| Cycling monument | |
|---|---|
 First appeared in Ce soir newspaper by Albert Baker d'Isy | |
| Information | |
| Published: | 17 April 1949 |
| Origin: | France |
| Newspaper: | Ce soir |
| Author: | Albert Baker d'Isy |
| Race: | Paris–Roubaix |
| Article: | "monument" du cyclisme |
The Monuments are five classic cycle races generally considered to be the oldest, hardest, longest and most prestigious one-day events in men's road cycling, with distances between 240 and 300 km.[1][2][3]
They each have a long history and specific individual characteristics. They are currently the one-day races in which most points can be earned in the UCI World Tour and the only 3rd categorized UCI races, only behind Grand Tour races; Tour de France (1st category) and Giro and Vuelta (both 2nd category).
Eddy Merckx is by far the most successful monument rider with 19 wins in total. He is the only cyclist in history to win three monuments in one season, a feat he achieved in 1969, 1971, 1972 and 1975.
On 17 April 1949, at the day of 47th Paris–Roubaix race edition, the term monument appeared for the first time in road cycling sport. French sports journalist Albert Baker d'Isy, specialised in cycling, published an article titled Paris–Rubaix: "monument" du cyclisme in the French newspaper Ce soir.
The five monuments are:
Milan–San Remo – the first major Classic of the year, its Italian name is La Primavera (the spring), because it is held in late March, or "La Classicissima". First run in 1907, it is considered the sprinter's classic. This race is particularly long (ca. 300 km (190 mi)) though mostly flat along the Ligurian coast, enabling sprinters to compete, but almost every type of cyclist can try and win Milan-San Remo.
Tour of Flanders – the Ronde van Vlaanderen in Dutch, the first of the Cobbled classics, is raced every first Sunday of April. It was first held in 1913, making it the youngest of the five Monuments. Notable for the narrow short hills (hellingen) in the Flemish Ardennes, usually steep and cobbled, the route forces the best riders to continually fight for space at the front. The course changes slightly every year: since 2017 the race has started in Antwerp and since 2012 has finished in Oudenaarde.
Paris–Roubaix – the Queen of the Classics or l'Enfer du Nord ("The Hell of the North") is raced traditionally one week after the Tour of Flanders and is the last of the cobbled races. It was first organized in 1896. Its decisive sites are the many long sections of pavé (roads of cobblestones) making it the most unpleasant one-day race. It is considered by many to be the most heroic one-day cycling event of the year.[citation needed] The race finishes on the iconic Roubaix Velodrome. At the end of the race, riders are usually covered in dirt and mud in what is considered one of the most brutal tests of mental and physical endurance in all of cycling. Liège–Bastogne–Liège – held in late April. La Doyenne, the oldest Classic, is the last of the Ardennes classics and usually the last of the spring races. It was first organized in 1892 as an amateur event; a professional edition followed in 1894. It is a long and arduous race notable for its many sharp hills in the Ardennes, favouring climbers and even grand tour specialists. Giro di Lombardia – the Autumn Classic or the Race of the Falling Leaves, is held in October or late September. Initially organized as Milano–Milano in 1905, it was called the Giro di Lombardia (Tour of Lombardy) in 1907 and Il Lombardia in 2012. It is notable for its hilly and varied course around Lake Como. It is often won by climbers with a strong sprint finish, because it has a very difficult route, with many hills, especially near Como or Bergamo, like Madonna del Ghisallo, Civiglio or Valcava.
Only three riders have won all five monument races during their careers: Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck, all three Belgians, and only Eddy Merckx won each of them more than once.
Six riders won four different monuments. With multiple victories in all the other monuments, Sean Kelly almost joined the top group, finishing second in the Tour of Flanders on three occasions (1984, 1986 and 1987). Kelly is the only other rider, after Merckx, to win four different monuments on multiple occasions.
Dutch rider Hennie Kuiper won each monument except Liège–Bastogne–Liège, in which he finished second in 1980. Frenchman Louison Bobet also won all but Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Belgian rider Fred De Bruyne came close as well, finishing second in the Giro di Lombardia in 1955 and winning the other four races during his career. Germain Derycke also won four, all except the Giro di Lombardia. Philippe Gilbert is the most recent rider to win four different monuments, all except Milan–San Remo, in which he finished third twice.[4]
22 riders have won at least five monuments in their career.
