The UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships are the

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 cyclo-cross organised by the

Union Cycliste Internationale The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues raci ...

(UCI). Starting in 2020, six events are organized each year – men's elite, women's elite, men's under 23, women's under 23, men's under 18 (Men's Juniors), and women's under 18 (Women's Juniors). Traditionally, the elite events are held on a Sunday with the other events held on the Saturday the day before. The UCI awards a gold medal and a rainbow jersey to the winner. Silver and bronze medals are awarded to the second and third place contestants. World champions wear their rainbow jersey until the following year's championship, but they may wear it only in the type of event in which they won it.

History

First held in 1950 it replaced the Critérium International de Cyclo-cross (French for ''International Cyclo-cross Criterium'') which, as the first international cyclo-cross race, was considered the unofficial world championship. It has since been held annually and is traditionally disputed at the end of January or the beginning of February. At first there was only the event for elite men. Events for junior and under 23 men were added in 1979 and 1996 respectively; women's events were added for the elites and under 23s in 2000 and 2016 respectively. Beyond these, there also was an event for amateurs from 1967 till 1993. Cyclo-cross being mostly centred in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

has made it take quite a while for the world championships to be held in another continent. This finally changed with the 2013 edition which took place in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, United States.

Current champions ( as of 2021/2022)

Championships

Results

* Women's elite race * Men's elite race * Women's under-23 race * Men's under-23 race * Junior women's race * Junior men's race

References

External links