Items12The creator’s order
  1. 1Tour of Flanders CycloTour of Flanders CycloThe ride that lets you feel why Flanders is cycling's holy ground: short, brutal cobbled climbs such as the Oude Kwaremont, Paterberg and Koppenberg, ridden the day before the professionals race over them. The 2027 edition is on Saturday, April 3, with four routes of roughly 80, 130, 160 and 240…0
  2. 2Paris-Roubaix ChallengeParis-Roubaix ChallengeAlmost flat, and still one of the hardest days an amateur can choose. The 2027 edition offers routes of 70, 145 and 170 km, with 8, 19 and 30 cobbled sectors, the longest covering every sector of the race, about 50 km of stone. The two longer options take in the Trouée d'Arenberg, a straight 2.3 km…0
  3. 3Mallorca 312Mallorca 312The name is the distance: 312 km around Mallorca on roads closed to traffic. The first half climbs through the Serra de Tramuntana mountains, and the second half is long, exposed flat and rolling road where pacing and eating decide whether you finish. Cut-off times along the course keep the…0
  4. 4Fred Whitton ChallengeFred Whitton ChallengeBritain's most feared one-day sportive packs the Lake District's big passes into about 112 miles and 3,500 m of climbing from Grasmere: Kirkstone and Honister early, then Hardknott and Wrynose back to back late on, with Hardknott's 30 percent gradient arriving around 94 miles in. None of the climbs…0
  5. 5GFNY World Championship NYCGFNY World Championship NYCThe one gran fondo that starts by closing a bridge out of Manhattan: riders roll out from the closed lower level of the George Washington Bridge, head north through Bergen and Rockland counties and finish with a final climb into Fort Lee, New Jersey. The 2026 edition covered 85 miles on the same…0
  6. 6Granfondo Nove ColliGranfondo Nove ColliItaly's great people's granfondo starts on the seafront at Cesenatico and heads into the Romagna hills, where the long route strings together the nine climbs that give it its name, the steep Barbotto among them. The long route covers 200 km and 3,814 m of climbing, spread over many short-to-medium…0
  7. 7QuebrantahuesosQuebrantahuesosSpain's best-known sportive crosses the Pyrenees twice in a single 200 km loop from Sabiñánigo: north over the Somport into France, over the Col de Marie-Blanque, then back into Spain over the long Portalet before the Hoz de Jaca. The Marie-Blanque is the climb people talk about, while the Portalet…0
  8. 8La MarmotteLa MarmotteThe classic Alpine test, and still the one many riders measure themselves by. The route strings together the Col de la Croix de Fer, the Télégraphe and the Galibier, comes down past the Lautaret, then finishes up the 21 hairpins of Alpe d'Huez: 186 km and about 5,000 m of climbing on the…0
  9. 9Maratona dles DolomitesMaratona dles DolomitesProbably the most beautiful day on this list, and one of the hardest to get into. The full Maratona course covers 138 km and 4,230 m of climbing over the Campolongo, Pordoi, Sella, Gardena, Giau and Valparola passes, finishing with the short, steep Mür dl Giat, with the Giau the decisive climb.…0
  10. 10Triple BypassTriple BypassAmerica's answer to an Alpine day, with the added problem of thin air. The route runs about 120 miles from Evergreen to Avon in the Vail Valley over three passes, Juniper, Loveland and Vail, with 10,800 feet of climbing listed for 2027. Loveland tops out on the Continental Divide at about 11,990…0