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Tour de France Vs Pro Cycling Manager – Which is the best cycling game?

We’re super keen cyclists. We’ve got the bikes, the lycra, the energy gels and the Strava account. We’re even slowly continuing to roll up to Level 50 on Zwift, and whilst we may not have maxed out yet, we have ridden the Alpe in under an hour, so get us. 

We like to think we know a bit about cycling, as well as video games. And that puts us in as good a place as any to measure up the latest cycling games that are on the market. So here we are, pitting Tour de France 2022 up against Pro Cycling Manager 2022 . Which is the best cycling game?

Tour de France 2022 is Cyanide Studios and Nacon’s attempt at taking the finest bike race of them all, the grandest of Grand Tours, to the virtual world. Having delivered an annual option for a decade, it’s the Tour de France game that is your best bet should you be looking to jump aboard a bike and throw yourself down the nearest mountain. Of course, you’ll need to climb it first. 

Tour de France 2022 covers the same route that the pro peloton will be covering across the twenty-one days over which the Tour de France 2022 is taking place. A Career mode will allow you the chance to start off in Denmark, to flirt with Belgium, to hit some cobbles and to traverse the lands of France on the finest two wheels.

But it adds more and a number of other multiple day races are in place, alongside some of the best Classics – Paris–Roubaix and Liège–Bastogne–Liège are two highlights but there are plenty more. 

Further to that is a new Race of the Moment mode which puts you in some time limited competition every so often, given the opportunity to showcase your bike handling skills to the rest of the globe. 

There’s more and in the form of Pro Team and Pro Leader, you’ll be able to delve into the finer details of a bike race, as you attempt to either take your rider from the bottom to the top, or do similar with a full team. 

As a cycling game goes, Tour de France 2022 has a lot of content, but as our full review states, it rarely knows how to use it. Poor visuals and the same old presence as in years gone by see it get dropped at the first sign of any incline.  

And then we have Pro Cycling Manager 2022 – a game which is restricted to the PC landscape, probably for good reason too. It’s a game that comes out of the exact same studio and publishing team as Tour de France, but goes for an even more in-depth, tactical take on bike racing. Or at least it should be, because in reality it feels completely soulless. 

As primarily console players who only really dabble in the land of PC, Pro Cycling Manager 2022 is about as ‘PC’ orientated as you’re going to get. Expect menus, a few more menus and then throw some more menus on top. In fact, once you think you’re done with menus, further ones come up and smack you around the face. If you like that kind of thing, good on you, fill your boots. For us, there’s far too much detail and not enough of the proper action to allow us the chance to really get on board. 

Look away from those though and Pro Cycling Manager 2022 covers both single player and multiplayer bases. Let’s put it out there now and say it’s a real struggle to find any form of match-up in the multiplayer scene – a serious lack of players is the cause. 

Single player is better, obviously, and this will have you working your directeur sportif skills through a range of race options. There’s the Career which lets you work over several seasons in hope of taking the team you control to the upper echelons of the sport, whilst Pro Cyclists prefers to focus on just the one rider, going from neo-pro to a Grand Tour winner. 

There is also the chance to partake in one-off races too, shortening the amount of time you need to pore over those stats. 

And stat poring is what Pro Cycling Manager 2022 is mostly concerned with. In fact, this is as deep as you could imagine, and whilst not as database filled as you’d find in Football Manager 2022 , as a cycling nerd, it’ll more than cover the bases. You’ll find near on every detail you need in regards the riders in the pro peloton and beyond, amends to wheels that are used and the like. It’s all very in-depth, but ultimately just for show as Pro Cycling Manager 2022 fails to ever ignite the fire in the legs. 

It also comes with a Track mode, moving away from the open world of bike racing and taking things to the velodrome. It’s here where you’ll be able to compete in the likes of the Keirin, Omnium, sprint races and more. It’s probably the best of the modes that are on offer if you ask us. 

So, back to the question, Tour de France 2022 vs Pro Cycling Manager 2022 – which is the best cycling game and which should you buy? Well, there’s no doubt that for stat fans, it’s Pro Cycling Manager which wins the day. It’s super deep in terms of numbers and gives you the chance to run a pro team as you see fit. But honestly, it feels like the fun has not just been removed, but banned from ever returning. Oh, and you can only play it on PC – there are no console ports of Pro Cycling Manager. 

