2024 Cycling Calendar/Watch Guide

This piece will explain next year’s cycling race schedule and explain which races are more worth watching than others*.

*All schedule information courtesy of ProCyclingStats.com

The WorldTour season opens with the Tour Down Under in mid January, a six-day stage race in Australia. The race takes place mostly in the hills around Adelaide in South Australia. The general classification is usually decided on a few small climbs later in the race, as the topography of the region does not offer any alpine passes for the organizers to work with. The field for this race blows hot and cold depending on the year. 2024’s edition can be expected to include defending champion Jay Vine. The rest of the GC field is still to be decided. If you are going to watch this race, be prepared to be up in the wee hours of the morning, a boring few stages, and an explosive final stage.

The peloton that raced TDU will mostly stick around and then ride the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race on January 28. This is a strange race with a few steep hills, but one that usually favors a sprinter. The list of winners in the short history of the race is quite underwhelming. This is my least-favorite WorldTour race in the entire calendar.

After a few-week break, the season heats up again in late February with the UAE Tour, which is seven stages. Despite the new and random nature of a WorldTour bike race in the United Arab Emirates, the list of winners here after just five editions is already legendary: Pogacar twice, Remco, Adam Yates, and Roglic. The battles between Adam Yates and Pogi/Remco on Jebel Hafeet (the one climb of significance in the race) have been epic. Obviously, the sponsor obligations of the UAE team produced these spectacles. It is nice for the viewer, starved of WorldTour racing in February. Most of the stages are pan-flat, but there can be crosswinds, which shake up the General Classification. This race comes on quite early in the morning on the East Coast of the United States.

On February 24, the Opening Weekend of the Classics Season starts with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, a cobbled race in Beligum. Most of the cobblers will arrive here in good shape, though their real goals lie about five or six weeks later in the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix. The second race in the opening weekend is Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, which is a .Pro race (second-tier).

The next race in the World Tour is Strade Bianchi on March 2. It is a hilly gravelly race round Tuscany. Some say it is the most beautiful race on the entire calendar. While I highly enjoy this race generally, it may take a big back seat this year because of the logistical and physical challenge for top riders to do this race and start Paris-Nice the next day.

Paris-Nice is an eight-day stage race that makes its way from Central/Northern France down to Riviera and Nice. It is probably the second-most prestigious one-week stage race on the whole calendar, and will be the hardest to win in 2024 because it will act as a mini-Tour de France (the Tour is finishing in Nice next year, rather than Paris). I expect all of the top GC contenders to square off in March. Depending on what route the ASO cooks up, 2024 Paris-Nice could be one of the best races of the year.

Concurrent with Paris-Nice (though it starts the day after) is Tirenno-Adriatico, a mini Giro d’Italia. It is an seven-day stage race in Italy. While recently this race has seen some legendary performances, I’d recommend prioritizing Paris-Nice next year.

The next weekend is Milano-Sanremo, the first Monument of the season. It is the longest race on the calendar, usually nearing 300 kilometers and finishing explosively with two shallow climbs (Cipressa and Poggio) that open the door to a lot of different riders and scenarios. Tune in for the last hour and see beautiful scenery, unpredictable racing, and the big guns come out to play; you will not be disappointed.

Monday, March 18 the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya kicks off, which is one of the oldest races on the calendar. It is another seven-day stage race, this time in Spain. I enjoy this race a bit less than most other World Tour races. With no route or start list to go on, I recommend watching if you have time, otherwise it is a TBD.

While Catalunya tours that rebellious province in Spain, the Belgian cobbles come to the fore, with five World Tour one-day races in the span of 11 days, culminating in the Ronde van Vlaanderen (though all the big Classics riders will be peaking for that and Paris-Roubaix the following Sunday.) The hardy Northern Cobblers will take on Classic Brugge-De Panne, E3 Saxo Classic, Gent-Wevelgem, Dwars door Vlaanderen, and then De Ronde. Of the “warm-up races” Gent-Wevelgem outpaces the rest in terms of history, course profile, and prestige (it is 250+ kilometers; the Monument distance). But lately, the big hitters have been selecting just one or two of these races to prepare for Flanders and usually Roubaix, and often skipping G-V. Last year, E3 Saxo Classic was one of the best Classic races of the season, with Wout van Aert outsprinting Pogi and MVDP to win in an upset that gave the Flemish faithful hope that Wout would finally win the big one (he finished fourth). The Ronde van Vlaanderen is my favorite Monument of the season. It is about 275 kilometers and contains a few dozen cobbled bergs, which are generally short and pretty steep. Because it is such a hard race, it gives an opportunity to climbers to damage the rouleurs on the climbs. Pogacar recognized that early in his career and debuted in 2022 (despite being the strongest rider that year, he relegated himself to fourth in a two-up sprint). But last year it was won by my favorite rider in a historic edition which also set a record for average speed. If you have six hours to spare on Sunday, March 31, I recommend watching the Tour of Flanders (Anglicized name) from start to finish.

