The Road World Championships are an annual one-day race organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world governing body for cycling.
The winner is crowned the Road World Champion and will wear the rainbow jersey for the next 12 months. These days, the race is held in September, after the Vuelta Espana and towards the end of the professional cycling race season.
The race is split into several categories for Men, Women, Elite, and Under 23’s. Each rider represents their country instead of trade teams. Each country is allocated up to eight starting spots, depending on their UCI Nations ranking.
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Men’s Elite Race
The Men’s Elite Race is the main event on a Sunday over a distance between 250 to 280km. The location and route are changed every year.
Since its inception, only five riders have won the Road World Championships thrice in their career;
- Alfredo Binda (Italy) : 1927, 1930, 1932
- Rik Van Steenbergen (Belgium) : 1949, 1956, 1957
- Óscar Freire (Spain) : 1999, 2000, 2004
- Eddy Merckx (Belgium) : 1967, 1971, 1974
- Peter Sagan (Slovakia) : 2015, 2016, 2017
The table below lists all the podium winners for the Men’s Elite Road World Championship race.
| Year | Gold | Nation | Silver | Nation | Bronze | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | Alfredo Binda | Italy | Costante Girardengo | Italy | Domenico Piemontesi | Italy |
| 1928 | Georges Ronsse | Belgium | Herbert Nebe | Germany | Bruno Wolke | Germany |
| 1929 | Georges Ronsse | Belgium | Nicolas Frantz | Luxembourg | Alfredo Binda | Italy |
| 1930 | Alfredo Binda | Italy | Learco Guerra | Italy | Georges Ronsse | Belgium |
| 1931 | Learco Guerra | Italy | Ferdinand Le Drogo | France | Albert Büchi | Switzerland |
| 1932 | Alfredo Binda | Italy | Remo Bertoni | Italy | Nicolas Frantz | Luxembourg |
| 1933 | Georges Speicher | France | Antonin Magne | France | Marinus Valentijn | Netherlands |
| 1934 | Karel Kaers | Belgium | Learco Guerra | Italy | Gustave Danneels | Belgium |
| 1935 | Jean Aerts | Belgium | Luciano Montero | Spain | Gustave Danneels | Belgium |
| 1936 | Antonin Magne | France | Aldo Bini | Italy | Theo Middelkamp | Netherlands |
| 1937 | Eloi Meulenberg | Belgium | Emil Kijewski | Germany | Paul Egli | Switzerland |
| 1938 | Marcel Kint | Belgium | Paul Egli | Switzerland | Leo Amberg | Switzerland |
| 1946 | Hans Knecht | Switzerland | Marcel Kint | Belgium | Rik Van Steenbergen | Belgium |
| 1947 | Theo Middelkamp | Netherlands | Albert Sercu | Belgium | Sjefke Janssen | Netherlands |
| 1948 | Briek Schotte | Belgium | Apo Lazarides | France | Lucien Teisseire | France |
| 1949 | Rik Van Steenbergen | Belgium | Ferdinand Kübler | Switzerland | Fausto Coppi | Italy |
| 1950 | Briek Schotte | Belgium | Theo Middelkamp | Netherlands | Ferdinand Kübler | Switzerland |
| 1951 | Ferdinand Kübler | Switzerland | Fiorenzo Magni | Italy | Antonio Bevilacqua | Italy |
| 1952 | Heinz Müller | West Germany | Gottfried Weilenmann, Jr. | Switzerland | Ludwig Hörmann | West Germany |
| 1953 | Fausto Coppi | Italy | Germain Derycke | Belgium | Stan Ockers | Belgium |
| 1954 | Louison Bobet | France | Fritz Schaer | Switzerland | Charly Gaul | Luxembourg |