It’s here where Tour de France 2022 comes in. Whilst we still hate the fact that Nacon and Cyanide are reusing old assets that have been sat in their media library for years, and whilst nothing really ever changes from year to year, as a road cycling game and one that focuses on the Tour de France, it’s the best option out there. 

Unfortunately though, that’s not saying much and should you be able to push yourself away from the world of the roadie, we think you should be going all out with Lonely Mountains: Downhill instead. It may require you to wear some baggies and consider yourself to be totally rad, but it’s a brilliant game that delivers the fun and thrills that a downhill mountain biker would want. 

As a road rider, that’s a tough statement to make. 

If you want to pick up Tour de France 2022 you’ll find the game on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S from the Xbox Store . It’s also on PS4 and PS5. Pro Cycling Manager is on PC – Steam will sort you out.

Huge thanks go to Nacon for providing us access to both Tour de France 2022 on Xbox Series X|S and Pro Cycling Manager 2022 on PC.

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Pro Cycling Manager 2022 and Tour de France 2022 PC games both launch today

It's indoor cycling, but without the effort

Typically, when the world of cycling collides with computer gaming, we're talking about the upsurging discipline of indoor cycling, with turbo trainers, Zwift and the likes, but not today. Today's announcement comes from the more mainstream world of computer gaming, where you'd typically find people talking about Minecraft or League of Legends. 

While probably not able to boast the same participant levels as the aforementioned duo, two of road cycling's biggest PC games are getting a refresh, and the result is that today sees the launch of Pro Cycling Manager 2022 and Tour de France 2022. 

Both titles are owned and produced by Nacon Gaming, a gaming company from the North of France, and their annual launch is timed to coincide with the Tour de France . 

Pro Cycling Manager 2022

Pro Cycling Manager was originally launched in 2001 under the shortened name of Cycling Manager. It took on the 'Pro' label in 2005, and has been an annual launch ever since. 

The main premise of the game is to transport you, the player, into the role of a directeur sportif of a professional cycling team, with the aim of growing your team to the top of the sport by managing recruitment, sponsors, training, talent-spotting, race strategy and more. However, the game's alternative Pro Cyclist mode allows you to become a single rider with the aim of winning races and building a career. 

There are a host of updates for the 2022 game, which include a new talent scouting system in which your scouts are designed to learn and improve over time, adjusted racing dynamics that mimic real-life unpredictability, a new rider development process, a redesigned interface that's easier to navigate, and an amendment to the systems that control riders' stamina and resistance. Each stage from the 2022 Tour de France has also been built into the new game. 

It's priced at £34.99, but unfortunately for Mac owners, Pro Cycling Manager is only available on PC, via the Steam store . 

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Tour de France 2022

While Pro Cycling Manager puts you into the role of DS or rider, Tour de France allows you to be a rider, an entire team, or even a race organiser. 

In Pro Leader mode, you are a rider. You can choose to be any rider type you like, from sprinter to mountain goat, and the aim, perhaps unsurprisingly, is to have a successful Tour de France. For some, that will mean points jersey success, while others will want to go all-in for the GC. In Pro Team mode, you start at the lowest rungs of the cycling ladder. As a team, you're required to work toward success and earn race invitations. As the invitations grow, so does your team's profile, and the ultimate goal is an invitation to - and ultimately, victory at - the Tour. Meanwhile, My Tour mode puts you in the shoes of the race organiser. Choose from 92 stages to build a 21-day grand tour, choosing the route, the rest days, the teams that partake and more. 

For 2022, new features include an online mode with a challenge called 'race of the week', which lets you race against fellow players around the world. The new racing dynamics found in Pro Cycling Manager are also found here, likewise the stages of the 2022 Tour de France, as well as "the 'Primavera Classic' inspired by a major Italian race," which we can only assume is Milan-San Remo.

Like Pro Cycling Manager. Tour de France 2022 is also unavailable to Mac users, but alongside the Steam-powered PC game it is also available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series X.

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Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton.

Josh has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews. On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years.

He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. 

These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.

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Pro cycling manager 2023 review – pedaling on the backstage.

Pro Cycling Manager 2023 is the companion management game to Tour de France 2023 , the simulation-versed sibling of the pair. Cyanide’s recent release is another in-depth game showcasing the harsh behind the scenes of a cycling career, with all the major decisions out of the bicycle and into your hands, even if you also have the means to influence the performance of your riders during the races. With a back-to-back yearly release and a colossal database of riders and circuits, is Pro Cycling Manager 2023 adding significant changes to the previous edition?

