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What is a one-day race in cycling?
A one-day race is a road race decided in a single day, from start to finish line, with no overall classification over several days.
One-day races are the oldest form of road racing. The biggest of them, the Classics, have been held for more than a century and are among the most prestigious wins in the sport. The five most important are known as the Monuments.
One-day races reward a different set of skills from stage races. There is no tomorrow to recover time, so riders take more risks. Races are usually long, often 200 to 300 kilometres, and many are decided by positioning on cobbles, short climbs or narrow roads as much as by pure strength.
Classics specialists build their whole season around a few target races, often the cobbled races of Belgium and northern France in the spring, or the hilly Ardennes Classics. Others target the autumn races in Italy.
The World Championships road race is also a one-day race, ridden in national teams rather than trade teams. Our race pages cover one-day races on the WorldTour and ProSeries calendars, with winners and prize money where published.