| 1955 | Stan Ockers | Belgium | Jean-Pierre Schmitz | Luxembourg | Germain Derycke | Belgium |
| 1956 | Rik Van Steenbergen | Belgium | Rik Van Looy | Belgium | Gerrit Schulte | Netherlands |
| 1957 | Rik Van Steenbergen | Belgium | Louison Bobet | France | André Darrigade | France |
| 1958 | Ercole Baldini | Italy | Louison Bobet | France | André Darrigade | France |
| 1959 | André Darrigade | France | Michele Gismondi | Italy | Noël Foré | Belgium |
| 1960 | Rik Van Looy | Belgium | André Darrigade | France | Pino Cerami | Belgium |
| 1961 | Rik Van Looy | Belgium | Nino Defilippis | Italy | Raymond Poulidor | France |
| 1962 | Jean Stablinski | France | Shay Elliott | Ireland | Jos Hoevenaers | Belgium |
| 1963 | Benoni Beheyt | Belgium | Rik Van Looy | Belgium | Jo de Haan | Netherlands |
| 1964 | Jan Janssen | Netherlands | Vittorio Adorni | Italy | Raymond Poulidor | France |
| 1965 | Tom Simpson | Great Britain | Rudi Altig | West Germany | Roger Swerts | Belgium |
| 1966 | Rudi Altig | West Germany | Jacques Anquetil | France | Raymond Poulidor | France |
| 1967 | Eddy Merckx | Belgium | Jan Janssen | Netherlands | Ramón Sáez | Spain |
| 1968 | Vittorio Adorni | Italy | Herman Van Springel | Belgium | Michele Dancelli | Italy |
| 1969 | Harm Ottenbros | Netherlands | Julien Stevens | Belgium | Michele Dancelli | Italy |
| 1970 | Jean-Pierre Monseré | Belgium | Leif Mortensen | Denmark | Felice Gimondi | Italy |
| 1971 | Eddy Merckx | Belgium | Felice Gimondi | Italy | Cyrille Guimard | France |
| 1972 | Marino Basso | Italy | Franco Bitossi | Italy | Cyrille Guimard | France |
| 1973 | Felice Gimondi | Italy | Freddy Maertens | Belgium | Luis Ocaña | Spain |
| 1974 | Eddy Merckx | Belgium | Raymond Poulidor | France | Mariano Martínez | France |
| 1975 | Hennie Kuiper | Netherlands | Roger de Vlaeminck | Belgium | Jean-Pierre Danguillaume | France |
| 1976 | Freddy Maertens | Belgium | Francesco Moser | Italy | Tino Conti | Italy |
| 1977 | Francesco Moser | Italy | Dietrich Thurau | West Germany | Franco Bitossi | Italy |
| 1978 | Gerrie Knetemann | Netherlands | Francesco Moser | Italy | Jørgen Marcussen | Denmark |
| 1979 | Jan Raas | Netherlands | Dietrich Thurau | West Germany | Jean-René Bernaudeau | France |
| 1980 | Bernard Hinault | France | Gianbattista Baronchelli | Italy | Juan Fernández | Spain |
| 1981 | Freddy Maertens | Belgium | Giuseppe Saronni | Italy | Bernard Hinault | France |
| 1982 | Giuseppe Saronni | Italy | Greg LeMond | USA | Sean Kelly | Ireland |
| 1983 | Greg LeMond | USA | Adri van der Poel | Netherlands | Stephen Roche | Ireland |
| 1984 | Claude Criquielion | Belgium | Claudio Corti | Italy | Steve Bauer | Canada |
| 1985 | Joop Zoetemelk | Netherlands | Greg LeMond | USA | Moreno Argentin | Italy |
| 1986 | Moreno Argentin | Italy | Charly Mottet | France | Giuseppe Saronni | Italy |
| 1987 | Stephen Roche | Ireland | Moreno Argentin | Italy | Juan Fernández | Spain |
| 1988 | Maurizio Fondriest | Italy | Martial Gayant | France | Juan Fernández | Spain |
| 1989 | Greg LeMond | USA | Dimitri Konychev | URS | Sean Kelly | Ireland |
| 1990 | Rudy Dhaenens | Belgium | Dirk De Wolf | Belgium | Gianni Bugno | Italy |
