Ceribian Tour

The Ceribian Tour is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in Ceribia, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. The race was first organized in 1528. As the Tour gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened and its reach began to extend around the globe. Participation expanded from a primarily Vallish field, as riders from all over the world began to participate in the race each year.

The Ceribian Tour is the second most cycling restigious, only after the Tour de Valland, three-week-long Grand Tours. Traditionally, the race is held primarily in the month of Nueva. While the route changes each year, the format of the race stays the same with the appearance of time trials, the passage through the mountain chains of the Ceribian nation, and a long number of stage and hilly stages to attract sprinters. Unlike the Tour de Valland, the last stage is not always a flat stage on the country's capital city, ending very often as a mountain or time-trial which is likely to decide the winner the last day. The modern editions of the Ceribian consist of 20 day-long segments (stages) over a 22-day period and cover around .

The number of teams usually varies between 20 and 22, with seven riders in each. All of the stages are timed to the finish; the riders' times are compounded with their previous stage times. The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race and gets to don the coveted red jersey. While the general classification garners the most attention there are other contests held within the Tour: the Points classification for the sprinters, the Mountain classification for the climbers, the young rider classification for riders under the age of 26, and the Team classification forr the fastest teams. Gaining a stage win is also a hotly contested competition, fought for by a specialist cycling sprinter on each team.

Classifications

The oldest and main competition in the Ceribian Tour is known as the 'general classification', for which the golden jersey is awarded: the winner of this is said to have won the race. A few riders from each team aim to win overall but there are three further competitions to draw riders of all specialties: points, mountains, and a classification for young riders with general classification aspirations. The leader of each of the aforementioned classifications wears a distinctive jersey, with riders leading multiple classifications wearing the jersey of the most prestigious that he leads. In addition to these four classifications, there are several minor and discontinued classifications that are competed for during the race.

General classification

The oldest and most sought after classification in the Ceribian Tour is the general classification. All of the stages are timed to the finish. The riders' times are compounded with their previous stage times; so the rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race. The leader is determined after each stage's conclusion. The leader of the race also has the privilege to wear the race leader's golden jersey. The jersey is presented to the leader rider on a podium in the stage's finishing town. If a rider is leading more than one classification that awards a jersey, he wears the "red maillot", since the general classification is the most important one in the race. The lead can change after each stage.

The organizers who revived the Ceribian following its suspensions in 1545 usually changed the color of the jersey. The leader's jersey began as red in 1528, became purple in 1536, then back to red in 1540. It was white with a horizontal red stripe from 192–1944. In 1949, when the Seigner Sport Organization resurrected the Ceribian Tour, yellow became the color of the leader's jersey, and in 1570, the colour of the leader's jersey was changed to a golden jersey.

The first rider to wear the general classification jersey was Mukhran Amaglobeli. Each team brings multiple golden jerseys in advance of the Tour in case one of their riders becomes the overall leader of the race. Riders usually try to make the extra effort to keep the jersey for as long as possible in order to get more publicity for the team and the sponsor(s) of the team. Cyclist has worn the yellow jersey for number stages, which is more than any other rider in the history of the Ceribian. Pythian Vettias Ioannu and Oslanburgan Holger Andersen remain as the only riders to win the Ceribian Tour three times (1558, 1559 and 1562; and 1560, 1561, and 1565, respectively).

Key

	Winner won points classification in the same year
	Winner won King of the Mountains classification in the same year
	Winner won young rider classification in the same year
	Winner won points and King of the Mountains classification in the same year

• The "Year" column refers to the year the competition was held.
• The "Margin" column refers to the margin of time by which the winner defeated the runner-up.
• The "Stage wins" column refers to the number of stage wins the winner had during the race.

