2017 UCI World Tour races with attached amateur events

The best 2017 cycling Ride and Watch events

The ideal weekend for cycling fans; ride on the same roads as the riders of the professional peloton before watching how it is done the day after or in some cases the day before.
Not a cyclist? Have a look at our comprehensive collection of VIP days and hospitality experiences during all the best cycling races in 2017.

Cyclo-Sportive, Gran Fondo and Cyclo-Touristique

In France and Belgium it is not allowed to have several competitive events in the same weekend. To get round this the amateur event which usually takes place either the day before or the day after is classed as a non-competitive event or ‘Cyclo-Touristique’. The main difference between Cyclo- Sportives, Gran Fondo events and Cyclo Touristiques is the competitive element. Touristiques tend to be non-timed, on open roads to the traffic without a winner and without the need to have a medical certificate. The challenge remains however as some of these are very tough and you are riding the same distance on the same route as the professionals.

The best 2017 cycling Ride and Watch events in date order

2017 Strade Bianche

Date of the Pro race – Saturday 4 March
Date of the amateur race – Sunday 5 March
Distances available: 124km Gran Fondo and 87km Medio Fondo
What’s so good about it? Last year Spartacus himself decided to ride the Gran Fondo event so you were rubbing shoulders with the man the day after he won the Pro race. He is likely to make an appearance in 2017 as an ambassador for Trek bikes who co-sponsor the event. This weekend you will ride the Gran Fondo the day after watching the Pro race rather than the other way around. By the time you take on the ‘white roads’ or ‘sterrati’ you will be raring to rip them up! The 2017 Strade Bianche Pro race makes its debut on the UCI World Tour in march 2017 so the level of the race will increase and more of the superstars of the Pro cycling circuit will be on show. The 124km Gran Fondo is identical to the route of the women’s race on the Saturday. The shorter ‘Medio Fondo’ route has less climbing but you will still tackle quite a few of the gravel roads.

2017 Paris – Nice

Date of the Pro race – Sunday 12 March
Date of the amateur race – Saturday 11 March
Distances available: TBC on January 3, 2017
What’s so good about it? 24 hours before Paris-Nice’s professional riders, amateur cyclists will have the chance to ride the route that the peloton will take on Sunday 12th March 2017. It’s the final stage in an edition of Paris-Nice that’s already gearing up to be truly magnificent. You can choose between two routes on roads that will be open to traffic but with maximum security measures in place. The 2 options will be either the entire professional route or a route accessible to everyone that takes riders through the stunning Nice countryside. The official race routes will be revealed on 3rd January 2017 during the Paris-Nice press conference. Paris – Nice is one of the biggest races in the 2017 cycling calendar, only second to the Grand Tours. In 2017 this fantastic race will have its 75th edition.  The route changes every year but the start will be again be in the Yvelines department, to the west of Paris and the finish is in Nice. Its is expected that the famous Col d’Èze near Nice is to be featured in the 2017 route again. In 2016, team Sky rider Geraint Thomas held off Alberto Contador into second with a brilliant descent of the Col d’Èze to win with just a 4 second margin. Australian Richie Porte who won in 2015 was third.

Official 2017 Etape du Tour training camp in Nice with front pen entry into the Etape du Tour

2017 Milan San Remo

Date of the Pro race – Saturday March 18
Date of the amateur race – Sunday March 19
Distances available: 120km
What’s so good about it? The Milan San Remo takes place on Saturday March 18 2017 and it always offers early season excitement. The first Monument of the cycling season, is also called La Primavera (The Spring) and it is the longest one day race on the professional calendar. The Milan-San Remo, with its 293 km that goes from Milan to the Italian Riviera, along which it faces the Passo del Turchino, the mythical “Capi” on the Aurelia, and the thrills of the concluding section, the Cipressa and the Poggio di Sanremo, before arriving in the “City of Flowers”. The Milan-San Remo marks the real start of the classics season and is often viewed as a sprinter’s classic with the fastest man over the Poggio in the front group likely to come out on top. Last year, the race was won by Arnaud Démare. After 293 kilometres of racing, he outsprinted Ben Swift and Jürgen Roelandts on the Via Roma. As there is a Gran Fondo the day after, this is a brilliant chance for a weekend away and combine both. On Sunday the 20th, the Granfondo San Remo-San Remo will allow cycling enthusiasts to relive the excitement at first hand, covering the final kilometres of the course. The Granfondo San Remo-San Remo or “la Classicissima” is a 120km Gran Fondo from San Remo which includes the climbs of the Poggio and the Cipressa as it follows the final part of the Milan Sanremo race which takes place the day before. You will climb 2400m and finish on top of the Poggio before descending back to Sanremo.

2017 Gran Fondo Milan San Remo

If you want to ride the entire course on the same roads as the Pros then you can join us in June 2017 with the 47th edition of the Granfondo Milan-San Remo Cicloturistica, which will cover the entire route of the race.