| 1991 | Gianni Bugno | Italy | Steven Rooks | Netherlands | Miguel Induráin | Spain |
| 1992 | Gianni Bugno | Italy | Laurent Jalabert | France | Dimitri Konychev | Russia |
| 1993 | Lance Armstrong | USA | Miguel Indurain | Spain | Olaf Ludwig | Germany |
| 1994 | Luc Leblanc | France | Claudio Chiappucci | Italy | Richard Virenque | France |
| 1995 | Abraham Olano | Spain | Miguel Induráin | Spain | Marco Pantani | Italy |
| 1996 | Johan Museeuw | Belgium | Mauro Gianetti | Switzerland | Michele Bartoli | Italy |
| 1997 | Laurent Brochard | France | Bo Hamburger | Denmark | Léon van Bon | Netherlands |
| 1998 | Oscar Camenzind | Switzerland | Peter Van Petegem | Belgium | Michele Bartoli | Italy |
| 1999 | Óscar Freire | Spain | Markus Zberg | Switzerland | Jean-Cyril Robin | France |
| 2000 | Romāns Vainšteins | Latvia | Zbigniew Spruch | Poland | Óscar Freire | Spain |
| 2001 | Óscar Freire | Spain | Paolo Bettini | Italy | Andrej Hauptman | Slovenia |
| 2002 | Mario Cipollini | Italy | Robbie McEwen | Australia | Erik Zabel | Germany |
| 2003 | Igor Astarloa | Spain | Alejandro Valverde | Spain | Peter Van Petegem | Belgium |
| 2004 | Óscar Freire | Spain | Erik Zabel | Germany | Luca Paolini | Italy |
| 2005 | Tom Boonen | Belgium | Alejandro Valverde | Spain | Anthony Geslin | France |
| 2006 | Paolo Bettini | Italy | Erik Zabel | Germany | Alejandro Valverde | Spain |
| 2007 | Paolo Bettini | Italy | Alexandr Kolobnev | Russia | Stefan Schumacher | Germany |
| 2008 | Alessandro Ballan | Italy | Damiano Cunego | Italy | Matti Breschel | Denmark |
| 2009 | Cadel Evans | Australia | Alexandr Kolobnev | Russia | Joaquim Rodríguez | Spain |
| 2010 | Thor Hushovd | Norway | Matti Breschel | Denmark | Allan Davis | Australia |
| 2011 | Mark Cavendish | Great Britain | Matthew Goss | Australia | André Greipel | Germany |
| 2012 | Philippe Gilbert | Belgium | Edvald Boasson Hagen | Norway | Alejandro Valverde | Spain |
| 2013 | Rui Costa | Portugal | Joaquim Rodríguez | Spain | Alejandro Valverde | Spain |
| 2014 | Michał Kwiatkowski | Poland | Simon Gerrans | Australia | Alejandro Valverde | Spain |
| 2015 | Peter Sagan | Slovakia | Michael Matthews | Australia | Ramūnas Navardauskas | Lithuania |
| 2016 | Peter Sagan | Slovakia | Mark Cavendish | Great Britain | Tom Boonen | Belgium |
| 2017 | Peter Sagan | Slovakia | Alexander Kristoff | Norway | Michael Matthews | Australia |
| 2018 | Alejandro Valverde | Spain | Romain Bardet | France | Michael Woods | Canada |
| 2019 | Mads Pedersen | Denmark | Matteo Trentin | Italy | Stefan Küng | Switzerland |
| 2020 | Julian Alaphilippe | France | Wout van Aert | Belgium | Marc Hirschi | Switzerland |
| 2021 | Julian Alaphilippe | France | Dylan van Baarle | Netherlands | Michael Valgren | Denmark |
| 2022 | Remco Evenepoel | Belgium | Christophe Laporte | France | Michael Matthews | Australia |
| 2023 | Mathieu van der Poel Win | Netherlands | Wout van Aert | Belgium | Tadej Pogacar | Slovenia |
Men’s Under 23 Race
The Men’s Under 23 Race was added to the race calendar from 1996 onwards.
It runs on the same course as the Men’s Elite, but the total distance is about 30% shorter. It’s normally held on Friday, two days before the Men’s Elite race.
