make their debut in a Monument at “La Doyenne”: Koen Bouwman, Lilian Calmejane, Jeremy Cornu, Laurens De Plus, Odd Christian Eiking, Sindre Lunke, Guillaume Martin, Sam Oomen, Antwan Tolhoek, Alexey Vermeulen and Loic Vliegen

Paris-Roubaix Stats

Historical stats

– The first edition took place in 1896 and was won by Germany’s Josef Fischer

– Paris-Roubaix was the first Classic to be shown live on TV, in 1960

– Two Belgians – Tom Boonen and Roger De Vlaeminck – share the record for the most wins, 4

– Roger De Vlaeminck is also the rider with the most podium finishes, 9

– Belgium leads the nation standings, with 55 triumphs in 114 editions

– Frédéric Guesdon holds the record for the most starts, 17

– Raymond Impanis and Servais Knaven have the most races completed, 16 each

– Ten riders have won the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in the same year: Tom Boonen, Fabian Cancellara, Fred De Bruyne, Roger De Vlaeminck, Romain Gijssels, Raymond Impanis, Gaston Rebry, Heiri Suter, Rik Van Looy and Peter Van Petegem

– The longest edition has never exceeded 280 kilometers, while the shortest one had 244 kilometers

– Marc Madiot is the only cyclist who has won Paris-Roubaix in the U23 ranks and subsequently as a pro

– In 1949, the victory was awarded to two riders: Serse Coppi and André Mahé

– Australia’s Stuart O’Grady is the only cyclist from outside of Europe who nabbed the win in Paris-Roubaix

– The longest successful breakaway was recorded in 1988, when Dirk Demol won after being for 222 kilometers at the front

– Last rainbow jersey wearer to emerge victorious was Bernard Hinault, in 1981

– Five riders have won Paris-Roubaix after taking the victory in the Tour de France: Louison Bobet, Fausto Coppi, Felice Gimondi, Bernard Hinault and Eddy Merckx

– In 1936 – when Georges Speicher was victorious – the race ended on a hippodrome

– Between 1986 and 1988, Paris-Roubaix finished in the town, because the velodrome was undergoing some repairs

– First year in which riders were allowed to get a spare wheel from their teammates was 1965

– Youngest ever winner is Albert Champion (20 years and 362 days in 1899); oldest one is Gilbert Duclos-Lasalle (38 years and 229 days in 1993)

– Last French success was brought by Frédéric Guesdon, in 1997

– In 1990, Eddy Planckaert and Steve Bauer sprinted for the victory and the Belgian won for just 1 cm

– Biggest winning margin dates from 1898, when Maurice Garin finished 28 minutes ahead of Auguste Stephan

– 1968 was the first year in which the start was given from Compiègne

– First time when the champion received a cobblestone-shaped trophy was in 1977

– Highest average speed – 45,130 km/h – was recorded in 1964, while the lowest one was in 1922 – 22,857 km/h

2016 stats

– 25 teams (18 World Tour and 7 Pro Continental) will line-up in Compiègne for the 114th edition

– Three of these teams are winless this season: Delko Marseille, Giant-Alpecin, Wanty-Groupe Gobert

– The course is 257.5-km long and features 52.8 kilometers of cobblestones across 27 cobbled sectors

– 33 countries will be represented in the peloton, with Belgium topping the list (36 riders)

– Three former champions are at the start of this year’s race: Tom Boonen, Fabian Cancellara and Niki Terpstra

– Four U23 winners (Koen De Kort, Damien Gaudin, Taylor Phinney, Ramon Sinkeldam) and four Junior winners (Andrew Fenn, Florian Senechal, Jasper Stuyven, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck) will be in the race

– Franck Bonnamour (20 years) is the youngest rider at the start line, while Svein Tuft (38 years) is the oldest one

– Mathew Hayman has the most participation of the riders in the race: 14

– Paris-Roubaix 2016 marks 6937 days since the last home win in the race

– 10 neo-pros will make their debut in a Monument at Paris-Roubaix: Mikel Aristi, Franck Bonnamour, Romain Combaud, Frederik Frison, Fredrik Strand Galta, Fabien Grellier, Hugo Hofstetter, Martin Laas, Ryan Mullen and Robin Stenuit

– The Paris-Roubaix peloton has won a combined total of 21 Monuments, 10 world titles (road race+time trial) and more than 120 Grand Tour stages

