The UCI Road World Championships, often referred to as the World Cycling Championships, is the annual world championship for bicycle road racing organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The UCI road world championships include events for elite men and women's road race and individual time trial. In addition, championships are held for the same events for cyclists under 23.

• The winner of the UCI road world championship is considered the world cycling champion (or road world champion) and wears a Rainbow Jersey for a year in road races. The event is a single 'massed start' road race, the winner the first across the line.

• The winner of the time trial is the world time trial champion and wears the Rainbow Jersey for a year in individual time trial (ITT) events or time trial stages on stage races, such as the Tour de France.

Both the road race and time trial events are ridden by riders representing their countries, although they will have been representing different teams for most of the season.

[edit] History

The first professional world championship took place in july 1927 at the Nürburgring in Germany and was won by Alfredo Binda, of Italy. Since 1995, the race has been held towards the end of the European season in the fall, usually following the Vuelta a España. Before that, the event had always been a summer race, held in late August or the first week of September (with the exception of 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 sprinters or a hilly course which favors a climbing specialist or all-round. In each case the course is usually held on a circuit of which the riders complete multiple laps.

The elite men's race is usually won by riders on the UCI ProTour. In the past there were separate events for amateurs and professionals.

The world championship and two of the three Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España) form the Triple Crown of Cycling.

[edit] Championships

Year Country Location 1927  Germany Nürburgring 1928  Hungary Budapest 1929  Switzerland Zürich 1930  Belgium Liège 1931  Denmark Copenhagen 1932  Italy Rome 1933  France Montlhéry 1934  Germany Leipzig 1935  Belgium Floreffe 1936  Switzerland Berne 1937  Denmark Copenhagen 1938  Netherlands Valkenburg no race from 1939 to 1945 because of World War II 1946  Switzerland Zürich 1947  France Reims 1948  Netherlands Valkenburg 1949  Denmark Copenhagen 1950  Belgium Moorslede 1951  Italy Varese 1952  Luxembourg Luxembourg 1953  Switzerland Lugano 1954  West Germany Solingen 1955  Italy Frascati 1956  Denmark Copenhagen 1957  Belgium Waregem 1958  France Reims 1959  Netherlands Zandvoort

Year Country City 1960  East Germany Karl-Marx-Stadt 1961  Switzerland Berne 1962  Italy Salò di Garda 1963  Belgium Ronse 1964  France Sallanches 1965  Spain San Sebastián 1966  West Germany Nürburgring 1967  Netherlands Heerlen 1968  Italy Imola 1969  Belgium Zolder 1970  United Kingdom Leicester 1971  Switzerland Mendrisio 1972  France Gap 1973  Spain Barcelona 1974  Canada Montreal 1975  Belgium Yvoir 1976  Italy Ostuni 1977  Venezuela San Cristóbal 1978  West Germany Nürburgring 1979  Netherlands Valkenburg 1980  France Sallanches 1981  Czech Republic Prague 1982  United Kingdom Goodwood 1983  Switzerland Altenrhein 1984  Spain Barcelona 1985  Italy Giavera del Montello

Year Country City 1986  United States Colorado Springs 1987  Austria Villach 1988  Belgium Ronse 1989  France Chambéry 1990  Japan Utsunomiya 1991  Germany Stuttgart 1992  Spain Benidorm 1993  Norway Oslo 1994  Italy Agrigento 1995  Colombia Duitama 1996  Switzerland Lugano 1997  Spain San Sebastián 1998  Netherlands Valkenburg 1999  Italy Verona 2000  France Plouay 2001  Portugal Lisbon 2002  Belgium Zolder and Hasselt 2003  Canada Hamilton 2004  Italy Verona 2005  Spain Madrid 2006  Austria Salzburg 2007  Germany Stuttgart 2008  Italy Varese 2009  Switzerland Mendrisio 2010  Australia Melbourne and Geelong 2011  Denmark Copenhagen 2012  Netherlands Limburg

[edit] See also

• Men's Road Race
• Women's Road Race
• Men's Under-23 Road Race

[edit] Official Organizing Committee websites

• Mendrisio 2009
• Melbourne 2010
• Copenhagen 2011
• Limburg 2012