The cobbled classics are four

cycling classics The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar. Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most ...

held in March and April.

Cobblestone Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...

s, like mountainous terrain, are important elements in courses of

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

. Many

classic cycle races The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar. Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most ...

in northwestern Europe contain cobbled sections. The two

Monuments A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

of this race type are the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organi ...

and

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Monuments' or classics of the ...

, with over 20 cobbled sectors.

History

The first race with cobbled sections is

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, previously Omloop Het Volk, is a one-day road cycling race in Belgium, held annually in late February. It is the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, as well as the first race of the year in Northwestern Europe, and ...

, which traditionally opens the Belgian classics season, followed the next day by

Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne is an annual single-day road cycling race in Belgium. It is held one day after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, on the last Sunday of February or the first of March, and completes the opening weekend of the Belgian cycling season. ...

. Starting late March, the

Flemish Cycling Week The Flemish Cycling Week (Dutch:''Vlaamse Wielerweek'') or simply Flemish Week, is a series of five road cycling races held in Flanders in late March and early April. The series span in fact two weeks. It begins with Dwars door Vlaanderen (until ...

(''Vlaamse Wielerweek'') kicks off the most important period for cobbled cycling classics. Currently it features the

Dwars door Vlaanderen Dwars door Vlaanderen ''( en, Across Flanders)'' is a semi-classic road bicycle race in Belgium, held annually since 1945. The race starts in Roeselare and finishes in Waregem, both in West Flanders. Since 2017 the event is included in the UCI W ...

on Wednesday, the

E3 Harelbeke E3 Saxo Bank Classic, previously known as E3 BinckBank Classic, E3 Harelbeke, Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke and E3-Prijs Vlaanderen, is an annual road cycling race in Flanders, Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke, covering 203 kil ...

on Friday, and

Gent–Wevelgem Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic cycle races, classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late ...

on Sunday. During the following week, the stage-race Driedaagse van De Panne keeps the riders busy, concluding with the Monument

on Sunday. The

Scheldeprijs The Scheldeprijs is a cycling race in Flanders and the Netherlands which starts in Terneuzen, crosses the Scheldt River, and finishes in Schoten. Until 2018 it was held entirely in Belgium. The event, ranked as a 1.HC race on the UCI Europe Tour, ...

on the following Wednesday prepares the riders for the historical

(another Monument), which ends the cobbled classics. Among the cobbled cycling races, the three most historical are usually held on consecutive Sundays in March and April:

and

. Gent–Wevelgem has lost a lot of its historical status due to the relative easiness of the route. The

is considered to be harder and thus better preparation for the Ronde and Roubaix. In 2012, both races received equal status on the UCI World Tour. In 2017,

(the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, as well as the first race of the year in Northwestern Europe) and

became World Tour races. In 2012 Belgian rider

Tom Boonen Tom Boonen (; born 15 October 1980) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2017 for the and teams and a professional racing driver who currently competes in Belcar, having previously competed in ...

managed to win all four races in the same season, as the first and only rider to do so. In the 2010s, some of the races have been joined by equivalent races for women - Gent–Wevelgem for Women,

Tour of Flanders for Women The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), formerly the Tour of Flanders for Women ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen voor Vrouwen), is an annual road bicycle racing event in Flanders, Belgium, held in early April. It is held on the same day as t ...

and

Paris–Roubaix Femmes Paris–Roubaix Femmes is a one day women's bicycle race on cobbled roads (or pavé) in northern France, held annually in early April. It is part of the UCI Women's World Tour. The equivalent men's race is a cycling monument, and after the Tou ...

History

Winners since 1990

Statistics

Most cobbled classics wins per male rider

See also

References