2016 Paris-Roubaix cobbled sectors rating

Tour of Flanders Stats

Historical stats

– First ever cyclist to take the victory was Paul Deman, back in 1913, when he needed 12 hours, 3 minutes and 10 seconds to complete the 324 km-long course

– Six riders share the record for the most wins (3): Tom Boonen, Achiel Buysse, Fabian Cancellara, Eric Leman, Fiorenzo Magni and Johan Museeuw

– Belgium leads in the nations standings, with no less than 68 victories

– Other countries to have a winner are Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Switzerland and United Kingdom

– Last victory of a home rider was brought by Tom Boonen, five years ago, this being the longest drought of the host nation since the inception of the race

– Five of the 99 editions didn’t have a Belgian cyclist on the podium: 1951, 1961, 1981, 1997 and 2001

– Briek Schotte and Johan Museeuw share the record for the most podiums (wins included): 8

– The legendary Briek Schotte is also the rider with the most starts (20 in a row) and the most finishes (16), but the latter record is shared with Frederic Guesdon

– Youngest ever winner is Rik Van Steenbergen, 19 years and 206 days (1944); oldest one is Andrei Tchmil, 37 years and 71 days (2000)

– 1920 – when Jules Van Hevel took the win – saw the lowest average speed: 26,105 km/h

– Highest average speed – 43,576 km/h – was recorded in 2001

– The first edition was also the longest one: 324 kilometers

– Only once throughout history De Ronde had less than 200 kilometers, in 1941 (198 de kilometers), when Achiel Buysse won the race for the second time

– Five reigning world champions racked up a victory in De Ronde: Louison Bobet (1955), Rik Van Looy (1962), Eddy Merckx (1975), Tom Boonen (2006) and Peter Sagan (2016)

– 1919 saw the largest winning margin: 14 minutes between Henri Van Lerberghe and Lucien Buysee

– The only cyclist to take three wins in a row is Fiorenzo Magni (1949-1951)

– Five riders have won the amateur, as well as the pro Ronde van Vlaanderen: Roger Decock, Edward Sels, Eric Vanderaerden, Edwig van Hooydonck and Nick Nuyens

– Last Grand Tour champion to take the victory here was Gianni Bugno, in 1994

– Gent is the only city that has hosted both the start and the finish of the race

– Brugge is a start city since 1998, the year of Museeuw’s third and final win

– 1944 was the last year in which the Tour of Flanders ended on the velodrome

– In 1984, only Phil Anderson and Jan Raas made it to the top of the Koppenberg without walking, the main reason for the ordeal the riders had to endure being the deteriorating state of the cobbles

– First cyclist to ride over the Muur-Kapelmuur was Fiorenzo Magni, in 1950

2016 stats

– 25 teams (18 World Tour and 7 Pro Continental) will be at the start of the race

– Of these, CCC Sprandi Polkowice, Giant-Alpecin and Wanty-Groupe Gobert are winless this season

– 34 nations will have at least one cyclist in the peloton, with Belgium providing the most riders, 35

– Youngest rider in the race is Michal Paluta (20 years), while the oldest one is Svein Tuft (38 years)

– Four former winners will line-up at the start: Tom Boonen, Fabian Cancellara, Stijn Devolder and Alexander Kristoff

– Søren Kragh Andersen, Jorge Arcas, Romain Cardis, Nico Denz, Matteo Draperi, Michael Gogl, Jack Haig, Gianni Moscon, Nils Politt, Lukas Pöstlberger, Toms Skujiņš and Mirko Trosino are the 12 neo-pros to make their debut in a Monument at De Ronde

– Of the riders at the start, Stijn Devolder has the most participations: 15, including the one of this year

– The peloton of Tour of Flanders has won a combined total of 20 Monuments, 10 world titles (road race+individual time trial) and more than 80 Grand Tour stages

Milan-Sanremo Stats

Historical stats

– “La Primavera” was first raced in 1907, when Lucien Petit-Breton took the victory

– The inaugural edition had 33 riders at the start, only 14 of them completing the event

– Eddy Merckx holds the record for the most wins, seven, between 1966 and 1976

– The team with the most victories in the race is Bianchi – 17; first came in 1907, last one in 1974

– Italy leads the nations standings with 50 successes over the years, the last of which came in 2006

– Six-time winner of Milan-Sanremo, Costante Girardengo has the most podiums, 11

– Italian cyclists have taken the first three positions 34 times

– Youngest winner is Ugo Agostoni, 20 years and 252 days (1914); oldest one is Andrei Tchmil, 36 years and 57 days (1999)