Team Tactics

Every fan of cycling knows how difficult it is to find a game that translates the experience in a faithful way, but Cyanide has proven throughout the years that it has manifest respect for the sport, going to great lengths to deliver a deep and engaging outing, both in its simulation and management categories. Pro Cycling Manager 2023 again comes bolstered by a considerable collection of teams and stages, resulting in hundreds of hours of fiddling for the most devoted fans.

Official data boasts 260 races and 80 professional teams, so you can judge the amount of work that went into rendering all those circuits and coming up with reliable statistics for each rider, even if not all of these are officially licensed. With attributes specific to circuit stages, physical abilities, and a lot more details under the hood contributing to the performance of each rider, even if slightly affected by your choices, it’s easy to see that Pro Cycling Manager 2023 has a lot going on and is great for devouring hours of any afficionado’s time.

There are two main modes to pick from: Career and Pro Cyclist. The former is a detailed, thorough experience that can be summarized into off-track management and race segment. You can select the training focus and the coach for each rider, deal with countless types of injuries and debilitating illnesses, even with sinusitis playing a part, and do your best to maintain the sponsor’s confidence, maybe even getting a nice budget increase for your good performance. There’s a commendable amount of micro-management for those who like to tweak all kinds of fundamentals, including establishing a race calendar for every rider, their fitness goals, and a lot more.

When you go to the track, there are some interesting actions to affect your riders in key moments. You shouldn’t expect to watch every race unfold at normal speed, as the big choices come in specific moments that every fan will know how to identify. You can order your riders to attack, maintain position, manage their overall effort, request one to serve as wind protection for a more skilled teammate, or task the weaker riders with the ungrateful job of fetching water bottles for the rest of the team. When the time comes, a sprint attack is crucial to score those points and secure the top spots.

The improved Pro Cyclist mode is about creating a rookie rider who will be your persona throughout the game, shooting for glory, but also worrying about training schedules and growing your experience points by reaching objectives established by your manager. You start by selecting your nationality, something that affects the list of teams within your grasp, and then you must perform according to expectations if you wish to renew your contract later in the season. Interestingly, you get these prompts from your manager where you pick a reply and it affects some of your stats, as if a short cycling-themed pop quiz. During the race you are given some objectives, such as working at the head of the group for some kilometers, earning an evaluation for your effort at the end.

New Year, Same Tour

The issue with Pro Cycling Manager 2023 is that it doesn’t feel much different from the previous outings. The exact same was said about Tour de France 2023, and again it rings true here, feeling like a solid, interesting, and deep game for enthusiasts that are just about discovering the series.

Otherwise, the improvements to energy management and artificial intelligence may seem negligible or hard to pinpoint, the athletes all look the same apart from their equipment, and there are visible bugs during the race, such as riders sliding through each other as the game suddenly realized they should find another route, with no concern for collisions or logic.

Pro Cycling Manager 2023 may be described as a polarizing game. Examined in isolation, it stands out as a convincing management game, with all the content and options that you could hope for, even if some bugs rear their ugly heads and the outdated graphics may seem rough. However, considering the lack of innovation, it’s hard to see it as the evolution that would make fans jump at the opportunity of getting into this coveted manager role.

Score: 7/10

• A deep and demanding management game
• Interesting mechanics pre- and during races
• No considerable innovations
• Graphics are showing their age

Pro Cycling Manager 2023 review code was provided by the publisher. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.

Top Games and Upcoming Releases

Official games

2023 Edition

• Stage winners
• All the videos

Tour Culture

• Commitments
• key figures
• Sporting Stakes
• "Maillot Jaune" Collection
• The jerseys

Take charge of a professional cycling team: manage your budget, scout young talents, train your riders and devise your race strategy. Fight your way to the top of the world ranking!

• The whole 2023 season and the biggest official teams
• The route of the Tour de France
• Major overhaul of the Pro Cyclist mode with revamped training and progression systems and a dynamic feature to react to unforeseen events.
• Medium Mountain: new attribute for riders and terrain for stages.
• Redesign of the world ranking based on the real system with a new page.
• Implementation of a candidate/election system for the World and European Championships courses.
• New race page with start list, list of winners and search function.
• Revamp of the race results page.
• Improved sprints.
• Numerous AI improvements with, in particular, better energy management for riders who save themselves in the mountains.