Eddy Merckx also holds the record of most victories in a single Monument, winning Milan-San Remo seven times.[5]
| Rank | Cyclist | Nationality | First win |
Latest win |
M–S | ToF | P–R | L–B–L | GdL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eddy Merckx | Belgium
|
1966 | 1976 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 19 |
| 2 | Roger De Vlaeminck | Belgium
|
1970 | 1979 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| 3 | Costante Girardengo | Italy
|
1918 | 1928 | 6 | 3 | 9 | |||
| Fausto Coppi | Italy
|
1946 | 1954 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 9 | |||
| Sean Kelly |  Ireland
|
1983 | 1992 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 6 | Rik Van Looy | Belgium
|
1958 | 1965 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 7 | Gino Bartali | Italy
|
1939 | 1950 | 4 | 3 | 7 | |||
| Tom Boonen | Belgium
|
2005 | 2012 | 3 | 4 | 7 | ||||
| Fabian Cancellara |  Switzerland
|
2006 | 2014 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | |||
| 10 | Henri Pélissier | France
|
1911 | 1921 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| Alfredo Binda | Italy
|
1925 | 1931 | 2 | 4 | 6 | ||||
| Fred De Bruyne | Belgium
|
1956 | 1959 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| Francesco Moser | Italy
|
1975 | 1984 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | |||
| Moreno Argentin | Italy
|
1985 | 1991 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | |||
| Johan Museeuw | Belgium
|
1993 | 2002 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||||
| 16 | Gaetano Belloni | Italy
|
1915 | 1928 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |||
| Rik Van Steenbergen | Belgium
|
1944 | 1954 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |||
| Bernard Hinault | France
|
1977 | 1984 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |||
| Michele Bartoli | Italy
|
1996 | 2003 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |||
| Paolo Bettini | Italy
|
2000 | 2006 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |||
| Philippe Gilbert | Belgium
|
2009 | 2019 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| Tadej Pogačar |  Slovenia
|
2021 | 2023 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | |||
| 23 | Gaston Rebry | Belgium
|
1931 | 1935 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||
| Alfons Schepers | Belgium
|
1929 | 1935 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| Louison Bobet | France
|
1951 | 1956 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Germain Derycke | Belgium
|
1953 | 1958 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Felice Gimondi | Italy
|
1966 | 1974 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |||
| Walter Godefroot | Belgium
|
1967 | 1978 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||
| Hennie Kuiper |  Netherlands
|
1981 | 1985 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Jan Raas | Netherlands
|
1977 | 1983 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |||
| Erik Zabel |  Germany
|
1997 | 2001 | 4 | 4 | |||||
| Alejandro Valverde |  Spain
|
2006 | 2017 | 4 | 4 | |||||
| Mathieu van der Poel | Netherlands
|
2020 | 2023 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |||
| 34 | Léon Houa | Belgium
|
1892 | 1894 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Octave Lapize | France
|
1909 | 1911 | 3 | 3 | |||||
| René Vermandel | Belgium
|
1921 | 1924 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| Giovanni Brunero | Italy
|
1922 | 1924 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| Romain Gijssels | Belgium
|
1931 | 1932 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| Achiel Buysse | Belgium
|
1940 | 1943 | 3 | 3 | |||||
| Fiorenzo Magni | Italy
|
1949 | 1951 | 3 | 3 | |||||
| Jo de Roo | Netherlands
|
1962 | 1965 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| Emile Daems | Belgium
|
1960 | 1963 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||
| Tom Simpson |  United Kingdom
|
1961 | 1965 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||
| Eric Leman | Belgium
|
1970 | 1973 | 3 | 3 | |||||
| Andrei Tchmil |  Moldova/ Belgium
|
1994 | 2000 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||
| Andrea Tafi | Italy
|
1996 | 2002 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||
| Peter Van Petegem | Belgium
|
1999 | 2003 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| Oscar Freire | Spain
|
2004 | 2010 | 3 | 3 | |||||
| Damiano Cunego | Italy
|
2004 | 2008 | 3 | 3 | |||||
| Vincenzo Nibali | Italy
|
2015 | 2018 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Riders in blue are still active. Number of wins in gold indicates the current record holder(s).
