What are the biggest one-day races aside from the Monuments/WCRR/Olympic Games?

[Panda Claws]

As the title says: in your view what are the other big one-day races?

It is easy to be biased towards smaller classics in your home country such as Dwars door Vlaanderen or Tre Valli Varesine.

In my opinion though there is a pretty clear 2nd Tier with five more races but I am unsure about the 3rd Tier:

2nd Tier (in no particular order)

• Gent-Wevelgem
• Amstel Gold Race
• Flèche Wallonne
• Strade Bianchi (lacks history but is unique and attracts strong fields)
• Clasica San Sebastian (benefits from being the premier Spanish classic)

3rd Tier (in no particular order)

• E3 Prijs (GW benefits from being a sprinters' dream classic, unlike E3 which is relegated to a warm-up race that nobody really cares about)
• GP Montréal (attracts decent fields)
• GP Québec (//)
• Vattenfall Cyclassics
• GP Plouay
• Giro dell'Emilia
• Girl del Piemonte
• Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (opening weekend vibes)
• Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne (//)

Honorable mentions:

• Tre Valli Varesine (to me it looks like the little brother of Giro del Piemonte and Giro dell'Emilia)
• Milano-Torino (//)
• Paris-Tours (faded hard)
• Dwars door Vlaanderen (close to 3rd tier but more of a warmup race)
• Scheldeprijs (just because it is a target for many)
• Brabantse Pijl

So in essence you would have Tier 1 (Monuments, WCRR, Olympics), Tier 2 (5 more classics), Tier 3 (9 more classics) and then a few races that are close to Tier 3.

What do you think? There are a few races I put in 3rd Tier that I feel I may be overrating. Is it even useful to have a third tier or would you just bundle everything below Tier 2 together?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I think we recently had a topic about this... No? Not sure anymore.

 

[Big Doopie]

Amstel Gold Race
Strade Bianchi
Clasica San Sebastián

In no particular order, but those three stand out for me. Particularly this year with Amstel bumping up the distance. The other two also often end with riders scattered everywhere and some really great names on the winner list.

Do not care much for either G-W or FW. I find FW finish on the Huy is just plain awful when repeated year in year out.

 

[dazaau]

I think strade is in it's own category after the monuments. Then the second tier classics as suggested in the posts above.

One way to order them would be to ask, if Wout has already won it once, would he gift it?

 

[Sciatic]

We did have this discussion sometime recently. I’m somewhat biased by how the late 1980s English-language media (Winning, Velonews) categorized them when I started following pro cycling

-Monuments & road world’s (Olympic RR wasn’t in equation since it was an amateur race)
-Classics: Gent, Flèche, Amstel, San Sebastián, Championships of Zurich, Paris-Tours
-Semi-classics: Het Volk, KBK, Brabante, whatever E3 was called back then, etc.

I don’t remember how the Canadian races and and fall Italian races fit in.

obviously, I don’t now rank Paris -Tours up with Amstel, but I think I give Gent more gravitas because of its former status.

 

[Izzyeviel]

Jaén Paraiso Interior is one that should becoming more famous over the years. Has potential.

 

[Gigs_98]

I find it funny how multiple people are writing "wasn't there a topic. Specifically for this discussion recently?" like there isn't a topic. Specifically for this discussion literally every other month.

It's also funny so many people are still discussing this despite the answer so obviously being:

1. AGR
2. GW
3. SB

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I find it funny how multiple people are writing "wasn't there a discussion about this recently?" like this isn't a discussion about this literally every other month.

It's also funny so many people are still discussing this despite the answer so obviously being:

1. AGR
2. GW
3. SB

A topic. Specifically for this discussion.

AGR has become a lot better in recent years, but for me that's too recent to put it right after the monuments. Shenanigans every year don't help the race.

 

[Gigs_98]

A topic. Specifically for this discussion.

Thanks, already fixed it.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Gran Piemonte on par with E3 and Omloop and above Dwars, BP and even Varesine is... an interesting take, to say the least.

For me, it's AGR, GW, SB, FW, E3 in tier 2 (in that order, but about as close to each other as the monuments are), think those races have the highest floor in terms of field quality and I also feel like there's more buzz around them than any of the other other one-day races that might be considered. What comes behind that fluctuates a lot. The inconsistency of the fields at Brabantse Pijl over just the last 5 years are exemplary for this - sometimes it's seemed pretty close to AGR, other times it's felt more like a random 1.1 than anything near tier 2.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

For me, it's AGR, GW, SB, FW, E3 in tier 2 (in that order, but about as close to each other as the monuments are), think those races have the highest floor in terms of field quality and I also feel like there's more buzz around them than any of the other other one-day races that might be considered.

