The Monuments are five classic cycle races generally considered to be the oldest, hardest, longest and most prestigious one-day events in men's road cycling, with distances between 240 and 300 km.
Each has a long history and specific individual characteristics. They are currently the one-day races in which most points can be earned in the UCI World Tour and the only 3rd categorized UCI races, only behind Grand Tour races; Tour de France (1st category) and Giro and Vuelta (both 2nd category). , four of the five monuments hold women's races as part of the UCI Women's World Tour, with only Giro di Lombardia not having a women's race.
Eddy Merckx is by far the most successful monument rider with 19 wins in total. He is also one of two cyclists in history to win three monuments in one season, a feat he achieved in 1969, 1971, 1972 and 1975. Tadej PogaÃÂar is the other rider to do this in 2025.
The five monuments are:
The expression "cycling monument" has been used since the early days of cycle racing. In 1904, Henri Desgrange wrote in L'Auto that "The "Tour de France" is over and its second edition will, I fear, have also been the last. [...] And yet, it seemed to us and it still seems to us that we had built with this great event the most lasting and most imposing monument to the sport of cycling".
In 1949, French sports journalist Albert Baker d'Isy wrote about the 47th edition of the ParisâÂÂRoubaix race, titling his article in the French newspaper Ce soir "ParisâÂÂRoubaix: "monument" du cyclisme". The term was used again by journalist Jacques Goddet in 1950, writing about Fausto Coppi's victory at ParisâÂÂRoubaix â "Monument of international cycling, Paris-Roubaix crushed the riders with its legend as well as its diabolical difficulties".
The term began being used more by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and cycling media at the end of the 20th century, with the term designating the five most prestigious classic cycle races, namely MilanâÂÂSan Remo, Tour of Flanders, ParisâÂÂRoubaix, LiègeâÂÂBastogneâÂÂLiège and Giro di Lombardia.
Since 2010, the races are considered by the Union Cycliste Internationale to be more prestigious than other one-day races that are raced by the professional peloton, with only the Grand Tour stage races gaining more ranking points for the winner.
In 2017, L'ÃÂquipe wrote that the five monuments were "the oldest one-day races, the most famous, the most unique" and that they had "prestigious entry fields" of champion riders.
Media and riders have discussed whether other classic cycling races meet the criteria of a cycling monument. By the 2020s, Strade Bianche â an Italian one-day race first held in 2007, defined by its use of white gravel roads â was considered to be the most likely candidate, with Cycling News stating in 2025 that "there is no longer any debate that Strade Bianche is cycling's sixth Monument". However, others have criticised that Strade Bianche does not have the length or longevity to be titled a monument, and rider Philippe Gilbert noted that Clásica de San Sebastián and Amstel Gold Race were more important historically.
In the women's tour, media have suggested that Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio (the oldest one-day race on the women's calendar) and Strade Bianche Donne may be worthy of the "monument" moniker.
Only three riders have won all five monument races during their careers: Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx, and Roger De Vlaeminck, all three Belgians, and only Eddy Merckx won each of them more than once.
Seven riders won four different monuments. With multiple victories in all the other monuments, Sean Kelly almost joined the top group, finishing second in the Tour of Flanders on three occasions (1984, 1986 and 1987). Kelly is the only other rider, after Merckx, to win four different monuments on multiple occasions.
Tadej PogaÃÂar is the first rider to achieve a podium finish in all 5 monuments in the same season in 2025: MSR(3rd), TOF(1st), PR(2nd), LBL(1st), GDL(1st). This streak also means he has the most consecutive monument podiums with 8 in a row, when 2024: LBL(1st), GDL(1st), and 2026: MSR(1st) are included.
Tadej PogaÃÂar is also the first rider ever to win the same monument 5 years in a row with his winning streak at Giro di Lombardia going from 2021 to 2025, eclipsing the previous record held by Fausto Coppi since 1949 in the same race.
2025 was also the first time ever 2 riders won all 5 monuments in a single season between them with Tadej PogaÃÂar winning LiègeâÂÂBastogneâÂÂLiège, Tour of Flanders and Giro di Lombardia, whilst Mathieu van der Poel won Milan-San-Remo and Paris-Roubaix.
Dutch rider Hennie Kuiper won each monument except LiègeâÂÂBastogneâÂÂLiège, in which he finished second in 1980. Frenchman Louison Bobet also won all but LiègeâÂÂBastogneâÂÂLiège. Belgian rider Fred De Bruyne came close as well, finishing second in the Giro di Lombardia in 1955 and winning the other four races during his career. Germain Derycke also won four, all except the Giro di Lombardia. Tadej Pogacar is the most recent rider to win four different monuments, all except Paris-Roubaix, in which he finished second in 2025.
Eddy Merckx also holds the record of most victories in a single Monument, winning Milan-San Remo seven times.
Riders in blue are still active. Riders in green have won all five monuments. Number of wins in gold indicates the current record holder(s).
Eddy Merckx and Tadej PogaÃÂar have won three monuments in a single year:
26 different riders (including Merckx and PogaÃÂar) have managed to win two Monuments in the same year. The most common "double" consists of the two cobbled classics (Tour of Flanders and ParisâÂÂRoubaix), which have been won by the same rider in the same year on 13 occasions. The Italian "double" (MilanâÂÂSan Remo and Giro di Lombardia) has been achieved 11 times. All 10 possible doubles have been achieved by multiple riders with the exception of the Milan-San Remo and Tour of Flanders double, which has only been achieved by Merckx. Below the list of all doubles with years in bold indicating that they were part of a triple of monument wins (see the section above).
, four of the five monuments hold women's races as part of the UCI Women's World Tour. Since 2017, at least two monuments have had women's races in each calendar year. , Giro di Lombardia is the only monument without an equivalent race for women.
In 2021, British rider Lizzie Deignan became the first women's rider to win more than two of these events, having won 2016 Tour of Flanders for Women, 2020 LiègeâÂÂBastogneâÂÂLiège Femmes and 2021 ParisâÂÂRoubaix Femmes. Two riders have won two of them in one year â Zulfiya Zabirova in 2004 and Anna van der Breggen in 2018.
Until 2026, the women's editions did not have a higher points status above other one-day races. From 2026, the UCI awarded more ranking points to the four races compared to other one-day races in the UCI Women's World Tour â thereby officially designating them as monuments. Media have discussed other races that may be worthy of the "monument" title, including Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio (the oldest one-day race on the women's calendar) and Strade Bianche Donne.