A race stage, leg, or heat is a unit of a race that 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. Other examples include ultramarathons and adventure racing.
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Race stage in the context of Racing
In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goal.
A race may be run continuously to finish or may be made up of several segments called heats, stages or legs. A heat is usually run over the same course at different times. A stage is a shorter section of a much longer course or a time trial.
Race stage in the context of Ultra-distance cycling
Ultra-distance cycling is the riding of any bike race or route longer than a century ride, which is 100 miles (160 km). However, such events are relatively common, so using a longer distance to define the category may be more useful, such as any race or ride that is longer than 200 kilometres (120 mi), 300 kilometres (190 mi) or even a double century, 200 miles (320 km). The definition of ultra-distance cycling is far more vague and controversial than in ultra running (any race longer than a marathon) or in ultra-triathlon (any race longer than an Ironman Triathlon).
Bike events that cover these distances but which are split into stages do not fit most definitions of ultra-distance races – the clock needs to run continuously from start to finish. Even so, extra-long stages within a longer race may be long enough to be an ultra-distance race by themselves. In addition, any team events in which individual cyclists do not complete the full distance are not considered to be ultra-distance.
Race stage in the context of Super Special Stage
A special stage (SS) is a section of closed road at a stage rallying event used for timed speed tests. Racers attempt to complete the stage in the shortest time. A race on a special stage is coordinated such that each competing racer begins after a set interval, to reduce the chance of impedance by other competitors. Each special stage is usually between 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) and 30 kilometres (19 mi) in length. Some stages may be as long as 50 kilometres (31 miles) in length. A rally usually comprises approximately 15–30 special stages, over multiple days of an event. The driver with the lowest overall time for all special stages in an event is the winner.