It is the most popular sport in cycling and the basis from which cycling in general began.
Road races come in group and individual races: this is the form in which road cycling is represented in the Olympic program. In a group race, all participants start at the same time and can ride a distance of up to 200 km. Here, not only strength and endurance, but also tactics: team or individual.
Individual time trial is a race with a split start. Here, tactics are out of the question: only the individual’s ability to pedal as hard as possible.
In championships, championships and commercial starts, athletes compete in other events as well:
- Criterium, a circuit race with intermediate finishes on certain laps. A winning finish earns prize points, and in this event the winner is the one with the most points.
- Team race – the same as the race with a separate start, but with a team of 4 to 6 people. Task: finish first, the finish is scored by the last team member.
- Dual race – a race with a separate start, but not individually, but in pairs.
- A multi-day race is a race lasting at least two days. On each of the days you need to pass a given distance, moving in a group. Winners may change at different stages, but the winner of the entire multi-day race is the one who overcomes all the stages in the shortest time.
- The uphill race is the same as the individual time trial, but with the difference of constant uphill climbing for 10-15 km.