Cycling monument

The Monuments are five classic cycle races generally considered to be the oldest, hardest, longest and most prestigious one-day events in men's road cycling, with distances between 240 and 300 km.
They each have a long history and specific individual characteristics. They are currently the one-day races in which most points can be earned in the UCI World Tour and the only 3rd categorized UCI races, only behind Grand Tour races; Tour de France (1st category) and Giro and Vuelta (both 2nd category). As of 2025, four of the five monuments hold women's races as part of the UCI Women's World Tour – with only Giro di Lombardia not having a women's race.
Eddy Merckx is by far the most successful monument rider with 19 wins in total. He is the only cyclist in history to win three monuments in one season, a feat he achieved in 1969, 1971, 1972 and 1975.
The expression "cycling monument" has been used since the early days of cycle racing. In 1904, Henri Desgrange wrote in L'Auto that "The "Tour de France" is over and its second edition will, I fear, have also been the last. […] And yet, it seemed to us and it still seems to us that we had built with this great event the most lasting and most imposing monument to the sport of cycling".
In 1949, French sports journalist Albert Baker d'Isy wrote about the 47th edition of the Paris–Roubaix race, titling his article in the French newspaper Ce soir "Paris–Roubaix: "monument" du cyclisme". The term was used again by journalist Jacques Goddet in 1950, writing about Fausto Coppi's victory at Paris–Roubaix – "Monument of international cycling, Paris-Roubaix crushed the riders with its legend as well as its diabolical difficulties".
The term began being used more by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and cycling media at the end of the 20th century, with the term designating the five most prestigious classic cycle races, namely Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Giro di Lombardia.
Since 2010, the races are considered by the Union Cycliste Internationale to be more prestigious than other one-day races that are raced by the professional peloton, with only the Grand Tour stage races gaining more ranking points for the winner.
In 2017, L'Équipe wrote that the five monuments were "the oldest one-day races, the most famous, the most unique" and that they had "prestigious entry fields" of champion riders.
The five monuments are:
Media and riders have discussed whether other classic cycling races meet the criteria of a cycling monument. By the 2020s, Strade Bianche – an Italian one-day race first held in 2007, defined by its use of white gravel roads – was considered to be the most likely candidate, with Cycling News stating in 2025 that "there is no longer any debate that Strade Bianche is cycling's sixth Monument". However, others have criticised that Strade Bianche does not have the length or longevity to be titled a monument, and rider Philippe Gilbert noted that Clásica de San Sebastián and Amstel Gold Race were more important historically.
In the women's tour, media have suggested that Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio (the oldest one-day race on the women's calendar) and Strade Bianche Donne may be worthy of the "monument" moniker.
Only three riders have won all five monument races during their careers: Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck, all three Belgians, and only Eddy Merckx won each of them more than once.
Six riders won four different monuments. With multiple victories in all the other monuments, Sean Kelly almost joined the top group, finishing second in the Tour of Flanders on three occasions (1984, 1986 and 1987). Kelly is the only other rider, after Merckx, to win four different monuments on multiple occasions.
Dutch rider Hennie Kuiper won each monument except Liège–Bastogne–Liège, in which he finished second in 1980. Frenchman Louison Bobet also won all but Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Belgian rider Fred De Bruyne came close as well, finishing second in the Giro di Lombardia in 1955 and winning the other four races during his career. Germain Derycke also won four, all except the Giro di Lombardia. Philippe Gilbert is the most recent rider to win four different monuments, all except Milan–San Remo, in which he finished third twice.
23 riders have won at least five monuments in their career.
Eddy Merckx also holds the record of most victories in a single Monument, winning Milan-San Remo seven times.
Riders in blue are still active. Riders in green have won all five monuments. Number of wins in gold indicates the current record holder(s).
Only Eddy Merckx has been able to win three monuments in a single year – and he did it four times:
26 different riders (including Eddy Merckx) have managed to win two Monuments in the same year. The most common "double" consists of the two cobbled classics (Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix), which have been won by the same rider in the same year on 13 occasions. The Italian "double" (Milan–San Remo and Giro di Lombardia) has been achieved 11 times (including Merckx in 1971 and 1972). Only Merckx has won the combinations Milan–San Remo/Tour of Flanders and Tour of Flanders/Liège–Bastogne–Liège, when he won all three Monuments in 1969 and 1975. Only twice have two riders (Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel) won two Monuments each in the same year (2023 and 2024).
Unlike the men's events, the women's editions do not have a higher points status above other one-day races. Media have therefore discussed other races that may be worthy of the "monument" moniker, including Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio (the oldest one-day race on the women's calendar) and Strade Bianche Donne.
As of 2025, four of the five monuments hold women's races as part of the UCI Women's World Tour. Since 2017, at least two monuments have had women's races in each calendar year. As of 2025, Giro di Lombardia is the only monument without an equivalent race for women.
In 2021, British rider Lizzie Deignan became the first women's rider to win more than two of the monuments, having won 2016 Tour of Flanders for Women, 2020 Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes and 2021 Paris–Roubaix Femmes. Two riders have won two monuments in one year – Zulfiya Zabirova in 2004 and Anna van der Breggen in 2018.