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TOUR DE FRANCE 2023 AND PRO CYCLING MANAGER 2023 INTRODUCE THEIR NEW FEATURES IN FIRST GAMEPLAY TRAILER

Press release.

• As well as the "Race of the Moment", which was introduced in the previous edition, a new challenge has been added: the "Downhill of the Moment ". This new game mode takes place solely on downhill stretches and so requires unique strategies. Players can then compare their ranking with other competitors from all over the world.
• More realistic rating system: the introduction of Agility and Medium Mountain ratings can lead to unexpected incidents, such as falls within the peloton, and also has an effect on what path the riders take.
• More strategic gameplay: players can devise different strategies depending on their team members and their statistics.
• Updated rider equipment, now rated based on quality.
• Distinctive bibs added: "Super Combative" and "Best Team" for a greater challenge.
• Various technical improvements: including collisions, AI behaviour and the path riders take in downhill stretches.
• Improved user interfaces with a redesign of the "race results" page and a brand-new "race page".
• A new training system: management of the training calendar and tasks so priorities can be set. The training locations have also been changed to be real-life places that are well known by cycling fans.
• Official races  with all ASO races (Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Nice).
• A redesigned world ranking , now based on the real-life system and UCI points classification.
• A new system for managing nation registration for the World Championships.
• A new "Medium Mountain" rating.

  View the Steam page for Pro Cycling Manager 2023 here . Pro Cycling Manager 2023 will be available on 8 June 2023 on PC (Steam). Click here to download images for Tour de France 2023 and Pro Cycling Manager 2023   PRESS CONTACTS NACON – Alix HALLIER – [email protected] NACON – Rémi DEMOLIERE – [email protected]   About NACON NACON is a company of the BIGBEN Group founded in 2019 to optimize its know-how through strong synergies in the video game market. By bringing together its 16 development studios, the publishing of AA video games, the design and distribution of premium gaming devices, NACON focuses 30 years of expertise at the service of players. This new unified business unit strengthens NACON's position in the market, enables it to innovate by creating new unique competitive advantages. https://www.nacongaming.com/ About Cyanide Studio Cyanide is a French video game development studio created in 2000 and based in Nanterre. It has two subsidiaries located in Montreal and Bordeaux. The studio is known for its sports games, such as the popular PC series Pro Cycling Manager and its console version, Tour de France. Cyanide is also the author of Blood Bowl (Sport/Fantasy, 2009), the adaptation of the famous Games Workshop board game; Game of Thrones (RPG, 2012); Styx: Master of Shadows and the sequel Styx: Shards of Darkness (Infiltration, 2014/2017); and Call of Cthulhu, a game adapted from the tormented world of HP Lovecraft (investigative RPG, 2018). Since 2018, NACON, one of Europe's leading video game publishers, holds a 100% stake in the company. More information can be found at www.cyanide-studio.com

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Pro Cycling Manager Guide

This guide will explain the main aspects of the game and the essential features to enable you to be an effective manager. The categories are listed in the order in which they appear in the game.

Gameplay trailers released for Tour de France 2023 and Pro Cycling Manager 2023

Nacon and Cyanide Studio have revealed new trailers for two of their upcoming games, Tour de France 2023 and Pro Cycling Manager 2023 . Both games are set to release on June 8, with Tour de France 2023 coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC, and Pro Cycling Manager 2023 coming to PC.

Both games are set to feature tons of teams across various competitions, with Tour de France 2023 featuring riders from 21 teams in this year’s competition, and Pro Cycling Manager 2023 allowing players to manage teams across World Tour, Pro Tour, and most of the Continental. Climber, Sprinter, Puncher, and Rouleur rider profiles and characteristics will also be available on both titles.

Jerseys from the cycling world have been faithfully reproduced, with the four distinct jerseys of the Tour de France (yellow, green, white, and polka-dot) available, as well as national champion and world champion rainbow jerseys. Tour de France 2023 also includes red bibs for the Super Combative rider and yellow bibs for the best ranked teams. The new features in Tour de France 2023 include:

• As well as the “Race of the Moment”, which was introduced in the previous edition, a new challenge has been added: the “Downhill of the Moment”. This new game mode takes place solely on downhill stretches and so requires unique strategies. Players can then compare their ranking with other competitors from all over the world.
• More realistic rating system: The introduction of Agility and Medium Mountain ratings can lead to unexpected incidents, such as falls within the peloton, and also has an effect on what path the riders take.
• More strategic gameplay: Players can devise different strategies depending on their team members and their statistics.
• Updated rider equipment, now rated based on quality.
• Distinctive bibs added: “Super Combative” and “Best Team” for a greater challenge.
• Various technical improvements: including collisions, AI behaviour and the path riders take in downhill stretches.

