The Triple Crown of Cycling is a term used in road bicycle racing to denote the achievement of winning three major titles in the same season, usually the Giro d'Italia general classification, the Tour de France general classification and the UCI Road World Championships Road Race. It is considered by many fans of the sport to be the greatest 'single' achievement in cycling. Although mostly it means winning the Giro, the Tour and the Road World Championships in one calendar year, occasionally a broader definition is also seen where the victory in the Giro d'Italia can be exchanged for the Vuelta a España; this alternative has gained traction as the Vuelta, historically the least prestigious Grand Tour, has gained in reputation and importance. A hat-trick which did not include the Tour de France and the World title would not generally be considered as the Triple Crown. So far, the triple crown of cycling (in both the narrower and the broader definition) has been achieved by only three cyclists, Eddy Merckx, Stephen Roche and Annemiek van Vleuten. Requiring a cyclist who is excellent as both a general classification rider, and a classics racer, it is considered the hardest achievement in professional road bicycle racing in the same year. Despite the prestige of the achievement, the Triple Crown of cycling is not an official title, and there is no physical award given for its accomplishment. Triple crowns won The Triple Crown has only been achieved twice by men (both times by winning Giro/Tour/Worlds): Women's Triple crowns won Near wins Some cyclists have been close to winning the triple crown of cycling, winning two of the three requirements. Among those who came close are Eddy Merckx on other occasions, the Italian great Fausto Coppi, Frenchman Bernard Hinault, and later Spaniard Miguel Indurain, who finished sixth and second in the World Championships after completing the Giro-Tour Double in 1992 and 1993 respectively. Winning two grand tours in one year Coppi was the first rider in the history of the sport to win the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in the same year which he did twice in 1949 and 1952. At the World road race championships in 1949 Coppi came third behind Rik Van Steenbergen of Belgium and Ferdi Kübler of Switzerland. Merckx was the first rider to win the triple crown but he had already come close to winning it in