The table below lists all the podium winners for the Men’s U23 Road World Championship race.
| Year | Gold | Nation | Silver | Nation | Bronze | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Giuliano Figueras | Italy | Roberto Sgambelluri | Italy | Luca Sironi | Italy |
| 1997 | Kurt Asle Arvesen | Norway | Óscar Freire | Spain | Gerrit Glomser | Australia |
| 1998 | Ivan Basso | Italy | Rinaldo Nocentini | Italy | Danilo Di Luca | Italy |
| 1999 | Leonardo Giordani | Italy | Luca Paolini | Italy | Matthias Kessler | Germany |
| 2000 | Evgeni Petrov | Russia | Yaroslav Popovych | Ukraine | Lorenzo Bernucci | Italy |
| 2001 | Yaroslav Popovych | Ukraine | Giampaolo Caruso | Italy | Ruslan Gryschenko | Ukraine |
| 2002 | Francesco Chicchi | Italy | Francisco Gutiérrez | Spain | David Loosli | Switzerland |
| 2003 | Sergey Lagutin | Uzbekistan | Johan Van Summeren | Belgium | Thomas Dekker | Netherlands |
| 2004 | Kanstantsin Sivtsov | Belarus | Thomas Dekker | Netherlands | Mads Christensen | Denmark |
| 2005 | Dmitry Grabovskiy | Ukraine | William Walker | Australia | Yevgeni Popov | Russia |
| 2006 | Gerald Ciolek | Germany | Romain Feillu | France | Alexander Khatuntsev | Russia |
| 2007 | Peter Velits | Sloveniavakia | Wesley Sulzberger | Australia | Jonathan Bellis | Great Britain |
| 2008 | Fabio Duarte | Colombia | Simone Ponzi | Italy | John Degenkolb | Germany |
| 2009 | Romain Sicard | France | Carlos Betancur | Colombia | Egor Silin | Russia |
| 2010 | Michael Matthews | Australia | John Degenkolb | Germany | Guillaume Boivin | Canada |
| 2011 | Arnaud Démare | France | Adrien Petit | France | Andrew Fenn | Great Britain |
| 2012 | Alexey Lutsenko | Kazakhstan | Bryan Coquard | France | Tom Van Asbroeck | Belgium |
| 2013 | Matej Mohorič | Slovenia | Louis Meintjes | South Africa | Sondre Holst Enger | Norway |
| 2014 | Sven Erik Bystrøm | Norway | Caleb Ewan | Australia | Kristoffer Skjerping | Norway |
| 2015 | Kévin Ledanois | France | Simone Consonni | Italy | Anthony Turgis | France |
| 2016 | Kristoffer Halvorsen | Norway | Pascal Ackermann | Germany | Jakub Mareczko | Italy |
| 2017 | Benoit Cosnefroy | France | Lennard Kämna | Germany | Michael Carbel Svendgaard | Denmark |
| 2018 | Marc Hirschi | Switzerland | Bjorg Lambrecht | Belgium | Jaakko Hänninen | Finland |
| 2019 | Samuele Battistella | Italy | Stefan Bissegger | Switzerland | Thomas Pidcock | Great Britain |
| 2021 | Filippo Baroncini | Italy | Biniam Girmay | Eritrea | Olav Kooij | Netherlands |
| 2022 | Yevgeniy Fedorov | Kazakhstan | Mathias Vacek | Czech Republic | Søren Wærenskjold | Norway |
Women’s Elite Race
The Women’s Elite Race started in 1958 and was held annually except for 1984, 1988, and 1992.
It runs on the same course as the Men’s Elite, but the total distance is about 30% shorter. It’s normally held on Saturday, a day before the Men’s Elite race.
