When are the Classics, Grand Tours and World Championships? The key dates for cycling's autumn races

Updated 12/08/2020 at 14:10 GMT

Cycling is one of the many sports with a completely new schedule due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Check out the revised dates for the 2020 UCI World Tour and Women's World Tour here.

Simon Yates of Great Britain and Team Mitchelton-Scott / Annemiek van Vleuten of The Netherlands and Team Mitchelton-Scott / during the 39th Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian 2019, Team Presentation / @ehitzulia / on August 02, 2019 in San Sebastian, Spain

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Top level cycling returns on August 1 with Strade Bianche, kicking off an intense three-month schedule that sees all of the sport's major races crammed into a little over 12 weeks.

The Tour de France will as ever be the flagship event, but there are a number of other highlights in what could be one of the most exciting periods for the sport in decades.

Cycling's Monuments, Classics, Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta Espana are available to watch online as live streams on Eurosport Player or on Eurosport TV.

Tour de France

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Team INEOS rider Egan Bernal of Colombia wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, followed by team-mate Geraint Thomas

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The Monuments

Milan San Remo – Saturday, August 8

The traditional first Monument of the year comes a week after the season restarts with Strade Bianche. Julian Alaphilippe is the defending champion while Philippe Gilbert will be looking to become only the fourth rider to win all five monument races. He’s twice finished third at the race.

Tour of Flanders – Sunday, October 18

Usually held in early April, riders will this year be going over the cobbles in the middle of October, which could make for some interesting weather conditions. Alberto Bettiol will be the defending champion.

Paris Robauix – Sunday, October 25

Usually a tough race in mid-April, Paris Robauix could be even more hellish in late autumn, particularly with tired legs as this will be the final major European race of the year. Philippe Gilbert won in 2019 but look out for Mathieu van der Poel as he makes his debut.

Paris - Roubaix

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Liege-Bastogne-Liege – Sunday, October 4

The oldest Classic takes place a day after the re-arranged Giro d’Italia kicks off. Jakob Fuglsang is the defending champion.

Giro di Lombardia – Saturday, August 15

Usually the last of the five Monument races, the Giro di Lombardia will this year come just a week after Milan-San Remo and runs alongside the final days of the Critérium du Dauphiné (August 12-16). Bauke Mollema has said he hopes to defend his title.

Key Women's Tour races

Strade Bianche – Saturday, August 1

Exactly six months after the first race of the 2020 Women's World Tour in Australia, the Tour returns in Italy. Road world champion Annemiek van Vleuten will be aiming to defend her title and pick up where she left off with a brilliant win in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

La Course by Le Tour de France – Saturday, August 29

The change of date has also meant a change of route for La Course from a circuit in Paris to a 96km road race that features two climbs over the Cote de Rimiez. Marianne Vos is the defending champion.

Giro Rosa – Friday, September 11 to Saturday, September 19

The premier stage race on the Women’s Tour start finishes just two days before the elite time trial at the Road World Championships, which could make for a few tricky decisions. Annemiek van Vleuten will be looking to win the race for a third year in a row.

Why I launched monster 105km solo attack: Van Vleuten on her extraordinary World Championship win

Paris–Roubaix – Sunday, October 25

The women will finally get a chance to tackle the ‘Hell of the North’ for the first time this year. The gruelling race has been added to the re-arranged calendar and has generated plenty of excitement among riders.

The World Championships

UCI Road World Championships – Cancelled

The World Championships had been scheduled to run from September 20 to September 27, but have been cancelled due to Switzerland's coronavirus restrictions.

The Grand Tours

Tour de France – Saturday, August 29 to Sunday, September 20

Usually the second of the Grand Tours, the Tour de France will be the first on the calendar this year. The race starts in Nice and finishes in Paris, features six summit finishes, a host of new climbs, eight possible sprints, and just a single time trial. Read more about the route here. Egan Bernal won the race last year but all eyes will be on Team Ineos to see how things play out between Bernal, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas.

Giro d’Italia – Saturday, October 3 to Sunday, October 25

The Giro was the first of the Grand Tours to postpone and returns without the planned opening stages in Hungary, instead running an extended start in Sicily. With the race starting so soon after the Tour de France, the usual Giro-Tour double is not an option this year, with World Tour teams splitting their resources between the two. There will still be a host of big names involved, including Simon Yates, Remco Evenepoel, Peter Sagan, Vincenzo Nibali and Richard Carapaz.

La Vuelta - Tuesday, October 20 to Sunday, 8 November

The Vuelta will run into November with the chance of weather playing a big part in a slightly compressed race that still contains a host of mountain stages and opportunities for the climbers. Starting a month after the Tour de France means that the Vuelta could see an extremely strong field enter, although details will remain in doubt until after Stage 21 of the Tour in Paris.

Full Live Stream and Broadcast Details

Eurosport will be broadcasting all of the above races, both on the TV channel - check here for TV listings - and as a live stream on the Eurosport Player streaming service.

Grand Tour punditry will return, featuring Bradley Wiggins, Orla Chennaoui and more, while sister company GCN will be broadcasting digital-only streams of analysis, entertainment and select additional races throughout the three months.

Eurosport's chart-topping podcast the Bradley Wiggins Show will return with a new episode every week throughout the season and bonus episodes in the Grand Tours, while Eurosport's website will provide written coverage, video clips and features of all the Grand Tour stages and every significant race in the calendar.