World Cycling Championship
| Cycling World Championship - Road | |
|---|---|
| Region: | Different location each year. Outside Europe at least once every seven years |
| Date: | Differed through history; early October in recent years |
| Type: | Championship (One-day race) |
| History | |
| First Edition: | 1927 |
| Number of Editions: | 71 |
| First Winner: | Alfredo Binda (Italy) |
| Most Wins (road): | Alfredo Binda (Italy), Rik Van Steenbergen (Belgium), Eddy Merckx (Belgium) and Óscar Freire (Spain), 3 times |
| Most Wins (track/sprint): | Koichi Nakano (Japan), 10 times |
| Most Wins (time trial): | Michael Rogers (Australia), 3 times |
The professional World Cycling Championship is organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), and is a single 'massed start' road race, the winner being the first across the line at the completion of the full race distance.
The victor earns the right to wear the Rainbow jersey for a full year. Unlike other UCI-sanctioned races, the World Cycling Championship is competed for by nationality, not by commercial cycling teams. The race is usually held towards the end of the European season, usually following the Vuelta a España.
There are also world cycling championships for track cycling and individual time trial (ITT) disciplines, among others.
The World Time-Trial Championship, an ITT event, is usually held on the same week and at the same venue as the road race. The winner of this event also earns the right to wear a slightly different rainbow jersey in ITT events for a full year.
The World Cycling Championship, along with the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, forms the Triple Crown of Cycling.
The first professional World Cycling Championship took place in 1927 at the Nürburgring in Germany and was won by Alfredo Binda, of Italy.
Only four cyclists have succesfully defended their title (three Belgians and one Italian): Georges Ronsse (Belgium, 1928-29); Rik Van Steenbergen (Belgium, 1956-57); Rik Van Looy (Belgium, 1960-61); Gianni Bugno (Italy, 1991-92).
Contents |
Palmares
World Cycling Champions
World Sprint Champions
World Time-Trial Champions
| Year | Venue | Winner |
| 1994 | Catania, Italy | Chris Boardman, UK |
| 1995 | Paipa-Tunja, Colombia | Miguel Indurain, Spain |
| 1996 | Lugano, Switzerland | Alex Zülle, Switzerland |
| 1997 | San Sebastian, Spain | Laurent Jalabert, France |
| 1998 | Valkenburg, Netherlands | Abraham Olano, Spain |
| 1999 | Treviso, Italy | Jan Ullrich, Germany |
| 2000 | Plouay, France | Serhiy Honchar, Ukraine |
| 2001 | Lisbon, Portugal | Jan Ullrich, Germany |
| 2002 | Zolder/Hasselt, Belgium | Santiago Botero, Colombia |
| 2003 | Hamilton, Canada | Michael Rogers, Australia † |
| 2004 | Bardolino, Italy | Michael Rogers, Australia |
| 2005 | Madrid, Spain | Michael Rogers, Australia |
| 2006 | Salzburg, Austria |
† David Millar won the race, but later confessed having used Epogen.
Therefore the UCI decided to grant the title to second-placed Rogers.
Country wins:
- Belgium, 29 wins
- Italy, 26 wins
- France, 16 wins
- Japan, 11 wins
- Netherlands, 9 wins
- Australia, 8 wins
- Spain, 5 wins
- United States, 4 wins
- Switzerland, 3 wins
- Federal Republic of Germany, 6 wins
- United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia & Denmark, 1 win
Note: This Cycling World Championship country-wins list shown here represent only the above three major cycling disciplines