As for Pro Cycling Manager 2023, players can expect the following:

• Improved user interfaces with a redesign of the “race results” page and a brand-new “race page”.
• A new training system: management of the training calendar and tasks so priorities can be set.
• Official races with all ASO races (Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Nice).
• A redesigned world ranking, now based on the real-life system and UCI points classification.
• A new system for managing nation registration for the World Championships.
• A new “Medium Mountain” rating.

Chris White

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Buy Pro Cycling Manager 2019

From the same studio.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2063610/Pro_Cycling_Manager_2023/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/2062690/Tour_de_France_2023/

About This Game

• Experience the new stages of the Tour de France 2019
• A redesigned Pro Cyclist mode including a new skill system
• A revamped user interface for menus and during races
• Improved AI for even more realistic cyclist behaviours
• An improved contract system with offers based on targeted teams

System Requirements

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS *: Windows 8/10 (64-bit)
• Processor: AMD/Intel dual-core 2.5 GHz
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: 512 Mo, ATI Radeon HD 5570/NVIDIA GeForce GT 240/Intel HD 4600
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Storage: 11 GB available space
• Processor: AMD/Intel quad-core 3.0 GHz
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: 1 GB, AMD Radeon HD 7850/NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560

Pro Cycling Manager 2019 @2019 Cyanide SA, Bigben Interactive. Published by Bigben Interactive. Developed by Cyanide SA. Pro Cycling Manager and their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cyanide SA. Tour de France, Le Critérium du Dauphiné, Paris-Nice, La Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Tours are registered trademarks of Amaury Sport Organisation. La Vuelta is a registered trademark of Unipublic. All rights reserved.

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Manage one of 80 teams in over 260 races and 700 stages

Manage a team of professional cyclists: control the budget, recruit young talent, train riders and devise race strategies. Jostle for position to reach the top of the world rankings!

Pro Cycling Manager 2023

New in the 2023 edition:, new features in 2023 that add even more realism to pcm:.

• The entire 2023 season and the top official teams
• The Tour de France route
• A revamped Pro Cyclist mode with redesigned training sessions and progression as well as a new dynamic system for adapting to unforeseen events
• Medium Mountain: rider ratings and stage terrain added
•  Redesigned world rankings based on the actual system and new page added
•  Candidate/selection system for the World and European Championship races
• New race page with a search function and list of starters and winners
• Redesigned race results page
• Improved sprints
• Greatly improved AI, including improved energy management for riders who save their strength in mountain stages

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System requirements.

Windows 7 (64-bit)

Windows 10 (64-bit)

Intel Core i3-540 or AMD Phenom II X4 940

Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600

Nvidia GeForce GTX 650, 1 GB or AMD Radeon HD 5770, 1 GB

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660, 2 GB or AMD Radeon HD 7870, 2 GB

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The 5-minute essential guide to the Tour de France

Inspiration

Cycling Tourism Sporting Activities

Reading time: 0 min Published on 8 January 2024, updated on 18 April 2024

It is the biggest cycling race in the world: a national event that France cherishes almost as much as its Eiffel Tower and its 360 native cheeses! Every year in July, the Tour de France sets off on the roads of France and crosses some of its most beautiful landscapes. Here’s everything you should know in advance of the 2018 race…

‘La Grande Boucle’

In over a century of existence, the Tour has extended its distance and passed through the whole country. Almost 3,500 kilometers are now covered each year in the first three weeks of July, with 22 teams of 8 cyclists. The 176 competitors criss-cross the most beautiful roads of France in 23 days, over 21 stages. More than a third of France’s departments are passed through, on a route that changes each year.

A little tour to start

The first ever Tour de France took place in 1903. It had just six stages – Paris-Lyon, Lyon-Marseille, Marseille-Toulouse, Toulouse-Bordeaux, Bordeaux-Nantes and Nantes-Paris – and 60 cyclists at the start line. At the time, the brave cycled up to 18 hours at a stretch, by day and night, on roads and dirt tracks. By the end, they’d managed 2,300 kilometers. Must have had some tight calves!