Ceribian Tour general classification winners

Year	Cyclist	Nation	Sponsor/team	Time	Stage wins
1528	Pierre Signoret	Valland	Maréchal	+ 8'22"	1
1529	Pierre Signoret	Valland	Maréchal	+ 3'33"	1
1530	Jean-Claude Molineaux	Valland	Le Matin-Gaumont	+ 2'01"	1
1531	Jean-Claude Molineaux	Valland	Le Matin-Gaumont	+ 4'44"	1
1532	Jean-Claude Molineaux	Valland	Gaumont Cycling	+ 1'41"	1
1533	Arion Carras	Pythos	Carreois Cycling	+ 1'13"	1
1534	Mathieu Rozenthal	Valland	Laboratoires Filipacchi	+ 1'58"	1
1535	Kurt von Althoff	Nerysia	Wailbinger Team	+ 38"	1
1536	Alfred Simonet	Valland	Gaumont Cycling	+ 2'02"	1
1537	Kurt von Althoff	Nerysia	Waiblinger Team	+ 3'01"	1
1538	Jean de Pizan	Valland	Chartois Group	+ 1'13"	1
1539	Noe Saakadze	Ceribia	Etoru-Kakli Team	+ 2'07"	1
1540	Gillaume Bouchez	Valland	Hollande Automobiles	+ 2'59"	1
1541	Sebastian Makatsch	Kyrland	Chartois Group	+ 1'28"	1
1542	Sebastian Makatsch	Kyrland	Chartois Group	+ 44"	1
1543	Guillaume Bouchez	Valland	Hollande-Mutuelle Valland	+ 4'08"	1
1544	Noe Saakadze	Ceribia	Matumi Cycling	+ 2'33"	1
1545	Ceribian Civil War
1546
1547
1548
1549	Valikho Bakradze	Ceribia	ADM Cycling	+ 1'01"	1
1550	Malkhaz Alasania	Ceribia	Ceribiacell Cycling	+ 3'32"	1
1551	Jacques Delpy	Valland	Belle Èpoque	+ 0'57"	1
1552	Jacques Delpy	Valland	Belle Èpoque	+ 2'01"	1
1553	Max Gaumont	Valland	Casino Cycling	+ 1'39"	1
1554	Leon Rohmer	Kyrland	MOMO-Kyrstar	+ 1'32"	1
1555	Alfred Holstein	Alstaria	AVG-Rause Cycling	+ 1'02"	1
1556	Malkhaz Alasania	Ceribia	MVG-Etova Team	+ 2'10"	1
1557	Hans-Georg Simmel	Gehenna	Gesaffelstein	+ 3'13"	1
1558	Vettias Ioannu	Pythos	Abba-Lansky Team	+ 1'39"	1
1559	Vettias Ioannu	Pythos	Abba-Lansky Team	+ 4'17"	1
1560	Holger Andersen	Oslanburg	Carnegun Cycling	+ 5'02"	1
1561	Holger Andersen	Oslanburg	Carnegun Cycling	+ 2'44"	1
1562	Vettias Ioannu	Pythos	Amaury Team	+ 1'33"	1
1563	Jacques Gondry	Valland	Gourmet Team	+ 2'26"	1
1564	Jan Schrieber	Nerysia	Glockschneider	+ 3'21"	1
1565	Holger Andersen	Oslanburg	Carnegun Cycling	+ 1'29"	1
1566	Jean-Jacques Debussy	Valland	Gourmet-Haumot Cycling	+ 2'28"	1
1567	Jean-Jacques Debussy	Valland	Gourmet-Haumot Cycling	+ 3'41"	1
1568	Han Weltsch	Alstaria	Stampharma Cycling	+ 1'01"	1
1569	Andreas Strasser	Ostland	Astra Cycling	+ 2'24"	1
1570	Friedrich Göck	Vienland	Volter-Gourmet	+ 0'41"	1
1571	Philos Thanos	Pythos	Vertigo Cycling	+ 3'57"	3
1572	Zurab Avakidze	Ceribia	Chikhura-KDK	+ 2'27"	0
1573	Lasse Mogensen	Nyland	ZMG-Nissen	+ 2'25"	0
1574	Jean-Pierre Métezeau	Valland	Groupe NDEC	+ 0'08"	0
1575	Marc Berthold Menethil	Adwest	Vertigo Cycling	+ 0'14"	0
1576	Max Jordan	Goldecia	Royal Abbott	+ 2'12"	0
1577	Jean-Pierre Thanisse	Valland	Groupe NDEC	+ 0'16"	0
1578	Elton Isaksson	Nyland	ZMG-Nissen	+ 2'14"	1
1579	Wenceslao Cánovas	Castleon	New Galeae	+ 1'38"	1
1580	Miks Lieltirums	Videjszeme	Keszariakom	+ 2'35"	2
1581	Asai Satoshi	Kazemura	Nitenryu Cycling	+ 0'43"	0
1582	Elton Isaksson	Nyland	ZMG-Nissen	+ 0'11"	1
1583	Stavros Michelakakis	Mestra	MTS Team	+ 0'18"	0
1584	Stephen Newgreaves	Florinthus	New Galeae	+ 0'44"	0
1585	Jonathan Geissler	Oslanburg	ZMG-Nissen	+ 0'23"	0
1586	Henri Honnecourt	Valland	Télecon Team	+ 0'31"	0
1587	Grzegorz Sutzkever	Oslanburg	KDK-Magram	+ 8'24"	0
1588	Dominique Ruyssen	Valland	MTS-Biassoni	+ 0'37"	0
1589	Jose Cardoso	Castleon	MTS-Biassoni	+ 6'09"	1
1590	Romain Poquelin	Valland	Iskra Team	+ 1'01"	1
1591	Almas Cingur	Kyrzbekistan	KyrzAir	+ 1'26"	1
1592	Almas Cingur	Kyrzbekistan	KyrzAir	+ 1'56"	0
1593	Eden Grace Weatherhead	Adwest	Tyrus-Empire	+ 3'00"	2
1594	Eden Grace Weatherhead	Adwest	Tyrus-Empire	+ 1'01"	1
1595	Marcus Guceivius	Mordvania	Iskra	+ 0'47"	1
1596	Pharnavaz Undiladze	Ceribia	Bagdati	+ 1'11"	2
1597	Jack Marshall	Goldecia	Ogo Cycling	+ 1'12"	1

