The UCI Road World Championships are the annual

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

s for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' " stopwatch stage"). There are also track ...

, and a mixed team relay.

Events

All the world championship events are ridden by national teams, not trade teams such as in most other major races. The winner of each category is entitled to wear the rainbow jersey in races of that category (either mass start or time trial) until the next championships. It currently includes the following championships: * Elite Men's road race * Elite Men's time trial * Under-23 Men's road race * Under-23 Men's time trial * Junior Men's road race * Junior Men's time trial * Elite Women's road race * Elite Women's time trial * Junior Women's road race * Junior Women's time trial * Mixed team relay Former events: * Men's amateur road race * Men's team time trial * Women's team time trial

History

The first world championships took place in 1921, though the only event that was contested was the men's road race for amateurs. The first professional world championship took place in July 1927 at the Nürburgring in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

where

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Alfredo Binda won the professional men's race and

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

Jean Aerts Jean Aerts (8 September 1907 – 15 June 1992) was a Belgian road bicycle racer who specialized as a sprinter. Aerts became the first man to win both the world amateur (1927) and professional (1935) road race championships. In 1935, Aerts ...

won the men's amateur race. The women's road race was introduced in 1958. A men's team time trial, contested by national teams, was introduced in 1962. Beginning in 1972, the team time trial was discontinued in Olympic years only. Individual time trials in all categories were added in 1994, which was also the last year for the original incarnation of the men's team time trial. In 2012, the men's team time trial was reinstated, and a women's team time trial added to the program; both were contested by trade teams. In 2019, the team time trial events for men and women were replaced by a mixed relay team time trial. Until 1995, there were separate races for male professional and amateur riders. In 1996, the amateur category was replaced with a category for men under-23 years old, with the professional category becoming an open (later elite) category. Since 1995, the race has been held towards the end of the European season in late September, usually following the . Before that, the event had always been a summer race, held in late August or the first week of September (except for 1970, when it was a mid-season summer event). The world championships are located in a different city or region every year. The event can be held over a relatively flat course which favors

cycling sprinter A sprinter is a road bicycle racer or track racer who can finish a race very explosively by accelerating quickly to a high speed, often using the slipstream of another cyclist or group of cyclists tactically to conserve energy. Apart from us ...

s or a hilly course which favors a

climbing specialist A climbing specialist or climber, also known as a grimpeur, is a road bicycle racer who can ride especially well on highly inclined roads, such as those found among hills or mountains. Role of climber in a race In a sustained climb, the average ...

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are consi ...

. In each case, the course is usually held on a circuit, of which the riders complete multiple laps. The world championship road race and two of the three

Grand Tours In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour is one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España. Collectively they are termed the ''Grand Tours'', and all three races are similar in ...

(namely the and the ) form the Triple Crown of Cycling.

Editions

Note: Not held from 1939 to 1945 because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Hosts

:''Updated after

2022 UCI Road World Championships The 2022 UCI Road World Championships will be held from 18 to 25 September 2022 in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. In February 2022 the UCI announced that a Women's U23 category will be added to the road and time trial race. The title w ...

.''

All Medals

:''Updated after

2021 UCI Road World Championships The 2021 UCI Road World Championships was the 94th edition of the UCI Road World Championships, the annual world championships for road bicycle racing. It was held between 19 and 26 September 2021 in the Flanders region of Belgium. The region w ...

.'' Medal table includes only medals achieved in senior events. Mixed nation team events such as the Team Time Trial from 2012 to 2018 are excluded.

Countries

* Belgium at the UCI Road World Championships * Denmark at the UCI Road World Championships * Germany at the UCI Road World Championships * Italy at the UCI Road World Championships * Lithuania at the UCI Road World Championships * Netherlands at the UCI Road World Championships * New Zealand at the UCI Road World Championships * Spain at the UCI Road World Championships * United States at the UCI Road World Championships

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uci Road World Championships Road World Championships Road bicycle races Recurring sporting events established in 1921