Many of the best GC riders in the World Tour peloton have traditionally targeted and almost peaked for Itzulia Basque Country, which is a brutally difficult six-day stage race in one of cycling’s traditional heartlands in Northern Spain in early April. The reason it is such a big target is because the prestigious Ardennes Classics are right around the corner. Jonas Vingegaard showed up last year and eviscerated some lesser competition. It remains to be seen who goes next year. The course will be excellent as always; the only question is the start list. It is difficult to see more than one or two (though zero is probably more likely) Big Four GC riders riding Itzulia next year with Paris-Nice and the Ardennes so important.

The day after Itzulia finishes, Paris-Roubaix concludes the Holy Week of Cobbled Monuments. Paris-Roubaix is the second-most prestigious one-day race day in cycling, surpassed only by the World Championship. It is even harder to win because it always requires good luck. It is basically a pan flat, 260-kilomter rouleur war in Northern France that includes 55 kilometers of cobbles, twists and turns, wind, crashes, and if it is wet, mud, and always chaos. There is a skill to riding cobbles that the Flandriens tend to acquire at a young age. But the race is usually won by the strongest (who’s lucky enough) flat engine. You need to push over 300 watts and in the range of 350+ normalized for almost six hours, to win Roubaix, not to mention position yourself in the front of the peloton and masterfully handle your bike the whole time (those are skills required in every race, but even more important in a race like P-R.) You can expect WVA and MVDP to be heavy favorites again next year. I am bullish on Filippo Ganna getting a result in this race at some point in his career. Paris-Roubaix concludes the Northern Spring Cobbled Classics season.

The following Sunday, it is straight to the Ardennes, which begin with Amstel Gold Race, a 260ish-kilometer hilly race in the Netherlands, won last year by Pogacar in dominating fashion (most of the other heaviest hitters skipped the race). It is a race that brings in a lot of different riders because while there are more than 35 climbs, none are very long and most are not very steep. Wout and MVDP have each won this race in their careers. This is the only World Tour race in the Netherlands, which I find an odd statistic for one of the biggest cycling countries. Practically, I imagine the Dutch authorities are difficult to work with when it comes to organizing 200k+ bike races, and the country does not feature much terrain to work with to create interesting racing. Next year’s edition could be extremely watered-down if the top riders have other goals.

Wednesday of Ardennes week is Fleche Wallonne, which is a 200ish-kilometer hilly race around Wallonia in Belgium. The peloton hits the Mur de Huy three times and finishes on top of it. This is one of those races with a script that plays out the exact same every year: a few-hundred meter sprint up a 15+ percent gradient contested by the best puncheurs in the world. This is the race that partially inspired the title of this blog, and was the first race I ever covered. Last year, Pogi won pretty easily against a weak field. Unfortunately, in 2024, he might not show up and we could be relegated to seeing one of my hot takes for next year come to fruition and Mattias Skjelmose take the victory. Do not misunderstand the nature of that comment; he’s a nice rider, but at this stage of his young career, he is not even close to Roglic/Evenepoel/Vingegaard/Pogacar quality. But hey, perhaps I’ll be totally wrong and some of the big guns do show up, or Alaphilippe resurrects himself and dominates this race like he used.

And on a Sunday in late April, Liege-Bastogne-Liege concludes the Ardennes week and the entire Spring Classics season. Liege is a 260-kilometer race consisting of climbs between 800 meters and 5 kilometers between 5 and 12 percent, and about 4,500 total meters of elevation gain. So this is a race more tilted in the real climbers’ favor than Amstel. The last three years it has been won by Pogacar, Remco, and Remco again. Pogacar pulled out of the race in 2022 to comfort his fiancee, and crashed out with a broken wrist in 2023. I think finally at least three of the Big Four riders (unsure if Jonas will show up) will square off in top form in a Monument. This could be one of the best races of the year.

After just a day off, the World Tour peloton tackles the Tour de Romandie, which is a six-day stage race in the French-speaking region of Switzerland. Most years this is the weakest of the seven “big” one-week stage races. Next year I expect the same. Do not tune in unless you are quite bored.