Mountain events are often the most famous and hotly contested. Spectators watch in awe as the riders attack the passes and hit speeds of 100 km/h. In the Pyrenees and the Alps, the Galibier and Tourmalet ascents are legendary sections of the Tour, worthy of a very elegant polka dot jersey for the best climber…

The darling of the Tour

In terms of the number of victories per nation, France comes out on top, with 36 races won by a French cyclist. In second place is Belgium with 18 wins, and in third is Spain with 12. The darling of the Tour remains Eddy Merckx, holding the record of 111 days in the yellow jersey. This Belgian won 5 times the Great Loop as Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Michael Indurain.

‘Le maillot jaune’

The yellow jersey is worn by the race winner in the general classification (calculated by adding up the times from each individual stage). This tradition goes back to 1919. It has nothing to do with the July sunshine or the sunflower fields along the roads; it was simply the colour of the pages of newspaper L’Auto, which was creator and organiser of the competition at the time.

The Tour de France is the third major world sporting event after the Olympic Games and the World Cup, covered by 600 media and 2,000 journalists. The race is broadcast in 130 countries by 100 television channels over 6,300 hours, and is followed by 3.5 billion viewers.

The Champs-Élysées finish

Each year the Tour departs from a different city, whether in France or in a neighbouring country. Since 1975, the triumphal arrival of the cyclists has always taken place across a finish line on Paris’ Champs-Élysées. It’s a truly beautiful setting for the final sprint.

And the winner is…

Seen from the sky and filmed by helicopters or drones, the Tour route resembles a long ribbon winding its way through France’s stunning landscapes: the groves of Normandy, the peaks of the Alps, the shores of Brittany and the beaches of the Côte d’Azur. In 2017, it was the Izoard pass in Hautes-Alpes that was elected the most beautiful stage, at an altitude of 2,361 metres. Which one gets your vote?

Find out more on the official Tour de France site: https://www.letour.fr

By Redactie France.fr

The magazine of the destination unravels an unexpected France that revisits tradition and cultivates creativity. A France far beyond what you can imagine…

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The Tour de France is Grand. But Is the Giro Tougher?

It’s not debatable that Tadej Pogačar is the best all-around cyclist in the pro peloton. The 25-year-old Slovenian’s ability to win one-day classics and three-week Grand Tours justifiably compares with Eddy Merckx, the greatest racer of all time. However, Pogačar has never ridden the Giro d’Italia —the first Grand Tour of the season preluding the Tour de France. But he is thinking about it.

Each of the three Grand Tours has its own flavor and unique challenges. The highly anticipated and widely followed Tour de France follows a tried-and-true formula of an opening week of relatively flat stages, a brief stint in the mountains, more flat transition stages, another brief stint in the mountains, and then a short run into Paris.

But the Giro d’Italia offers a thrilling blend of diverse terrain, technical challenges, and mano-a-mano racing, creating a more dynamic experience for riders. With reduced pressure from teams and media, the Italian Grand Tour stands out as a race where athletes can test their limits while savoring the joys of Italian cuisine and scenery.

Lots of climbing

“The Giro is much more surprising because it doesn’t follow a general formula,” explains Andy Hampsten , the first and only U.S. American to win Italy ’s grand tour. “There can be mountains in almost any region of Italy. What surprised me the first Giro I ever did, and I kept an eye peeled for it later, were just incredibly hilly days, usually in central Italy in the Marche or Umbria or even further south in Campania or Calabria.”

Easy stages in the Giro where racers can rest and relax can be hard to find. “A stage without categorized mountains can still be up and down every kilometer of the race,” adds Hampsten. “Those days that usually aren’t highly rated might finish in a reasonably leveled area, and a sprint finish will be the prediction. But they could have 2,000 meters of climbing throughout the day, which could really shatter the field.”

Chaotic finishes

After all the ups and downs, the difficulties aren’t over when a stage reaches the finishing town. The towns that pay to host the finish don’t want to waste their investment. “They want to highlight the best parts of the towns, usually through some gates that emperors in the Roman Empire built. That might be in the final kilometer, and it might get down to a lane and a half or two lanes,” notes Hampsten, who lives and runs Cinghiale Cycling Tours out of his home base in Tuscany.

“When I did the Giro in 2009, you would be close to the finish because you were entering the town, but they would find ways to send you around the neighborhood and through the shopping district just to make it total chaos before the finish,” remembers former NBC Tour de France analyst and grand tour winner Chris Horner. “It was technical. You could crash in the middle of it. I was scared for my life on a few of those finishes.”

