The Triple Crown of Cycling is considered the greatest achievement in cycling. Although more definitions for the term are used, mostly it means winning the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Road World Cycling Championship in one year,[1] although occasionally a broader definition where one grand tour can be exchanged for the Vuelta a España is also seen.[2] So far, the triple crown of cycling (in both the narrow and the broad definition) has been achieved by two cyclists, Eddy Merckx and Stephen Roche. It is considered the hardest title to win in professional road bicycle racing in the same year.[3] The triple crown of cycling is not an official title, and there is no physical award given.
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Triple crowns won
The Triple Crown has only been achieved twice (both times by winning Giro/Tour/Worlds):[1]
- Belgian Eddy Merckx did it in 1974
- Ireland's Stephen Roche in 1987.
Near wins
Some cyclists have been close to winning the triple crown of cycling, winning two of the three requirements. Among those who came close are Italian Fausto Coppi, Frenchman Bernard Hinault and later Spaniard Miguel Indurain who finished second in the World Championships in 1993.
Winning two grand tours in one year
Coppi was the first rider in the history of the sport to win the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in the same year which he did twice in 1949 and 1952. At the World road race championships in 1949 Coppi came third behind Rik Van Steenbergen of Belgium. Merckx was the first rider to win the triple crown but he had already come close to winning it in 1972 when he won both the Tour and the Giro, coming fourth in the World road race. After his disappointment, Merckx broke the world hour record several weeks later.
Indurain won the Giro-Tour double in both 1992 and 1993 and in both years he was very active in the World Road Race. In 1992 he finished sixth but in 1993 Indurain was very close to winning the Triple crown when he finished second behind Lance Armstrong.
| Cyclist | Year | Grand Tours won | Result in World Championship |
|---|---|---|---|
 Fausto Coppi |
1949 | Tour+Giro | 3rd place |
| Fausto Coppi |
1952 | Tour+Giro | ? |
 Jacques Anquetil |
1963 | Tour+Vuelta | ? |
| Jacques Anquetil |
1964 | Tour+Giro | 7th place[4] |
 Eddy Merckx |
1970 | Tour+Giro | ? |
| Eddy Merckx |
1972 | Tour+Giro | 4th place[5] |
| Eddy Merckx |
1973 | Giro+Vuelta | 4th place[6] |
| Bernard Hinault |
1978 | Tour+Vuelta | 5th place[7] |
| Giovanni Battaglin |
1981 | Giro+Vuelta | ? |
| Bernard Hinault |
1982 | Tour+Giro | ? |
| Bernard Hinault |
1985 | Tour+Giro | ? |
 Miguel Indurain |
1992 | Tour+Giro | 6th place |
| Miguel Indurain |
1993 | Tour+Giro | 2nd place |
| Marco Pantani |
1998 | Tour+Giro | –[8] |
| Alberto Contador |
2008 | Giro+Vuelta | DNF[9] |
Winning one grand tour and world championship in one year
Hinault was aiming for winning the triple crown during the 1980 season. That year he won the 1980 Giro d'Italia before going on to the 1980 Tour de France. However during the Tour, Hinault suffered from knee injury and despite winning three stages and wearing the maillot jaune, he left the race. Several weeks later he won the World Road Race championships in Salanches. In the table below are the results in other grand tours of cyclists who won the world championship and a grand tour in one year. DNF (did not finish) indicates that the cyclist started the race, but did not finish; DNE (did not enter) indicates that the cyclist did not enter the race.