May 1st sees Eschborn-Frankfurt, a race new to the World Tour calendar and one of the least prestigious of the season. Soren Kragh Andersen did one of his escapee masterclasses last year and won solo. I probably won’t watch next year.

On May 4th, the Giro d’Italia commences. It is a normal Grand Tour with 21 stages and two rest days. It could be one of the weakest Grand Tour fields in years, but it is still the Giro.

Most of the Giro d’Italia peloton takes a rest in June, while the Tour de France roster chooses between the Criterium du Dauphine and the Tour de Suisse to prepare for Le Grand Boucle. The Dauphine is a bit more prestigious, but it really does not matter which one the riders pick. The TdS is one week later, which could be good or bad depending on your approach to peaking in July.

The Tour de France starts on June 29th, one week earlier than normal due to the Olympic Games taking place next year, and in Paris to boot. The Tour is by far the most important race on the calendar, the only bike race most lay people have heard of, the most lucrative, etc. A victory here defines a career. It is why often the fifth or even eighth-best GC rider shows up here in peak form rather than trying to poach a soft Giro; because he knows that fifth in the Tour can be worth more than a victory in almost any other race. The 2024 Tour de France has one notable shift from the prior three-plus decades: the final stage is a time trial rather than a sprint procession, and it takes place in Nice instead of Paris. The Tour also starts in Italy for the first time in its history next year and follows the 2023 example with a very hilly opening weekend. There is not much to be said now that has not been said already: the Big Four should fight it out and the viewer will be treated to what has the potential to be the greatest Tour of all time. Far more likely, in my view, is another dominant victory by Jonas Vingegaard. It is sad that this race is still seven months away.

About a week after the Tour: the Olympic Games in Paris. The Olympics are a huge priority for most of the big riders that the course suits enough next year (the route is long, but probably not quite hilly enough to bring the pure climbers into the equation). The Classics guys have a better shot. I’d highly recommend tuning into the Olympic Road Race and Time Trial for some fascinating racing (there are no team radios and the riders compete for the countries rather than trade teams).

There is a relatively long break in World Tour racing before the August 10th Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa, which is a hilly one-day race of near-Monument distance in the Basque Country. Remco will probably go to this race again and win for a record fourth time.

The Tour of Poland is a seven-day stage race in mid-August, which really should not be of World Tour category. There are not any significant climbs, and the race is traditionally poorly organized. I never watch it.

August 17th through September 8th is the Vuelta a Espana, the season’s final Grand Tour. I love the Vuelta. It remains to be seen who will ride it next year, though I imagine Jonas, Kuss, and Roglic at minimum.

August 25th is the Bretagne Classic, a hilly race of Monument distance in France. I’ve never watched this race (the Vuelta takes precedence) and probably won’t next year.

August 28th to September 1st is the Renewi Tour, which is a Flemish stage race that always changes its name. I never watch this race.

BEMER Cyclassics, a one-day race in Germany, is September 8th. This is usually a sprinters’ race, which (spoiler) I’ve never watched live.

In mid-September, the World Tour then heads to North America, specifically Canada, for two one-day races in Quebec City and Montreal. The Canadian Classics do not always field the strongest start lists, but they are cool little races. I was fortunate enough to watch Pogacar win Montreal in 2022 in person.

The World Championships are back to their traditional date in late September. Next year, they are in Switzerland with an excellent road course. Pogacar is the heavy favorite in the road race. The time trial should be a slugfest between Remco and Ganna.

After nearly a month without a World Tour race, Lombardia is October 12th. It is the final Monument of the season and one that suits the climbers. Pogacar is three-time defending champion.

The final World Tour race of the season is the Tour of Guangnxi in China. It is the only World Tour race in East Asia, and is not nearly as prestigious as Tirenno-Adriatico, for example. With the time zone difference and the lack of interesting stage profiles, I do not even watch the replays.

So that is the entire World Tour calendar for 2024. Many of the big riders will compete in some smaller races (.Pro or .1; second- and third-category races) mainly to prepare for the big ones. For example, the entire Italian Classics season in the fall, with the exception of Lombardia, the big one, are not World Tour category. The Giro dell’Emilia, for one, should absolutely be. The UCI gives category bonuses to races around the world, especially if they are the only race of significance in that country.

In all, there are over 160 days of World Tour racing. That is one reason I say cycling is a far better sport to follow than running, for example. In running, competition is sparse. The big guns might race 10-15 times per year at most. Cyclists race 60-80 days per year.

I am already looking forward to the next season. Hopefully this guide is useful for you to determine which races to watch.