General Classification
The General Classification (or GC) in bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for bicycle riders in multi-stage bicycle races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest time when all the stage results are added together.
Note that it is possible to win the GC without winning even one stage of a multi-stage race. It is even possible to win the GC of the race without being the GC leader on any stage before the last stage of the race.
In many bicycle races, the current leader of the GC gets a special jersey awarded. For the Tour de France this is the yellow jersey (in French, "maillot jaune"). It is considered to be an honor to wear the special jersey.
The most important stages of a bicycle race for GC contenders are mountain stages and time trial stages. Both of these offer the best chance for a single racer to outperform other racers.
In French, GC is "Classement Général". In Italian, it is "Classifica Generale".
Eddy Merckx, Greg Lemond, Miguel Indurain, and Lance Armstrong are all famous bicycle racers known for winning the GC of the Tour de France.