Professional Road Cycling 2014
Professional Cycling 2014
The Top Races
The Top Riders
2014 Season Overview 
The professional road season begins in early February in southern Europe and runs through late October with races all over the world.
Events range from one-day classics to three-week grand tours.  Some of the more famous races are the one-day
classics of Paris-Roubaix in northern France, Tour de Flanders in the Belgian heartland, Milan-San Remo along
western coast of Italy, and the grand tours of France, Italy, and Spain.  Many people who are not cycling fans
will have heard of the Tour de France, one of the largest sporting spectacles on earth. 
Professional cycling is governed by the Union Cyclist Internationale ( insert this link here "http://www.uci.ch">UCI) based in Aigle, Switzerland.
The Top Races
(insert image 1 here src="images/image1.jpg" width="75" height="100" alternative text should be "Stage 10 - Tour de France 2013" )
Arguably the biggest race of the year is the Tour de France which is held during July.
Some riders specialize their riding style to do well in the grand tours, while other riders
will specialize in the one-day classics and shorter stage races.  The Tour de France typically 
has between 20 and 22 stages, usually one stage each day.  The winner is determined by the lowest
overall cumulative time over all stages.  Stages include special stages run individually against the clock
called time trials, but most stages are massed-start events with all riders covering the same course
together.  The Tour de France allows teams of 9 riders and typically between 18 and 22 teams are invited
to compete in the event.
The Top Riders 
(insert image 2 here src="images/image2.jpg" width="100" height="75" alternative text should be "Philippe Gilbert former world champion") 
Riders acquire UCI points throughout the year based upon their finishing position in the various
races held around the world.  The leader on points in any World Tour event wears a special jersey
that signifies their leadership position.  However, each year, the UCI also hosts the world championship
event where the world champion is determined based on the winner of a single day event.  For professional
riders this event is normally around 150-165 miles long.  This past year, Rui Costa of Portugal won the
event to be crowned the 2013 World Champion.  He will wear a special rainbow jersey until the world championship
event next year, where he will attempt to defend his title.
Other top riders in 2013 were Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, Tom Boonen of Belgium, and Chris Froome of 
Great Britan.
Bikes of the Professionals
Professional riders use specific bikes for specific events.  Time trial bikes being the 
most specialized with highly aerodynamic builds and disk wheels often used on the rear wheel.
Bikes built for climbing are extremely lightweight while bikes built for sprinting or rougher
roads are somewhat heavier.  A standard professional bike weighs between 14 and 18 pounds.
Today most bike frames are made from carbon fiber as are many of the components and wheels.
Typical cost is between $6000 and $20,000 USD per bike.  Some of the top bike builders are:
Colnago (Italy)
Ridley (Belgium)
BMC (Switzerland)
Trek (USA)		
Bianchi (Italy)
Copyright 2014