“In the Tour, you will come into the finishes on much bigger, wider roads. There are still crashes at the Tour, but there are other reasons for that. [The Giro is] a little scarier in terms of the towns, but the Tour is scarier in terms of the fight for position. Every team has their A team riders, so the level of the peloton is super fast and curb to curb the whole time,” adds Horner.

A grand tour for the neo-pros

Italian cycling fans, known as ‘tifosi’, go wild for the Giro, but the Tour de France is more popular worldwide. Results at the Grand Boucle can make or break a team’s sponsorship, which goes a long way in explaining the composition of the teams for each race. “Normally, what happens when the riders show up at the Giro is that they are bringing A guys mixed with B guys and C guys,” notes Horner. “Typically, when you go to the Tour de France, it is your whole A team.”

“The Giro and the Vuelta [a España] are where you will bring in your neo-pro guys or your one- or two-year guys who haven’t done their first grand tour,” explains Horner. “Even Visma-Lease a Bike has to bring in a neo-pro sooner or later!”

But not having a team composed of all your best riders has some interesting side effects. Horner notes that at the Giro and Vuelta, you see much more ‘mano a mano’ racing in the stage finales, whereas on the tour, the teams are so stacked that it is common for the top teams to have five or six guys on the front on the last climb.

Lower stakes

Another side effect of the difference in popularity between the Giro and the Tour is the pressure on the racers. “It is so much easier for a foreigner or a racer on a foreign team to do your seven or eight hours of race and podium, and interviews then get to the hotel and relax in a delightful country without the towns being completely overrun like it would be at the Tour de France,” recalls Hampsten. “At the Tour, it is hard to get away from the pressure for the racers. I would say they recuperate better at the Tour of Italy than the Tour de France.”

“He’s [Tadej Pogačar] going to realize that it is not as stressful and the press is a little bit easier. He is going to realize that the Giro is fun compared to the Tour,” agrees Horner. “When he gets off the bike, I mean, he is Pogačar, so he is going to be swarmed a little bit, but it’s not going to be the all-demanding every member of the world press in your face.”

Unpredictable weather and great food

The weather in the Giro can be horrendous. Hampsten won his Giro after attacking the peloton and surviving an epic blizzard on the Gavia Pass on the stage, known as ‘The Day Strong Men Cried.’ “It’s rare to have terrible weather in the Tour in July. Certainly, in any hilly area [in Italy], it could be snowy or cold rain, which is just about as bad as snow,” explains Hampsten. “People are demoralized. Any wet day. It’s more nerve-wracking because there are more crashes with the bad traction.”

Hampsten, the first American to win the Tour stage to l’Alpe d’Huez, is a true gourmand. “And don’t even get me started on the food. It is much nicer for all racers to have good food in Italy than in France. The Italians are just so proud of their food. It makes so much difference for any racer’s morale to have wonderful, healthy, easy-to-digest food that’s tasty. It is a delight for the racers.”

Whether it’s the Giro or the Tour, the riders will give 100 percent, and the racing will be exciting. But the Giro has its own unique qualities and challenges, and it seems to always provide a worthy winner; this year’s might be Tadej Pogačar . So don’t wait until July to be excited about bike racing.

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Pogačar beats Van der Poel in a dominant win at Liège–Bastogne–Liège classic

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar of the UAE Emirates team crosses the finish line to win the Belgian cycling classic and UCI World Tour race Liege Bastogne Liege, in Liege, Belgium, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar of the UAE Emirates team after crossing the finish line to win the Belgian cycling classic and UCI World Tour race Liege Bastogne Liege, in Liege, Belgium, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

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LIEGE, Belgium (AP) — Tadej Pogačar proved too strong for Mathieu Van der Poel as he won the Liège–Bastogne–Liège cycling classic with a solo breakaway on Sunday.

Pogačar attacked 35 kilometers (22 miles) out to win cycling’s oldest classic for the second time, after victory in 2021, and made up for last year when he broke his left wrist in a crash.

“I’m happy that I can finally win this race again,” the 25-year-old Slovenian said. “It’s beautiful to finish like this.”

The two-time Tour de France champion waved to the crowd as he approached the finish line well clear. French veteran Romain Bardet finished second and Van der Poel led a mass sprint to the line to finish third.