If we take Pro Cycling Stats' "Startlist quality score" as a point of reference, you could easily put San Sebastian in this list. Of the past 10 winners, Tony Gallopin is the weakest. Others are Valverde, Yates, Evenepoel, Alaphilippe, Mollema...

 

[Devil's Elbow]

If we take Pro Cycling Stats' "Startlist quality score" as a point of reference, you could easily put San Sebastian in this list. Of the past 10 winners, Tony Gallopin is the weakest. Others are Valverde, Yates, Evenepoel, Alaphilippe, Mollema...

I think there's a fair case for San Sebastian in tier 2 - strong fields on paper, lots of big-name winners, biggest Spanish one-day race - and even though I don't agree myself, I would probably still have it as the first race in tier 3.

What puts it outside the list for me is mostly related to it coming so shortly after the Tour. It means that a lot of the top riders who start it do so with their form tailing off, meaning the field isn't as good in practice as it is on paper. Its position also means there just isn't as much excitement about the race because it's either a bonus or a consolation prize for everyone coming from the Tour (which is a bit of an issue when Evenepoel is the only winner in the last 15 years not to do the Tour beforehand). Kind of the opposite of E3, which is usually the first time the main cobbles guys fight it out, thereby elevating the levels of excitement, and its position relative to the monuments ensures all the big names are in good form too. For me, that makes for enough of a gap from E3 to San Sebastian to put the cutoff there.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I think there's a fair case for San Sebastian in tier 2 - strong fields on paper, lots of big-name winners, biggest Spanish one-day race - and even though I don't agree myself, I would probably still have it as the first race in tier 3.

What puts it outside the list for me is mostly related to it coming so shortly after the Tour. It means that a lot of the top riders who start it do so with their form tailing off, meaning the field isn't as good in practice as it is on paper. Its position also means there just isn't as much excitement about the race because it's either a bonus or a consolation prize for everyone coming from the Tour (which is a bit of an issue when Evenepoel is the only winner in the last 15 years not to do the Tour beforehand). Kind of the opposite of E3, which is usually the first time the main cobbles guys fight it out, thereby elevating the levels of excitement, and its position relative to the monuments ensures all the big names are in good form too. For me, that makes for enough of a gap from E3 to San Sebastian to put the cutoff there.

I understand and i actually agree somewhat about the placing on the calendar, however, (de)valuing its startlist based on that is trivial. Look at the past startlists of "big classics" or the guys who made the final... This year only Pogacar and Evenepoel are starting in Liège. No Van der Poel, Van Aert, Roglic or Vingegaard. Last year Van Aert was there, but no Pogacar. This year at GW we had Van Aert and Laporte winning, ahead of... Vanmarcke, Frison, Bjerg and Pedersen. Does that really paint the picture of a top tier classic? Of the "big 6" only Van Aert was at the start, and he didn't even care enough and gave the race away to his domestique.
So to hold that against San Sebastian imho is due to preference or bias, but does not really make sense. It's mainly a different field of competitors, and a different style of racing obviously. Anticipation for the season to start in March is obviously higher while San Sebastian comes right after the Tour and people might even like a bit of "time off" coming from 3 weeks of high intensity cycling (racing/watching).

 

[Big Doopie]

For me it’s the type of racing too.

FW should take note that both Amstel and LBL are much better again now when not finishing at the top of a climb.

 

[Pantani_lives]

I agree with tier1: Gent-Wevelgem, Flèche Wallonne, Amstel, Strade Bianche and San Sebastián.

Tier 2 is a harder, especially because races can gain or lose importance over time.
In Belgium Omloop and E3 are the next in line. In France Paris-Tours used to be big, but nowadays Plouay is more important. In Italy Emilia, Tre Valli Varesine and Milan-Turin have a long history with many big winners. In other countries Montreal, Québec and Frankfurt come to mind, but they don't have the history or list of winners of those Belgian and Italian races.

Seven out of the ten biggest classics are in Belgium or Italy. The former world cup was an attempt to spread it more evenly, but it was artificial and didn't last. It's a pity that the Züri Metzgete doesn't exist anymore.

