Definitions of bicycle racing. Bike Race. types: The Tour de France. a three-week professional cycling event in France that spans around 3,000 kilometres. Racers compete for 30-60 minutes, depending on expertise level, by racing many laps over a short course (typically 1.5-2 miles). Officials will clock the first few laps to determine how fast the field is running, then display lap cards at the start/finish line to indicate how many laps remain in the race. Mass start races, in which riders start simultaneously (albeit occasionally with a handicap) and race to a predetermined finish point, and time trials, in which individual riders or teams race a route alone against the clock, are the two most prevalent competitive types.