Liège–Bastogne–Liège is one of the five “monuments” in one-day cycling with the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Lombardy and Milan-San Remo. Van der Poel won Roubaix two weeks ago but has not won Liège and Lombardy.

Pogačar beat Van der Poel last year to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) and they have won six monuments each.

The 254.5-kilometer (157.8-mile) trek, starting and finishing in the eastern Belgian city of Liège in chilly conditions, featured 11 small hills and played to Pogačar’s elite climbing skills. He pulled ahead in a small group with Van der Poel one minute behind.

Van der Poel’s group caught Pogačar with 70 kilometers remaining to form a main peloton. But with Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates setting a fast tempo at the front, Pogačar attacked again and no rival could catch him.

He clocked 6 hours, 13 minutes, 48 seconds with Bardet 1:39 behind and Van der Poel 2:02 back.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Marianne Vos and Mathieu van der Poel Were the Top Earners of the Spring Classics

However, stark differences in prize money distribution highlight the gender pay gap in pro cycling.

Close behind Vos and Van der Poel in earnings were Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) with €35,081 ($38,589 USD), and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) with €60,400 ($66,440 USD).

The third top earner for the women was Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek). The Italian won the Tour of Flanders and rode consistently all season. She had a payout of €31,892 ($35,081 USD) in total. She was followed by Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), who earned €27,970 ($30,767 USD).

On the men’s side, Van der Poel and Philipsen were followed by Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who earned €41,000 ($45,100 USD), and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), who earned €34,400 ($37,840 USD).

GCN reported that the prize money riders win is usually shared among teammates and members of staff. “With that in mind, one glance at the results shows that Alpecin-Deceuninck will be one happy team, with Van der Poel and Philipsen at the top of the prize money standings, collectively earning €144,900 for the team.”

And if it seems like there’s a frustratingly huge difference between what the top men make and what the top women make, there is. According to GCN , “The top 20 men earned €417,750 in prize money in the Classics. The top 20 women earned €253,076 across the same period—that’s before considering the difference in base salaries.”

But progress is (slowly) being made. Two years ago, Flanders Classics announced that they would award equal prize money to men and women at the Tour of Flanders. Then, a year later, they extended the deal to all races under their umbrella. This means that equal prize money was awarded to Vos and Jan Tratnik (Visma-Lease a Bike) at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The same was true for both Wiebes and Pedersen at Ghent-Wevelgem, as well as Longo Borghini and Van der Poel at the Tour of Flanders.

Unfortunately, other organizers have yet to follow suit. According to GCN , “The biggest disparity was at Strade Bianche, where Lotte Kopecky’s winning ride earned her a measly €2,256 relative to Pogačar’s €16,000. It was a similar tale at Paris-Roubaix, where Kopecky was awarded €9,000 less than Van der Poel, and at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ) won €12,500 to Pogačar’s €20,000.”

Top 20 male earners in the Spring Classics

• Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck): €84,500
• Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck): €60,400
• Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): €41,000
• Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek): €34,400
• Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates): €22,100
• Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers: €20,300
• Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike): €17,600
• Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech): €16,250
• Jan Tratnik (Visma-Lease a Bike): €16,000
• Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla): €11,300
• Luca Mozzato (Arkéa-B&B Hotels): €11,200
• Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL): €10,400
• Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek): €10,200
• Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny): €9,900
• Toms Skujiņš (Lidl-Trek): €9,700
• Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step): €8,800
• Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility): €8,800
• Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates): €8,500
• Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ): €8,400
• Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike): €8,000

Top 20 female earners in the Spring Classics

• Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike): €38,173
• Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime): €35,081
• Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek): €31,892
• Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): €27,970
• Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek): €24,130
• Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM): €23,226
• Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ): €12,500
• Pfeiffer Georgi (dsm-firmenich PostNL): €9,645
• Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek): €8,094
• Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime): €7,628
• Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck): €5,586
• Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ): €4,505
• Ingvild Gåskjenn (Liv AlUla Jayco): €4,175
• Amber Kraak (FDJ-SUEZ): €3,468
• Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich PostNL): €3,425
• Thalita de Jong (Lotto Dstny Ladies): €2,900
• Elise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM): €2,371
• Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ): €2,191
• Christina Schweinberger (Fenix-Deceuninck): €2,061
• Arlenis Sierra (Movistar): €2,030

Micah Ling is a freelance writer who lives in the mountains of Colorado. She splits her free time between mountain biking and trail running.

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