 

[Netserk]

Particularly this year with Amstel bumping up the distance.

The race was 12 km shorter this year than in 2019.

The first edition of the race was 302 km. Most editions have been between 235 and 255 km.

 

[Panda Claws]

Gran Piemonte on par with E3 and Omloop and above Dwars, BP and even Varesine is... an interesting take, to say the least.

For me, it's AGR, GW, SB, FW, E3 in tier 2 (in that order, but about as close to each other as the monuments are), think those races have the highest floor in terms of field quality and I also feel like there's more buzz around them than any of the other other one-day races that might be considered. What comes behind that fluctuates a lot. The inconsistency of the fields at Brabantse Pijl over just the last 5 years are exemplary for this - sometimes it's seemed pretty close to AGR, other times it's felt more like a random 1.1 than anything near tier 2.

Yeah that was part of the reason I made this topic. I have no idea how the Italian autumn classics are viewed in relation with eachother.
I felt that Piemonte and Emillia were the most targeted ones which is also supported by stats like this (https://www.procyclingstats.com/statistics/races/palmares-ranking) but apparently Milano-Torino and Tre Valli Varesine are considered more relevant after all.

 

[Red Rick]

Would add Worlds ITT to Tier 1.

Would add Euro's to Tier 2.

Would put Strade on top of Tier 1.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Would drop Lombardia from monuments list.

Dead end of the calendar, not for classics riders. I haven't seen data, but strongly suspect that it doesn't garner nearly as much attention as the big 4.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

Would drop Lombardia from monuments list.

Dead end of the calendar, not for classics riders. I haven't seen data, but strongly suspect that it doesn't garner nearly as much attention as the big 4.

Although not this year with the anticipated Pog vs Remco showdown, I always feel LBL goes a bit under the radar probably because of the amount of hype that RVV and PR get.

 

[Squire]

The OP has clearly forgotten the Frankfurt classic, which is now also back on the WT. But even with it's relegation to 1.HC during most of the World Tour years, it has always been the premier German one-day race despite Hamburg's somewhat artificially elevated status from having been a WT race for years.

Had some very serious names on the list of winners before cycling's 'wilderness years' in Germany from the mid 00s onwards, and has quite a long history dating back to the early 60s. A bit of a shame that it has turned into more of a sprinter's race in recent years though.

 

[BR2]

Tier 1: Strade
Tier 2: Amstel, FW, San Sebastian
Tier 3: Omloop, GW, Brugge-de Panne, E3, Eschborn

 

[QueenStagiaire]

The OP has clearly forgotten the Frankfurt classic, which is now also back on the WT. But even with it's relegation to 1.HC during most of the World Tour years, it has always been the premier German one-day race despite Hamburg's somewhat artificially elevated status from having been a WT race for years.

Had some very serious names on the list of winners before cycling's 'wilderness years' in Germany from the mid 00s onwards, and has quite a long history dating back to the early 60s. A bit of a shame that it has turned into more of a sprinter's race in recent years though.

Frankfurt kind of falls off because it doesn‘t fit into the calendar of the hilly classics guys and climbers sandwiched between LBL and the Giro and because 1 May is not a holiday in most other countries. Also, they still have a run-in to the finish in Frankfurt that is on very wide roads. Therefore it‘s been a self-fulfilling prophecy sprinters race in years past. Let‘s hope we see a deviation from the standard script with the stair-stepped and long second Feldberg ascent this year.

To me the race is somewhere in Tier 3.

 

[Bolder]

Montréal was a damn good race last year ; GP Québec was nearly as good.

I'd rank both as high 3rd tier after monuments etc and a second tier of SB, Amstel and G-W. SS often strikes me as drawing a less than epic field, but I love the parcours.

Most of the 3rd tier races are highly participant dependant.

 

[Sciatic]

Would drop Lombardia from monuments list.

Dead end of the calendar, not for classics riders. I haven't seen data, but strongly suspect that it doesn't garner nearly as much attention as the big 4.

The nature of monuments is that you can’t really delist them unless they disappear. Even if tourists stopped visiting or taking pictures of the Washington Monument it will still be a monument until it’s torn down. The key element of monument is a nod to/commemoration of the past.

You could of course stop calling them all monuments and create a new category by which to classify the cache, status, importance, etc if given races.