| Cyclist | Year | Grand tour won | Result in other grand tours | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Alfredo Binda |
1927 | Giro | Tour: DNE | Vuelta: NA[10] |
| Georges Speicher |
1933 | Tour | Giro: DNE | Vuelta: NA[10] |
| Fausto Coppi |
1953 | Giro | Tour: DNE | Vuelta: NA[10] |
| Louison Bobet |
1954 | Tour | Giro: DNE | Vuelta: NA[10] |
| Ercole Baldini |
1958 | Giro | Tour: DNE | Vuelta: DNE |
| Eddy Merckx |
1971 | Tour | Giro: DNE | Vuelta: DNE |
| Bernard Hinault |
1980 | Giro | Tour: DNF | Vuelta: DNE |
 Greg Lemond |
1989 | Tour | Giro: 39th place | Vuelta: DNE |
Other definitions
Winning all three grand tours in a career
The triple crown of cycling is sometimes defined as winning all three grand tours (Tour de France, Vuelta a España and Giro d'Italia) in a career[11], although this is sometimes named grand tour triple crown[12] According to this definition, the triple crown of cycling has been won by five cyclists:[11]
| Cyclist | First Tour de France win | First Vuelta a España win | First Giro d'Italia win |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacques Anquetil |
1957 | 1963 | 1960 |
| Felice Gimondi |
1965 | 1968 | 1967 |
| Eddy Merckx |
1969 | 1973 | 1968 |
| Bernard Hinault |
1978 | 1978 | 1980 |
| Alberto Contador |
2007 | 2008 | 2008 |
Winning all three grand tours in one year
The definition for Triple Crown of Cycling can also mean winning all three Grand Tours in the same year.[13] As of 2009, this has never been achieved; only 35 times has a cyclist finished the three grand tours in one year. Only Raphaël Geminiani and Gastone Nencini finished in the top ten each grand tour.[14]
Winning world titles in three disciplines
After Marianne Vos had won world titles in road race (2006), cyclo-cross (2006) and indoor track points race (2008), she was said to have won the triple crown of cycling.[15]
References
- ^ a b "Eddy Merckx: Greatest Professional Cyclist Ever". EuroPeloton. 22 October 2008. http://www.europeloton.com/2008/10/eddy-merckx-greatest-professional.html.
- ^ "Historical Results - The Grand Tours". Cycling Hall of Fame. http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/races/results/results_grand_tours.txt.
- ^ "An interview with Stephen Roche, August 8, 2007 — Taking the triple". Cyclingnews. 8 August 2008. http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/riders/2007/interviews/?id=stephen_roche07.
- ^ "World Championships 1964 at Sallanches (fra) - Men: Road Race". Sports 123. http://sports123.com/rcy/results/mw-rr-1964.html.
- ^ "World Championships 1972 at Gap (fra) - Men: Road Race". Sports 123. http://sports123.com/rcy/results/mw-rr-1972.html.
- ^ "World Championships 1973 at Barcelona (spa) - Men: Road Race". Sports 123. http://sports123.com/rcy/results/mw-rr-1973.html.
- ^ "World Championships 1978 at Adenau (wge) - Men: Road Race". Sports 123. http://sports123.com/rcy/results/mw-rr-1973.html.
- ^ "Result World Championship, Road, Elite 1998". Cyclingwebsite. http://www.cyclingwebsite.net/ritfichestartlijst.php?ritid=11087.
- ^ "Championnats du Monde UCI CL / UCI RR World Championships ( 28.09.2008 - 28.09.2008 )". UCI. http://62.50.72.82/ucinet/uci.asp?page=results&discipline=roa&ryear=2008&ridercategory=me&l=eng.
- ^ a b c d In these years, there was no Vuelta organized.
- ^ a b Jon Azpiri (September 22, 2008). "Contador Wins Cycling's Triple Crown in Record Time". NowPublic. http://www.nowpublic.com/sports/contador-wins-cyclings-triple-crown-record-time.
- ^ Andrew Hood (3 June 2008). "Contador eyes grand tour sweep with Vuelta". VeloNews. http://www.velonews.com/article/77008/contador-eyes-grand-tour-sweep-with-vuelta.
- ^ "Giro d’Italia, Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali duel". Ultimately Italy. http://www.ultimateitaly.com/festival-events/giro-d-italiaia.html.
- ^ Eddy van der Mark. "Tour Xtra: Tour de France Records". CVCCbike. http://www.cvccbike.com/tour/eddy/xtra_bestanden/tourrec.htm.
- ^ "Vos wins unique cycling triple crown". DutchNews. 31 March 2008. http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2008/03/vos_wins_unique_cycling_triple.php.
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