Since 1948 there has always been a season long competition comprised of a number of top races. Points are awarded to riders depending on their finishing positions in the particular races, and the winner is the rider with the most points at the end of the year. First came the Challenge Desgrange-Colombo which ran until 1958. It was then replaced with the Super Prestige Pernod prize which ran for 29 years until 1987. Both of these season long competitions consisted of one day races, stage races and Grand Tours. Then along came the road World Cup which consisted only of one day races. The road World Cup was contested until 2004 after which the Pro Tour was introduced. This is when fans and riders seemed to stop caring about any season long competition. ~ Continue reading ~