Okay, number one is the Tour de France general classification.

What are the top 10 wins? Is the Giro GC number two? Or is it the world road championship? Where does Paris-Roubaix rank? What about the Ronde van Vlaanderen? TdF points competition? What about the world time trial championship? Vuelta a Espana? Paris-Nice? Does any non-European race rank in the top 10?

Here's my top 10, for an Olympic year:
-- TdF General Classification
-- Giro d'Italia General Classification
-- World Road Championship
-- Olympic Road Race gold medal
-- Paris-Roubaix
-- TdF Points Competition
-- Ronde van Vlaanderen
-- Vuelta a Espana General Classification
-- World Time Trial Championship
-- Paris-Nice or Tour Down Under or Tour de Cali or Dauphine Libere or whatever...

Anyone know what the pros think, cuz my opinion doesn't matter?...

Sorry if this thread's been done already. If it has, can someone gimme a link?

What are the top 10 wins? Is the Giro GC number two? Or is it the world road championship? Where does Paris-Roubaix rank? What about the Ronde van Vlaanderen? TdF points competition? What about the world time trial championship? Vuelta a Espana? Paris-Nice? Does any non-European race rank in the top 10?
Anyone know what the pros think, cuz my opinion doesn't matter?...
It's hard to sort out all these races. And, it's all pretty subjective. But here's my two cents:

You really can't compare a Grand Tour GC to other non-Grand Tour or one day races. It's apples and oranges. The Tour's a big deal, but it's no better thn winning Paris-Roubaix. Lance would not have won PR just as Boonen cannot win the Tour. They require different skills. The Tour de France is generally considered slightly more prestigious than the Giro. The Vuelta is a distant third.

One day races are not less prestigious than a grand tour, they're just different (and in my mind, more exciting). The oldest classics and the monuments (the Ronde, Paris-Roubaix, Liege, San Remo, and the Tour of Lombardy) are the most presigious. The world championship is pretty much on par with these, also it can vary becasue the course changes so dramatically from year to year. After these, the older and longer the race, the more prestigious, generaly. So, the next level down you kind of have Amstel, Fleche, San Sebastian, Het Volk . . . of course, how hard they are from year to year really varies.

Again, however, its' subjective. An Italian would say San Remo and the Giro are the best. A Flandrian only really cares about the Ronde and a stage or two if a Belgian wins it. And a Spaniard will say that the Vuelta al Pais Vasco is the hardest race ever and that the Vuelta's as important as the Giro.

Shorter week long tours are kind of a middle child that are hard to define. Again, the general rule is the older and harder, the more presigious. So, the Tour of California is not really a big deal internationally, yet.

People will remember your name for many years, and possibly forever, if you win:

- Any grand tour
- Any of the "monuments:" (Milan-San Remo, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Giro di Lombardia)
- The World Road Championship

People will remember you for at least a year if you win:

-- Olympic Road Race gold medal
-- Amstel Gold
-- Fleche Wallone
-- Any Belgian semi-classic
-- A TDF stage

The rest of it is all dependent on personal taste. The ProTour and HC races are the big deals, but even then, some people care about Paris-Nice, while others care about Tirreno-Adriatico.

No one really cares about the World Time Trial Championship. People care even less about who wins the Olympic TT.

Anything below HC? Those can be good races, and it's nice for the palmares, but no one really cares. Hell, I was at the Tour of California and I have to think about who won it!

....I was at the Tour of California and I have to think about who won it!

Although I do agree that what races are important depend on which country you live in.