The Tour of Flanders

Date of the Pro race – Sunday 2 April
Date of the amateur race – Saturday 1 April
Distances available: 230km, 180km, 130km, 75km
What’s so good about it? The Tour of Flanders is the pride of Flanders. With its cobbled climbs, incredible local support and Flanders’ hospitality cycling fans are in for a treat. Chips, beer and music accompany the Tour of Flanders wherever it goes. New for 2017 is Antwerp as the start location and the inclusion of the infamous Muur van Geraardsbergen before doing the now traditional finish circuit around Oudenaarde with all the famous cobbled climbs before finishing in Oudenaarde. You have the opportunity to ride the Tour of Flanders route in the amateur Cyclo event the day before the pros tackle the course. There are several different courses: 75km and 130km, both from Oudenaarde, and a 180km and the full 230km distance from Antwerp. All the events end in Oudenaarde and include the most notable climbs of the pro race with the longer distances also including the ‘Muur van Geraardsbergen’ see photo below.

2017 Paris – Roubaix

Date of the Pro race – Sunday 9 April
Date of the amateur race – Saturday 8 April
Distances available: 172km, 145km and 70km
What’s so good about it? “The queen of classics” is a formidable and exciting race, considered by many to be the best one day classic cycling race to watch. The start of the ‘Hell of the North’ is in Compiegne and the finish is in the famous Roubaix Velodrome. The 2017 Paris-Roubaix Challenge in April 2017 gives you the opportunity to ride nearly the full route including all of the cobbles of one of the oldest and most significant of cycling events, the day before the Pro race. The 2017 Roubaix Challenge event will be held the day before the Paris Roubaix Pro Race and you will do a lap on the Roubaix Veldorome when you finish and you can even have a shower in the famous Roubaix Velodrome showers if you want to.

Spend 10 days at the Spring Classics from March 31 until April 10th including the Tour of Flanders, de Scheldeprijs and Paris-Roubaix

2017 Amstel Gold race

Date of the Pro race – Sunday 16 April
Date of the amateur race – Saturday 15 April
Distances available: 150km
What’s so good about it? The Amstel Gold Race has been taking place in the southernmost province of the Netherlands; Limburg every year since 1966. Every year ‘De Markt’ in Maastricht is the start venue of the Amstel Gold Race. The finish of the Amstel Gold Race is located in Valkenburg and the Amstel Gold Race is part of the UCI World Tour. The Amstel Gold Race is the only Dutch World Tour Classic and attracts a large number of Dutch and International cycling fans each year because of its interesting list of participants. Some of the world’s best cyclists strive for victory in the race by conquering the hilly countryside of Limburg. This is an incredibly popular sell-out amateur cycling event. You can take part in the 150km Amstel Gold Race Cyclosportive event which follows the latter part of the pro race race route including all the short, sharp climbs like the Cauberg. There will be numerous organised feeding stations and a mechanical service present. Included with your Amstel Gold Race sportive entry: Guaranteed participation in the Tourversion of the Amstel Gold Race, a (Sportive) Breakfast at the VIP-pavilion, a  speech by Race Director Leo van Vliet, special reserved parking near the VIP-pavilion, special reserved shower- and changing facilities and a photo with the Dutch ‘flower girls’ followed by  an extensive buffet after Amstel Gold Race Toertocht (sportive)

2017 Liege Bastogne Liege

Date of the Pro race – Sunday 23 April
Date of the amateur race – Saturday 22 April
Distances available: 271km, 158km, 76km
What’s so good about it? The full distance amateur event is definitely one of the toughest one-day cycling events that you can take part in. Liege-Bastogne-Liege is the oldest of cycling’s classics. First run in 1892, Liege Bastogne Liege, or LBL as it is also called, takes you through the hilliest parts of Belgium, along routes typical of the Ardennes. Liege Bastogne Liege is nicknamed ‘La Doyenne’ as it is the oldest race out of the classics which is still taking place today. Don’t be fooled and think that Belgium is flat. This race takes in plenty of steep, hilly sections and makes for some dramatic racing. The new route with the uphill finish sections and the cold and wet weather whittled the Peloton down until just a small group was left. Strongest on the day was Team Sky’s Dutch ace Wout Poels who delivered Team Sky their first ever victory in a Cycling Monument.

Spend 10 days at the Ardennes Classics from April 14th until April 24th including the Amstel Gold race, Fleche Wallone and Liege Bastogne Liege

Cycling VIP and hospitality at the 3 Grand Tours, the 5 Monuments of Cycling and more

Are you not a cyclist but you enjoy watching the best of Pro Cycling in 2017? Have a look at our comprehensive collection of VIP days and hospitality experiences during all the best cycling races in 2017.

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