La Méditerranéenne, previously known as Tour Méditerranéen, is a professional

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional sport, professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and ...

event held in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, close to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

side. Run over four days, it holds a 2.1 rating on the

UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

. The event is part of a series of stage races being held in the south of France in February, alongside the

Étoile de Bessèges The Étoile de Bessèges () is an early-season five-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually around Bessèges, in the Gard department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. First organized in 1971 as a one-day race, it became a ...

, the

Tour du Haut Var The Tour du Haut Var ( en, Tour of the Haut Var) is an early-season two-day road bicycle race in the Var department region in the south of France. Until 2008 it was run as a one-day race, part of the UCI Europe Tour. In 2009, the race transformed ...

and the

Tour La Provence The Tour de la Provence is an early-season bicycle stage race in the Provence region of France. It is organized by southern French newspaper La Provence, which serves as the race's title sponsor for its first three years. It is held in February, ...

. These early-season races are competed mainly by French teams and are considered preparations for

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlookin ...

, the first European World Tour event in March.

History

The ''Tour Méditerranéen'' ''("Tour of the Mediterranean Sea")'' was created by former

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

winner

Lucien Aimar Lucien Aimar (; born 28 April 1941) is a French cyclist, who won the Tour de France in 1966 and the national road championship in 1968. He is now a race organizer. He was born in Hyères, France. Amateur career Lucien Aimar came second in the T ...

in 1974. The event was named ''Trophée Méditerranéen'' for its first four editions. Run in February, the five-day

stage race A race stage, leg, or heat is a unit of a race that has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-day event. Usually, such a race consists of "ordinary" stages, but sometimes stages ...

was won by several eminent riders, including

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victorie ...

Gianni Bugno Gianni Bugno (; born 14 February 1964) is a retired Italian professional road racing cyclist. Biography Bugno was a versatile rider, able to do well in different types of races. He won numerous stages in the Tour de France, and the Milan–S ...

Tony Rominger Tony Rominger (born 27 March 1961 in Vejle, Denmark) is a Swiss former professional road racing cyclist who won the Vuelta a España in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and the Giro d'Italia in 1995. He began cycling late, allegedly spurred by competition wi ...

Laurent Jalabert Laurent Jalabert (born 30 November 1968) is a French former professional road racing cyclist, from 1989 to 2002. Affectionately known as ''"Jaja"'' (slang for a glass of wine; when he continued drinking wine as a professional, the nickname stuck ...

and

Paolo Bettini Paolo Bettini (born 1 April 1974 in Cecina, Tuscany, Cecina, Province of Livorno, Livorno, Tuscany) is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the former coach of the Italian national cycling team. Considered the best classic cycle ra ...

Gerrie Knetemann Gerard Friedrich "Gerrie" Knetemann (6 March 1951 in Amsterdam – 2 November 2004 in Bergen, North Holland) was a Dutch road bicycle racer who won the 1978 World Championship. He wore the Yellow Jersey early in each Tour de France for four ...

holds the record with three victories. In 2012 licensing problems between the organizers and the

French Cycling Federation The Fédération Française de Cyclisme (''FFC'') or French Cycling Federation is the national governing body of cycle racing in France. The FFC is a member of the UCI and the UEC. In February 2009, David Lappartient was elected for a four-ye ...

emerged, nearly spelling the cancellation of the event before a deal was ultimately reached. Financial difficulties led to the discontinuation of the race in 2015 after organizers failed to pay debts from the previous edition. In 2016 the race was revived as ''La Méditerranéenne'' and scaled back to four days. The rejuvenated edition was won by Ukrainian

Andriy Hrivko Andriy Askoldovich Hrivko ( uk, Андрій Аскольдович Грівко, also transliterated Hryvko or Grivko, born 7 August 1983) is a Ukrainian former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2018. Since retiring fro ...

Route

From 1974 until 2014 the race was held in the southern French region of

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...

, but also occasionally featured stages in

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

, Italy. Traditionally, a summit finish on the

Mont Faron Mont Faron is a mountain overlooking the city and roadstead of Toulon, France. It is 584m high. At its peak is a memorial dedicated to the 1944 Allied landings in Provence (Operation Dragoon), and to the liberation of Toulon. The top can be rea ...

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

was staged every year. As from 2016, the re-invented ''La Méditerranéenne'' is contested over four days. The 2016 edition spanned three countries, starting with a

team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ( ...

Banyoles Banyoles () is a city of 20,168 inhabitants (2021) located in the province of Girona in northeastern Catalonia, Spain. The town is the capital of the Catalan Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' "Pla de l'Estany". Although an established indust ...

, Spain, before heading into France for two stages close to the

Mediterranean coast The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the eas ...

. The final stage started and finished in

Bordighera Bordighera (; lij, A Bordighea, locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Imperia, Liguria (Italy). Geography Bordighera is located from the land border between Italy and France, and it is possible to see the French coast with a nak ...

, on the

Italian riviera The Italian Riviera or Ligurian Riviera ( it, Riviera ligure; lij, Rivêa lìgure) is the narrow coastal strip in Italy which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines. Longitudinall ...

Winners

Tour Méditerranéen

La Méditerranéenne

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Méditerranéenne, La UCI Europe Tour races Cycle races in France Mediterranean Recurring sporting events established in 1974 1974 establishments in France 2016 disestablishments in France Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2016 Defunct cycling races in France