The 6th greatest classics.

[Netserk]

Otherwise one could mention some 'lesser' Roubaix winners...

 

[El Pistolero]

Re:

Otherwise one could mention some 'lesser' Roubaix winners...

Yeah, Roubaix is the most likely Monument where a breakaway can survive, hence some lesser winners.

But those guys I mentioned won Milan-San Remo from the favorites group.

 

[Valv.Piti]

When was Hayman caught in Roubaix last year? That was more than 'just' a breakaway victory.

 

[StryderHells]

Re: Re:

There's a persistent confusion on this thread between what people think should be prestigious and what is actually prestigious. Prestige isn't as an assessment of how much fun a race is, or how unusual. It's about how the peloton understands it's importance and behaves towards the race. As such there are only three contenders on this list: FW, AGR, GW. None of the rest belong in the discussion at all, even though Strade is arguably the best race.

For exactly the same reason Lombardia is the least prestigious monument, even though it's usually a better race than MSR or LBL.

Nah, Milan-San Remo easily has the worst winners of all the Monuments.

Ciolek, Goss, Cavendish, Demare, etc.

Goss was quality at that time and in good form, he also won a P-N stage, 2nd on a Tour stage and 2nd at the Worlds in 2011, he also did have the talent but went off the boil once he got the big paycheck at GreenEdge. Demare is a rider on the rise and by the time his career is over will have won many a good race, Ciolek is Ciolek but look at any monument and you'll see a winner who is a lesser light. I have no idea why you listed Cavendish, he is one of the best sprinters of the modern era and most certainly a worthy winner of a monument.

 

[StryderHells]

Re:

When was Hayman caught in Roubaix last year? That was more than 'just' a breakaway victory.

From memory the Hayman group was caught between 70-60 k's to go, it was most certainly more than a breakaway victory as he was working once Boonen and Co caught them and was shouldered out by Stannard at the start of the Le Carrefour de l’Arbre and dropped but made it back on by the start of the next sector. So you are right that it was way more than a breakaway victory

 

[El Pistolero]

Re: Re:

There's a persistent confusion on this thread between what people think should be prestigious and what is actually prestigious. Prestige isn't as an assessment of how much fun a race is, or how unusual. It's about how the peloton understands it's importance and behaves towards the race. As such there are only three contenders on this list: FW, AGR, GW. None of the rest belong in the discussion at all, even though Strade is arguably the best race.

For exactly the same reason Lombardia is the least prestigious monument, even though it's usually a better race than MSR or LBL.

Nah, Milan-San Remo easily has the worst winners of all the Monuments.

Ciolek, Goss, Cavendish, Demare, etc.

Goss was quality at that time and in good form, he also won a P-N stage, 2nd on a Tour stage and 2nd at the Worlds in 2011, he also did have the talent but went off the boil once he got the big paycheck at GreenEdge. Demare is a rider on the rise and by the time his career is over will have won many a good race, Ciolek is Ciolek but look at any monument and you'll see a winner who is a lesser light. I have no idea why you listed Cavendish, he is one of the best sprinters of the modern era and most certainly a worthy winner of a monument.

Best sprinter, but crappy rider for the classics. That's why I listed him. Milan-San Remo is a classic, not a flat Tour stage.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

The 6th Monument is the World Championships Road Race.

 

[El Pistolero]

Re:

The 6th Monument is the World Championships Road Race.

That's a championship, not a classic. And the Olympic Road Race is more important.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Re: Re:

The 6th Monument is the World Championships Road Race.

That's a championship, not a classic. And the Olympic Road Race is more important.

To the first point, it depends on the context we're using. It's in the top 6 most important annual one-day bike races, and more important than any of the races we're discussing in this thread.

To the second point, no it isn't.

 

[Mr.White]

Re: Re:

The 6th Monument is the World Championships Road Race.

That's a championship, not a classic. And the Olympic Road Race is more important.

To the first point, it depends on the context we're using. It's in the top 6 most important annual one-day bike races, and more important than any of the races we're discussing in this thread.

To the second point, no it isn't.

Agree on both points

 

[GraftPunk]

There's no way an Olympic is better than a WC. (Vino saw to that)

 

[El Pistolero]

Re: Re:

The 6th Monument is the World Championships Road Race.

That's a championship, not a classic. And the Olympic Road Race is more important.

To the first point, it depends on the context we're using. It's in the top 6 most important annual one-day bike races, and more important than any of the races we're discussing in this thread.

To the second point, no it isn't.

Never heard a rider say they'd rather win the WC over the Olympics. I've heard plenty of riders say the opposite.

Classic bike races have iconic routes, the WC route changes every year, so it can't be a classic.

 

[swuzzlebubble]

Five pages in and no one's mentioned the Peoples Choice Classic?
Maybe it needs to move to April?

 

[Jspear]

Re:

Five pages in and no one's mentioned the Peoples Choice Classic?
Maybe it needs to move to April?

I couldn't even remember what race that was for a minute.

 

[42x16ss]

Re:

If we're talking about the 6th monument, it simply has to be Strade, because it's completely different to the rest of the monuments.