– Wladimiro Panizza has the most starts in “La Primavera”, 18

– Four riders have won Milan-Sanremo while wearing the rainbow jersey: Alfredo Binda (1931), Eddy Merckx (1972, 1975), Felice Gimondi (1974) and Giuseppe Saronni (1983)

– The only winners from outside of Europe are Australia’s Matthew Goss and Simon Gerrans

– Sean Kelly is the last Grand Tour champion victorious in Milan-Sanremo (1992)

– Throughout history, the maximum distance of the race has never exceeded 298 kilometers

– The last year to witness a winner from a daylong breakaway was 1982, when Marc Gomez was part of a 20-man escape

– Gino Bartali holds the record for the biggest time span between the first and last victory: 11 years

– Poggio was introduced on the course in 1960, when Gastone Nencini was the first rider at the top of the climb

– Highest average speed was recorded in 1990: 45,806 km/h

– 1954 is the year in which the race was shown live on television for the first time

– Biggest gap between first and second came in 1910, when Eugene Christophe got to the line 61 minutes ahead of Giovanni Cocchi

– Milan-Sanremo is the only Monument which hasn’t been won three years in a row by the same rider

2016 stats

– 25 teams (18 World Tour and 7 Pro Continental) will be at the start of the race

– Of these, Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec, Bora-Argon 18, CCC Sprandi Polkowice, Giant-Alpecin, Lampre-Merida and Novo Nordisk are winless this season

– 30 nations will have at least one cyclist in the peloton, with Italy providing the most riders, 60

– Youngest rider in the race is Daniel Martinez (19 years), while oldest one is Davide Rebellin (44 years)

– Four former winners will line-up at the start: Fabian Cancellara, Mark Cavendish, Alexander Kristoff and Filippo Pozzato

– Julen Amezqueta, Fernando Gaviria, Mirco Maestri, Gregor Mühlberger and Lorenzo Rota are the five neo-pros to make their debut in a Monument at “La Primavera”

– Of the riders at the start, Matteo Tossato has the most participations: 17, including the one of this year

– The peloton of Milan-Sanremo has won a combined total of 4 Grand Tours, 23 Monuments, 8 world titles (road race+individual time trial) and more than 160 Grand Tour stages

Tirreno-Adriatico Stats

Historical stats

– Dino Zandegu won the first edition of the race, which was called at tht time “The Three Days of the South” (1966)

– Roger De Vlaeminck has the most overall victories, six, between 1972 and 1977

– The Belgian is also the rider who got the most stage wins, 15

– Italy leads in the nations classification, with 24 triumphs, the last one being scored by Vincenzo Nibali, in 2013

– Nibali is the only cyclist who has won Tirreno-Adriatico and the Giro d’Italia in the same season

– Only one non-European rider took home Neptun’s Trident: Australia’s Cadel Evans, in 2012

– 1997 saw the longest edition, 1437 kilometers; the shortest one came in 1973, just 582 kilometers

– With one exception (1966), all the editions have finished in the same town, San Benedetto del Tronto

– In 2003, Filippo Pozzato became the youngest ever winner (21 years and 193 days); the oldest winner is Stefano Garzelli, 36 years and 252 days in 2010

– Spain’s Oscar Freire is the only world champion who finished first in the overall classification (2005)

– In two occasions, the first and the second rider in the GC came home in the same time (1966: Dino Zandegu – Vito Taccone; 2010: Stefano Garzelli-Michele Scarponi)

– Biggest gap between the winner and the cyclist who finished second was recorded in 1990, when 2:31 separated Tony Rominger and Zenon Jaskula

2016 stats

– 23 teams (18 World Tour and 5 Pro Continental) will be at the start of this year’s edition

– Of these, five are winless in 2016: Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec, Bora-Argon 18, CCC Sprandi Polkowice, Giant-Alpecin and Lampre-Merida

– The riders in Tirreno-Adriatico have won a combined total of 5 Grand Tours, 17 Monuments, 10 World Titles and more than 170 Grand Tour stages

– Five neo-pros will ride Tirreno-Adriatico, with the race acting as their first ever World Tour event: Søren Kragh Andersen, Fernando Gaviria, Gregor Mühlberger, Jaime Roson and Lorenzo Rota

– In 2016, 33 nations will be represented in the peloton, Italy being the one with the most cyclists at the startline, 49

– Youngest rider in the race is Bardiani’s Lorenzo Rota (20 years); oldest one is Davide Rebellin (44 years)

– The line-up of the 51st edition includes two former winners: Fabian Cancellara and Vincenzo Nibali