Cycling
Get geared up for the 2026 road cycling classics calendar
It's time to focus on 2026, but before the Grand Tours kick-off, it's Spring Classics season. These are the classic one-day races you need to know about, when they are and what to expect from them.
Between Primož Roglič, Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz, the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe squad has no shortage of leaders. While we wait to see them tackle some monstrous three-week Grand Tours, first up are road cycling's spring classics, which are right around the corner.
Over 18 races, including the five iconic Monuments – Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Giro di Lombardia – the riders will be pushed to the limit in one-day events that will see them battle rivals, the elements and some very mixed road conditions in what are always some the season's most exciting races. Make sure you don't miss out on these legendary clashes and check out the 2026 classics calendar below.
The cycling spring classics defined the term 'mixed conditions'
© Kristof Ramon/Red Bull Content Pool
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The 2026 cycling classics calendar
Name
Date
Location
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
February 28
Belgium
Kuurne–Bruxelles–Kuurne
March 1
Belgium
Strade Bianche
March 7
Italy
Trofeo Alfredo Binda
March 15
Italy
Nokere Koerse
March 18
Belgium
Grand Prix de Denain
March 19
France
Milan–San Remo
March 21
Italy
E3 Saxo Classic
March 27
Belgium
Gent–Wevelgem
March 29
Belgium
Dwars door Vlaanderen
April 1
Belgium
Tour of Flanders
April 5
Belgium
Scheldeprijs
April 8
Belgium
Paris-Roubaix
April 12
France
Flèche brabançonne
April 17
Belgium
Amstel Gold Race
April 19
The Netherlands
La Flèche Wallonne
April 22
Belgium
Liège-Bastogne-Liège
April 26
Belgium
Tour of Lombardy
October 10
Italy
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The Monuments
The five dates in the calendar above marked in bold are road cycling's famed Monuments. They're some of the oldest (the first editions date from 1894 to 1913), most difficult and highly prestigious road cycling races of all, with a very special aura for both riders and fans alike.
Milan-San Remo is both a stunning and incredibly long race at 289km
© Charly López/Red Bull Content Pool
Milan-San Remo – March 21
The Milan-San Remo is the first classic of the year and also the longest. In fact, at 289km it is the longest one-day cycling race on the calendar. Held at the end of March and running, as the name says from Milan to San Remo on Italy's Ligurian coast, it's a pretty flat route and is often won by outright sprinters or puncheurs.
The Tour of Flanders – April 5
With the Tour of Flanders, it's goodbye Mediterranean temperatures and panoramic views of the Ligurian Sea, hello unpredictable Belgian weather, slick cobbles and short, steep climbs where attacks and race strategy really count. Quite simply, it's one of the most spectacular races every year and is so unpredictable that no rider has ever managed to win it more than three times.
Paris-Roubaix – April 12
If you only watch one cycling race all year, make it Paris-Roubaix. The most famous and brutal one-day race of them all, the iconic 'Hell of the North' is by far the most physically demanding of the spring races thanks to around 30 punishing sections of pavé cobbled road that cause punctures by the dozens and turn as slick as ice if the weather's even a little bit damp on race day.
Riders have to be incredibly fit and tough, both mentally and physically, if they want to reach the finish inside the Roubaix velodrome – usually absolutely plastered in mud or dust. Mathieu van der Poel, a world-beater in cyclo-cross, road and mountain biking, has won the last three editions and his versatility certainly has something to do with that.
Wout Van Aert powers across the pavé at Paris-Roubaix 2025
© Kristof Ramon/Red Bull Content Pool
Liège-Bastogne-Liège – April 26
Back to Belgium for the oldest race of them all, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which dates all the way back to 1894. An out-and-back race on a constantly undulating course across the Ardennes, it's often the Monument where true climbers and Grand Tour GC contenders triumph, like Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe riders Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel, who've both triumphed her before.
The Tour of Lombardy - October 10
Finally, the only Monument to take place at the end of the season. Like Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the storied season-ending Giro di Lombardia is a race for those who enjoy climbing. It takes place on a hilly route around Lake Como in the foothills of the Alps. In 2025, cycling's current king Tadej Pogačar won ahead of fRemco Evenepoel. Perhaps it's time to reverse the order in 2026.