The rest of the monuments are a full century older as well. Out of the races being discussed, Amstel is the second youngest and has still been a professional race for 40 years longer than Strade Bianche.

A few years of good racing and spectacular scenery doesn't automatically make a race worthy of monument status.

 

[SafeBet]

Unbelievable how Strade Bianche cemented itself as one of the most prestigious races around in just 10 years.
I would honestly never vote for it as the 6th greatest classic in the calendar. It lacks distance and history.
Gent Wevelgem gets my vote, and I don't think it's even close.

 

[Echoes]

Re:

The 6th Monument is the World Championships Road Race.

It depends on the route. Doha should probably be the 30th most important single-day race of the calendar. Mendrisio may have been the second or third one.

 

[dlwssonic]

Re: Re:

The 6th Monument is the World Championships Road Race.

It depends on the route. Doha should probably be the 30th most important single-day race of the calendar. Mendrisio may have been the second or third one.

The race started at *** 170km. How many races can say that. And everyone was dead exhausted after it.

 

[loge1884]

Re:

The 6th Monument is the World Championships Road Race.

I would rate a World's (Road Race only) win slightly higher than a monument (and so would perhaps most, if not all, of the riders not emanating from Belgium ...) ...
And (to another poster) no, it does not depend on the route ... a win in Copenhagen or Doha is in principle of exactly same worth as is a race in Mendrisio or Sallanches and gives you the opportunity to wear the rainbow jersey for the most part of next season ... what might make the win more memorable is the race itself (not the parcours), being it the weather conditions, the fierce opposition, a 50k + break to win and so on -- however, this applies to any other race as well (e.g. L-B-L 1980 being a legend on it's own) ....

I would rate Olympic Gold higher than a World's in ITT for sure, but regarding road race I would guess they are on par ...

 

[SKSemtex]

Re: Re:

The 6th Monument is the World Championships Road Race.

It depends on the route. Doha should probably be the 30th most important single-day race of the calendar. Mendrisio may have been the second or third one.

This is such a BS. The route difficulty has nothing to do with importance of the race.
Ask Froome, Quintana which of the race is easier to win. Doha or Mendriso?
I am sure you would talk exact opposite if GWA won that race last year against 15 top sprinters who were all present.
I wonder what is your opinion on OGRR Lodon. For me "legendary".

 

[Mr.White]

Re: Re:

The 6th Monument is the World Championships Road Race.

I would rate a World's (Road Race only) win slightly higher than a monument (and so would perhaps most, if not all, of the riders not emanating from Belgium ...) ...
And (to another poster) no, it does not depend on the route ... a win in Copenhagen or Doha is in principle of exactly same worth as is a race in Mendrisio or Sallanches and gives you the opportunity to wear the rainbow jersey for the most part of next season ... what might make the win more memorable is the race itself (not the parcours), being it the weather conditions, the fierce opposition, a 50k + break to win and so on -- however, this applies to any other race as well (e.g. L-B-L 1980 being a legend on it's own) ....

I would rate Olympic Gold higher than a World's in ITT for sure, but regarding road race I would guess they are on par ...

Exactly what I was going to post. Totally agree

 

[Hugo Koblet]

I definitely agree that the route doesn't matter. A Worlds title is a Worlds title. I do not agree with those who think that the Worlds is on par with the Olympics, though.

 

[Gigs_98]

I think the Olympics and the WC are simply not comparable. For a cycling fan a WC title might be more important but I'm 100% sure that if an Austrian won an Olympic Gold medal in the WC RR he would get way more attention than a WC. I think for the average Austrian sports fan even an Olympic ITT title would be worth more than a win in the WC RR.

I also think that the route of a WC has nothing to do with its prestige. If it would be important how exciting a race is the importance of monuments would also vary from year to year. Is Chaves Lombardia win worth more than Dan Martins because the race took place on a better route? I really don't think so. Both have won Il Lombardia and thats all that matters.
Besides, I don't get the hate for the RR in Doha. Yeah it wasn't exactly great, but still way better than races like Copenhagen. How the race exploded with about 100 km to go was really exciting and it wasn't clear that the front group would make it to the end for quite some time.

 

[Netserk]

The Olympics is rarer; the Worlds has more history. So I think the Olympics is on an upwards trajectory.

Would Ullrich have preferred the stripes over his gold? I obviously cannot know, but I would think so. Maybe the same is the case for Vino?

 

[Echoes]

A race that favours a bunch sprints which means a winner who's kept wheelsucking for hundreds of kilometers before blowing up with 200m can never be a a great race in any way. In Doha there was not a single climb. Just a small windy part 170km for finish but after that all top favourites could hide comfortably in the peloton, Naesen, Keukeleire and Stuyven had to do all the dirty job. That is crap in anyone's book. Whether prestigious or not. Besides the "prestige" of the World championship has been largely tainted since Zolder 2002 with all these crap routes (Madrid, Copenhagen, Geelong, Richmond, Doha).

And stop all these trials of intent. I've always had the same opinion about bunch sprints since long before Van Avermaet turned pro and irrespective of whether a rider I like wins or not. I've always been coherent. Rodez is one of Greg's worst wins in his career.