In
sports, a
stage, or
leg, or
heat, is a unit of a
race which has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a
multi-day event. Usually, such a race consists of "ordinary" stages, but sometimes stages are held as an
individual time trial or a
team time trial. Long races such as the
Tour de France,
Absa Cape Epic or the
Giro d'Italia are known for their stages of one day each, whereas the boat sailing
VELUX 5 Oceans Race is broken down in usually four stages of several weeks duration each, where the competitors are racing continuously day and night. In bicycling and running events, a race with stages is known as a
stage race.