As of 1580, 12 cyclists have won the Ceribian Tour more than once.

Multiple winners of the Ceribian general classification

Cyclist	Nation	Total	Years
Jean-Claude Molineaux	Valland	3	1530, 1531, 1532
Vettias Ioannou	Pythos	3	1558, 1559, 1562
Holger Andersen	Oslanburg	3	1560, 1561, 1565
Pierre Signoret	Valland	2	1528, 1529
Kurt von Althoff	Nerysia	2	1535, 1537
Noe Saakadze	Ceribia	2	1539, 1544
Guillaume Bouchez	Valland	2	1540, 1543
Sebastian Makatsch	Kyrland	2	1541, 1542
Jacques Delpy	Valland	2	1551, 1552
Malkhaz Alasania	Ceribia	2	1549, 1556
Jean-Jacques Debussy	Valland	2	1566, 1567
Elton Isaksson	Nyland	2	1578, 1582
Almas Cingur	Kyrzbekistan	2	1591, 1592
Eden Grace Weatherhead	Adwest	2	1593, 1594

By nationality

Ceribian Tour general classification winners by nationality

Country	No. of winning cyclists	No. of wins
Valland	13	21
Ceribia	5	6
Pythos	2	5
Oslanburg	3	5
Nerysia	2	3
Kyrland	2	3
Nyland	2	3
Adwest	2	3
Alstaria	2	2
Castleon	2	2
Kyrzbekistan	1	2
Gehenna	1	1
Ostland	1	1
Vienland	1	1
Goldecia	2	2
Videjszeme	1	1
Kazemura	1	1
Mestra	1	1
Florinthus	1	1
Mordvania	1	1

Mountains classification

The mountains classification is the second oldest jersey awarding classification in the Ceribian Tour. The mountains classification was added to the Ceribian Tour in 1549 and was first won by Malkhaz Alasania. During stages of the race containing climbs, points are awarded to the first riders to reach the top of each categorized climb, with points available for up to the first 10 riders, depending on the classification of the climb. Climbs are classified according to the steepness and length of that particular hill, with more points available for harder climbs.

The climbers' jersey is worn by the rider who, at the start of each stage, has the largest amount of climbing points. If a rider leads two or more of classifications, the climbers' jersey is worn by the rider in second, or third, place in that contest. At the end of the Tour, the rider holding the most climbing points wins the classification. Some riders may race with the aim of winning this particular competition, while others who gain points early on may shift their focus to the classification during the race. The Tour has five categories for ranking the mountains the race covers. The scale ranges from category 4, the easiest, to Alasania category, the hardest, named after Malkhaz Alasania, considered the best Ceribian climber of the 16th century.

Points classification

The points classification is the third oldest of the currently awarded jersey classifications. It was introduced in the 1570 and was first won by Heinrich Prechtl. The classification was added to draw the participation of the sprinters as well as following the example of the same classification in the Tour de Valland. Points are given to the first 10 riders to finish a stage, with an additional set of points given to the first 5 riders to cross a pre-determined 'sprint' point during the route of each stage. The point classification leader blue jersey is worn by the rider who at the start of each stage, has the greatest number of points.

