Born Bike Tours Barcelona takes you on a tour of the 10 biggest cycling events in the world

The Tour de France

The Tour de France is a cycling competition that first saw the light of day in 1903 and is played out in several men’s stages across France. The race passes through a number of different towns and sometimes even neighbouring countries. For example: the Tour de France 2026 starts in Barcelona! The Tour de France takes place every year. It is made up of 176 cyclists divided into 22 teams of 8 who line up at the start. The Tour de France is known the world over and is televised in 190 countries.

The Giro d'Italia

The Giro d’Italia, also known as the Giro d’Italia, is a cycling competition that first saw the light of day in 1909. Like the Tour de France, it is a cycling competition made up of various stages across Italy. It is considered to be the second most important cycling competition after the Tour de France. To date, 17 nations have taken part in the Giro d’Italia.

The Vuelta a España

The Vuelta a España, also known as the Tour of Spain, is a cycling competition that first saw the light of day in 1935. It is the third most important cycling event in the world. It is a three-week competition, held in the spring until 1994 and then at the end of August from 1995. This change of period was made so that the race would be held further apart in the year from the Giro d’Italia. Although the route varies with each edition, the race is made up of around twenty stages totalling some 3,000 km, several time trials, a crossing of the Pyrenees and the traditional finish in the streets of Madrid. Around twenty teams take part in the Tour of Spain.

The Paris-Roubaix race

Paris-Roubaix, also known as “The North’s Hell”, is one of the oldest cycle races, having been created in 1896. This Flemish classic is contested every year in March or April. The Paris-Roubaix race covers 259.7 kilometres and features 175 cyclists from 60 different countries.

Tour of Flanders

The Tour of Flanders, also known as “De Ronde”, was created in 1913 on the idea of Léon van den Haute. It is a cycling road race that takes place every year in Belgium. Reserved for professionals, the event takes place at the beginning of April in Flanders and has been one of the most important Flanders classics for many years. The Tour of Flanders features a total of around 175 cyclists from many different countries.

The Cape Epic

The Cape Epic was created in 2014. It is a two-person mountain bike race that takes place every year in South Africa. The race has been accredited by the International Cycling Union. Teams must race together throughout the 8-day competition, which covers almost 700 kilometres. The special feature of this race is that it is also open to fans. Fans are entered into a draw to win a place.

The Quebrantahuesos

The Quebrantahuesos International Cycling Tour is an international amateur cycling event. It starts and finishes in Sabiñáni, Spain. The Quebrantahuesos can accommodate up to 9,000 participants. The event also has a little sister, the Treparriscos, which can accommodate up to 2,500 participants. Both races are benchmarks in Europe and Spain. The race is open to amateurs and former professionals alike, with or without a licence, as it is not an official event.

L'Étape du tour

The Tour Stage is a race that allows amateur cyclists to experience a stage of the Tour de France. This stage is based on the actual route taken by the riders of the French event. This event attracts participants of all levels who want to test their endurance on the legendary roads of the Tour de France. The Tour stage covers 138km of road, with a cumulative climb of over 4,600 metres. The event can accommodate between 10,000 and 20,000 amateur cyclists ready for a unique experience.

The Down Under Tour

The Tour Down Under is an international professional cycling race held in Australia. Organised for the first time in 1999, since 2008 it has been the first round on the calendar of the UCI ProTour, now the World Tour. There are 20 teams, including 18 top division teams and the top 2 teams in the 2nd division are automatically invited to take part in this 679.4-kilometre tour of Australia.

The World Naked Bike Ride

The World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) is an international event. The first edition took place in Spain in 2001. It is an international bike ride in which participants plan, meet and ride together en masse on human-powered means of transport, in order to “deliver a vision of a cleaner, safer and more body-positive world”. The World Naked Bike Ride is a race that can be done by bike, on foot, and so on. Surprisingly, the ride can also be done without clothes.