The three most successful riders are;
- Jeannie Longo (France) : 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1995
- Yvonne Reynders (Belgium) : 1959, 1961, 1963, 1966
- Marianne Vos (Netherlands) : 2006, 2012, 2013
The table below lists all the podium winners for the Women’s Elite Road World Championship race.
| Year | Gold | Nation | Silver | Nation | Bronze | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Elsy Jacobs | Luxembourg | Tamara Novikova | Soviet Union | Mariya Loukchina | Soviet Union |
| 1959 | Yvonne Reynders | Belgium | Aino Puronen | Soviet Union | Vera Gorbatcheva | Soviet Union |
| 1960 | Beryl Burton | Great Britain | Rosa Sels | Belgium | Elisabeth Kleinhaus | East Germany |
| 1961 | Yvonne Reynders | Belgium | Beryl Burton | Great Britain | Elsy Jacobs | Luxembourg |
| 1962 | Marie-Rose Gaillard | Belgium | Yvonne Reynders | Belgium | Marie-Therese Naessens | Belgium |
| 1963 | Yvonne Reynders | Belgium | Rosa Sels | Belgium | Aino Puronen | Soviet Union |
| 1964 | Emīlija Sonka | Soviet Union | Galina Yudina | Soviet Union | Rosa Sels | Belgium |
| 1965 | Elisabeth Eicholz | East Germany | Yvonne Reynders | Belgium | Aino Puronen | Soviet Union |
| 1966 | Yvonne Reynders | Belgium | Keetie van Oosten-Hage | Netherlands | Aino Puronen | Soviet Union |
| 1967 | Beryl Burton | Great Britain | Lyubov Zadorojnala | Soviet Union | Anna Konkina | Soviet Union |
| 1968 | Keetie van Oosten-Hage | Netherlands | Baiba Caune | Soviet Union | Morena Tartagni | Italy |
| 1969 | Audrey McElmury | USA | Bernadette Swinnerton | Great Britain | Nina Trofimova | Soviet Union |
| 1970 | Anna Konkina | Soviet Union | Morena Tartagni | Italy | Raisa Obodovskaia | Soviet Union |
| 1971 | Anna Konkina | Soviet Union | Morena Tartagni | Italy | Keetie van Oosten-Hage | Netherlands |
| 1972 | Geneviève Gambillon | France | Lyubov Zadorojnala | Soviet Union | Anna Konkina | Soviet Union |
| 1973 | Nicole Vandenbroeck | Belgium | Keetie van Oosten-Hage | Netherlands | Valentina Rebrovskala | Soviet Union |
| 1974 | Geneviève Gambillon | France | Baiba Caune | Soviet Union | Keetie van Oosten-Hage | Netherlands |
| 1975 | Tineke Fopma | Netherlands | Geneviève Gambillon | France | Keetie van Oosten-Hage | Netherlands |
| 1976 | Keetie van Oosten-Hage | Netherlands | Laura Bissoli | Italy | Yvonne Reynders | Belgium |
| 1977 | Josiane Bost | France | Connie Carpenter | USA | Minnie Brinkhof | Netherlands |
| 1978 | Beate Habetz | West Germany | Keetie van Oosten-Hage | Netherlands | Eva Lorenzo | Italy |
| 1979 | Petra de Bruijn | Netherlands | Jen De Smet | Belgium | Beate Habetz | West Germany |
| 1980 | Beth Heiden | USA | Tullikke Jahre | Sweden | Mandy Jones | Great Britain |
| 1981 | Ute Enzenauer | West Germany | Jeannie Longo | France | Connie Carpenter | USA |
| 1982 | Mandy Jones | Great Britain | Maria Canins | Italy | Gerda Sierens | Belgium |
| 1983 | Marianne Berglund | Sweden | Rebecca Twigg | USA | Maria Canins | Italy |
| 1984 | No race | |||||
| 1985 | Jeannie Longo | France | Maria Canins | Italy | Sandra Schumacher | West Germany |
| 1986 | Jeannie Longo | France | Janelle Parks | USA | Alla Jakovleva | Soviet Union |
| 1987 | Jeannie Longo | France | Heleen Hage | Netherlands | Connie Meyer | Netherlands |
| 1988 | No race | |||||
| 1989 | Jeannie Longo | France | Catherine Marsal | France | Maria Canins | Italy |