| Rank | Nationality | M–S | ToF | P–R | L–B–L | GdL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgium
|
22 | 69 | 57 | 61 | 12 | 221 |
| 2 | Italy
|
51 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 69 | 157 |
| 3 | France
|
14 | 3 | 28 | 5 | 12 | 62 |
| 4 | Netherlands
|
4 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 32 |
| 5 |  Switzerland
|
2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 21 |
| 6 | Germany
|
7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13 |
| 7 | Ireland
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 11 |
| Spain
|
5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 11 | |
| 9 | Slovenia
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| 10 |  Australia
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
 Denmark
|
0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |
 Luxembourg
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | |
| 13 | Great Britain
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 14 |  Kazakhstan
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 15 |  Norway
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 Russia
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
 Slovakia
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 18 |  Colombia
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Lithuania
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Moldova
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 Poland
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 Sweden
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 United States
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Only Eddy Merckx has been able to win three monuments in a single year – and he did it four times:
|
| ||||||||||||
25 different riders (including Eddy Merckx) have managed to win two Monuments in the same year. The most common "double" consists of the two cobbled classics (Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix), which have been won by the same rider in the same year on 12 occasions. The Italian "double" (Milan–San Remo and Giro di Lombardia) has been achieved 11 times (including Merckx in 1971 and 1972). Only Merckx has won the combinations Milan–San Remo/Tour of Flanders and Tour of Flanders/Liège–Bastogne–Liège, when he won all three Monuments in 1969 and 1975.
Both Belgian 'monuments' – The Tour of Flanders and Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes – organise women's events on the same day and partly the same course as the men's events.[6] A women's version of Milan–San Remo, named Primavera Rosa, was initiated in 1999, but cancelled after 2005.[7] The first edition of Paris–Roubaix Femmes took place in October 2021, after the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 race was won by Lizzie Deignan,[8] who became the first women's rider to win a classic triple crown of the three existing monuments, having won 'Ronde van Vlaanderen' in 2016, and Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2020.
| Year | Milan–San Remo | Tour of Flanders | Paris–Roubaix Femmes | Liège–Bastogne–Liège | Giro di Lombardia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Sara Felloni (ITA)
|
Not contested | Not contested | Not contested | Not contested |
| 2000 | Diana Žiliūtė (LTU)
| ||||
| 2001 | Susanne Ljungskog (SWE)
| ||||
| 2002 | Mirjam Melchers-van Poppel (NED) (1/3)
| ||||
| 2003 | Zoulfia Zabirova (RUS) (1/3)
| ||||
| 2004 | Zoulfia Zabirova (RUS) (2/3)
|
Zoulfia Zabirova (RUS) (3/3)
| |||
| 2005 | Trixi Worrack (GER)
|
Mirjam Melchers-van Poppel (NED) (2/3)
| |||
| 2006 | Not contested | Mirjam Melchers-van Poppel (NED) (3/3)
| |||
| 2007 | Nicole Cooke (GBR)
| ||||
| 2008 | Judith Arndt (GER) (1/2)
| ||||
| 2009 | Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (GER)
| ||||
| 2010 | Grace Verbeke (BEL)
| ||||
| 2011 | Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) (1/4)
| ||||
| 2012 | Judith Arndt (GER) (2/2)
| ||||
| 2013 | Marianne Vos (NED)
| ||||
| 2014 | Ellen van Dijk (NED)
| ||||
| 2015 | Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) (1/2)
| ||||
| 2016 | Lizzie Armitstead (GBR) (1/3)
| ||||
| 2017 |  Coryn Rivera (USA)
|
Anna van der Breggen (NED) (1/3)
| |||
| 2018 | Anna van der Breggen (NED) (2/3)
|
Anna van der Breggen (NED) (3/3)
| |||
| 2019 | Marta Bastianelli (ITA)
|
Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) (2/4)
| |||
| 2020 | Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (NED)
|
Lizzie Deignan (GBR) (2/3)
| |||
| 2021 | Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) (3/4)
|
Lizzie Deignan (GBR) (3/3)
|
Demi Vollering (NED) (1/2)
| ||
| 2022 | Lotte Kopecky (BEL) (1/2)
|
Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) (2/2)
|
Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) (4/4)
| ||
| 2023 | Lotte Kopecky (BEL) (2/2)
|
 Alison Jackson (CAN)
|
Demi Vollering (NED) (2/2)
| ||
| Year | Milan–San Remo | Tour of Flanders | Paris–Roubaix | Liège–Bastogne–Liège | Giro di Lombardia |
| Rank | Cyclist | Nationality | M–S | ToF | P–R | L–B–L | GdL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annemiek van Vleuten | Netherlands |
0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | Zoulfia Zabirova | Russia |
2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Mirjam Melchers-van Poppel | Netherlands |
1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Anna van der Breggen | Netherlands |
0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| Lizzie Deignan | Great Britain |
0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 6 | Judith Arndt | Germany |
0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Lotte Kopecky | Belgium |
0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Elisa Longo Borghini | Italy |
0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Demi Vollering | Netherlands |
0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Rank | Nationality | M–S | ToF | P–R | L–B–L | GdL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands
|
1 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 15 |
| 2 | Germany
|
1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Great Britain
|
0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| Italy
|
1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 5 | Russia
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Belgium
|
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 7 | Canada
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lithuania
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Sweden
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| United States
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