The cyclists are awarded points for high place finishes (with first place getting the most points, and lower placings getting successively fewer points), so the cyclist with the most points was awarded the green jersey. The amount of points awarded varies depending on the type of stage, with flat stages awarding the most points at the finish and time trials and high mountain stages awarding the least amount of points at the finish. This increases the likelihood of a sprinter winning the points classification, though other riders can be competitive for the classification if they have a sufficient number of high-place finishes.

The winner of the classification is the rider with the most points at the end of the Tour. In case of a tie, the leader is determined by the number of stage wins, then the number of intermediate sprint victories, and finally, the rider's standing in the general classification.

Young rider classification

The leader of the classification is determined the same way as the general classification, with the riders' times being added up after each stage and the eligible rider with lowest aggregate time is dubbed the leader. The Young rider classification is restricted to the riders that are under the age of 25.

This classification was added to the Ceribian Tour in 1570, with Philos Thanos being the first to win the classification after placing sixth overall. The Tour de Vallad awards a white jersey to the leader of the classification. Two riders have won both the young rider classification and the general classification in the same year: Ceribian climber Zurab Avakidze (1572) and Goldecian Max Jordan (1576). Max Jordan remains as the only rider to have won the young rider classification three times (1574, 1575, 1576).

Team classifications and prizes

The Team classification is assessed by adding the time of each team's best three riders each day. The competition does not have its own jersey but since 1571 the leading team has worn numbers printed black-on-yellow. As of 1580, the riders of the leading team wear red helmets.

Stages

The modern tour typically has 20 stages, one per day.

Mass-start stages

A collected peloton in the 1580 Ceribian Tour

Riders in most stages start together. The first kilometres are a rolling start without racing. The real start is announced by the Tour director waving a white flag. Riders are permitted to touch, but not push or nudge, each other. The first to cross the stage finish line wins the stage. Riders are given a time based on the group that they finish in. All riders in a group finish in the same time as the lead rider. This avoids dangerous mass sprints. It is not unusual for the entire field to finish in a group, taking time to cross the line but being credited with the same time. Since 1571, when riders fall or crash within the final 3 kilometres of a stage with a flat finish, they are awarded the same time as the group they were in. This change encourages riders to sprint to the finish for points awards without fear of losing time to the group. The final kilometre has been indicated since 1549 by a red triangle above the road. The first photo-finish was in 1555.

The Tour directors categorise mass-stage starts into 'flat', 'hilly' or 'mountain'. This affects the points awarded in the sprint classification, whether the 3 kilometer rule is operational, and the permitted disqualification time in which riders must finish (which is the winners' time plus a pre-determined percentage of that time). Time bonuses of 12, 8 and 3 seconds are awarded to the first three finishers.

On flat stages, most riders can stay in the peloton to the finish, and sprint finishes are common. Crosswinds, the difficulty of long cobbled sections or crashes are often the major challenges of these stages. On hilly and particularly mountain stages, there can be major shifts in the general classification, particularly where stages finish at the tops of climbs. It is not uncommon for riders to lose 30 minutes or to be eliminated after finishing outside the time limit.

Individual time trials

Goldecia Max Jordan riding the individual time trial of the 1576 Ceribian Tour

Riders in a time trial compete individually against the clock, each starting at a different time. The first time trial was between François Champlain in 1549. The first stage in modern Tours is often a short trial, a prologue, to decide who wears yellow on the opening day. The first prologue was in 1559. There are usually two or three time trials. The final time trial has sometimes been the final stage, more recently often the penultimate stage. The launch ramp, a sloping start pad for riders, was first used in 1957. In recent years, the organization of the Ceribian Tour has included a longer team trial stage during the first week of the race.

Team time trial

A team time trial (TTT) is a race against the clock in which each team rides alone. The time is that of the fifth rider of each team: riders more than a bike-length behind their team's fifth rider are awarded their own times. The TTT has been criticised for favouring strong teams and handicapping strong riders in weak teams.

Time limits

Riders completing a stage may be eliminated if their time exceeds the time limit for the stage. The limit is defined as the winner's time plus a percentage, which depends on the type of stage and the winner's average speed. The time limit can be extended or the elimination can be waived if more than 20% of riders exceed the limit or for other reasons such as collisions or foul weather.

The start and finish of the Tour

Most stages are in mainland Ceribia, although since the 1560s it has become common to visit nearby countries: Calgarov, Assaria, Pythos and Angiris have all hosted stages or part of a stage.

Starts abroad

The following editions of the Tour started, or are planned to start, outside Ceribia

• 1576 Ceribian Tour: Ormeus, Pythos
• 1582 Ceribian Tour: Westmarch, Angiris