UCI Road World Championships overview
After a combined 'super' UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland in 2023, the UCI Road World Championships goes back to the stand-alone format in 2024. The 97th edition of the event, which was first contested for amateurs in 1921, is taking place in Zurich, Switzerland.
Last year it was Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) and Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) who claimed the elite road race titles while Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) and Chloe Dygert (USA) won the elite time trial rainbow jerseys.
The men's time trial courses start on the historic open race track in Zurich Oerlikon, via Dübendorf and head along Lake Greifensee before heading to join the same route as the events which start in Gossau, which includes the elite women's time trial. From there, the combined course heads across to the picturesque Lake Zurich and follows its shores to the finish at Sechseläutenplatz in Zurich.
The men's elite road race course starts northwest of the city in Winterthur and the women's elite road race to the east in Uster, before taking on a continually undulating route toward a 27km long circuit which includes two key climbing sections, Zürichbergstrasse and Witikon. The men take on the circuit seven times before crossing the line for the final time in Sechseläutenplatz while the women traverse the finishing loop four times.
This year there will not only be the defending champions to watch out for, but also the more recent Olympic victors – although Evenepoel has assured he will be one of the most closely watched men in the peloton after having also won gold at the road race and time trial in Paris. In the women's time trial, Paris 2024 gold medallist Grace Brown (Australia) will be attempting to continue her winning run as she takes on her last Worlds before retirement, while any escape attempt from Olympics road race winner Kristen Faulkner (USA) will not be underestimated.
UCI Road World Championships facts and figures
First edition: Race for amateurs began in 1921
First UCI Road World Champion: Sweden’s Gunnar Sköld
First edition with professionals: In 1927 the first Championships for professional men took place in Nürburgring, Germany
First women's race at event: In 1958 the women's road race was added to the program
First woman to win a rainbow jersey: Luxembourg’s Elsy Jacobs
Most world titles: French rider Jeannie Longo won five rainbow jerseys in the road race and four more in the individual time trial
Youth categories: Dedicated races and medals were introduced in 1975
Most recent event added to schedule: The team time trial mixed relay was put on the schedule in 2019
U23 Women's titles: 2022 was the first year titles were awarded to U23 women in the time trial and road race, with the winner being the first under-23 rider over the line in the elite women's events
U23 Women stand-alone events: The category will have its own races on the schedule from 2025