| 1990 | Catherine Marsal | France | Ruthie Matthes | USA | Luisa Seghezzi | Italy |
| 1991 | Leontien van Moorsel | Netherlands | Inga Thompson | USA | Alison Sydor | Canada |
| 1992 | No race | |||||
| 1993 | Leontien van Moorsel | Netherlands | Jeannie Longo | France | Laura Charameda | USA |
| 1994 | Monica Valvik | Norway | Patsy Maegerman | Belgium | Jeanne Golay | USA |
| 1995 | Jeannie Longo | France | Catherine Marsal | France | Edita Pučinskaitė | Lithuania |
| 1996 | Barbara Heeb | Switzerland | Rasa Polikevičiūtė | Lithuania | Linda Jackson | Canada |
| 1997 | Alessandra Cappellotto | Italy | Elizabeth Tadich | Australia | Catherine Marsal | France |
| 1998 | Diana Žiliūtė | Lithuania | Leontien van Moorsel | Netherlands | Hanka Kupfernagel | Germany |
| 1999 | Edita Pučinskaitė | Lithuania | Anna Wilson | Australia | Diana Žiliūtė | Lithuania |
| 2000 | Zinaida Stahurskaia | Belarus | Chantal Beltman | Netherlands | Madeleine Lindberg | Sweden |
| 2001 | Rasa Polikevičiūtė | Lithuania | Edita Pučinskaitė | Lithuania | Jeannie Longo | France |
| 2002 | Susanne Ljungskog | Sweden | Nicole Brändli | Switzerland | Joane Somarriba | Spain |
| 2003 | Susanne Ljungskog | Sweden | Mirjam Melchers | Netherlands | Nicole Cooke | Great Britain |
| 2004 | Judith Arndt | Germany | Tatiana Guderzo | Italy | Anita Valen | Norway |
| 2005 | Regina Schleicher | Germany | Nicole Cooke | Great Britain | Oenone Wood | Australia |
| 2006 | Marianne Vos | Netherlands | Trixi Worrack | Germany | Nicole Cooke | Great Britain |
| 2007 | Marta Bastianelli | Italy | Marianne Vos | Netherlands | Giorgia Bronzini | Italy |
| 2008 | Nicole Cooke | Great Britain | Marianne Vos | Netherlands | Judith Arndt | Germany |
| 2009 | Tatiana Guderzo | Italy | Marianne Vos | Netherlands | Noemi Cantele | Italy |
| 2010 | Giorgia Bronzini | Italy | Marianne Vos | Netherlands | Emma Johansson | Sweden |
| 2011 | Giorgia Bronzini | Italy | Marianne Vos | Netherlands | Ina-Yoko Teutenberg | Germany |
| 2012 | Marianne Vos | Netherlands | Rachel Neylan | Australia | Elisa Longo Borghini | Italy |
| 2013 | Marianne Vos | Netherlands | Emma Johansson | Sweden | Rossella Ratto | Italy |
| 2014 | Pauline Ferrand-Prévot | France | Lisa Brennauer | Germany | Emma Johansson | Sweden |
| 2015 | Lizzie Armitstead | Great Britain | Anna van der Breggen | Netherlands | Megan Guarnier | USA |
| 2016 | Amalie Dideriksen | Denmark | Kirsten Wild | Netherlands | Lotta Lepistö | Finland |
| 2017 | Chantal Blaak | Netherlands | Katrin Garfoot | Australia | Amalie Dideriksen | Denmark |
| 2018 | Anna van der Breggen | Netherlands | Amanda Spratt | Australia | Tatiana Guderzo | Italy |
| 2019 | Annemiek van Vleuten | Netherlands | Anna van der Breggen | Netherlands | Amanda Spratt | Australia |
| 2020 | Anna van der Breggen | Netherlands | Annemiek van Vleuten | Netherlands | Elisa Longo Borghini | Italy |
| 2021 | Elisa Balsamo | Italy | Marianne Vos | Netherlands | Katarzyna Niewiadoma | Poland |
| 2022 | Annemiek van Vleuten | Netherlands | Lotte Kopecky | Belgium | Silvia Persico | Italy |
Alex Lee is the founder and editor-at-large of Mr. Mamil. Coming from a professional engineering background, he breaks down technical cycling nuances into an easy-to-understand and digestible format here.
He has been riding road bikes actively for the past 12 years and started racing competitively in the senior category during the summer recently.