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UCI Road World Championships, Men
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cycling World Championship - Road | |
|---|---|
 Eddy Merckx at the 1966 World Road Race Championship |
|
| Region: | Different location each year. Outside Europe at least once every seven years |
| Date: | Differed through history; early October in recent years |
| Type: | World Championship: Open Road Race and Individual Time Trial |
| History | |
| First Edition: | 1927 |
| Number of Editions: | 71 |
| First Winner: |  Alfredo Binda |
| Most Wins (road race): |
Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen, Eddy Merckx and Óscar Freire,3 times |
| Most Wins (time trial): |
 Michael Rogers,3 times |
- For the women's event, see UCI Road World Championships, Women.
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 championships for elite men's road race and individual time trial. In addition, U-23 world championship events are held for the same events in the same manner for cyclists under the age of 23 years old.
- The winner of the UCI Road World Championships Road Race is considered the World Cycling Champion (or World Road Cycling Champion) and earns the right to wear the Rainbow Jersey for a full year in road race or stage events. The event is a single 'massed start' road race, the winner being the first across the line at the completion of the full race distance.
- The winner of the UCI Road World Championships Time Trial is considered the World Time Trial Champion and earns the right to wear the Rainbow Jersey for a full year in individual time trial (ITT) events or stages (for example, the prologue and ITT stages at the Tour de France or other stage races).
Both the road race and individual time trial events are competed by riders organized by national cycling teams as opposed to commercially sponsored or trade teams, which is the standard in professional cycling.
Contents |
The first professional World Cycling Championship took place in 1927 at the Nürburgring in Germany and was won by Alfredo Binda, of Italy. The recent years, the race is held towards the end of the European season, usually following the Vuelta a España. The event can be held over either a relatively flat course which favors cycling sprinters or over a hilly course which favors more of a climbing specialist or all-round type of cyclist.
The elite men's race is usually won by riders on the UCI ProTour or its predecessor, the UCI World Cup. However, in the past there were separate events for amateur riders, mainly from Eastern bloc countries.
For men at the elite professional level, the World Cycling Championship, along with the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, forms the Triple Crown of Cycling.
Only five cyclists have successfully defended their title (three Belgians and two Italians): Georges Ronsse (Belgium, 1928-29); Rik Van Steenbergen (Belgium, 1956-57); Rik Van Looy (Belgium, 1960-61); Gianni Bugno (Italy, 1991-92); Paolo Bettini (Italy, 2006-07).
† David Millar won the race, but later confessed having used Epogen.
Therefore the UCI decided to grant the title to second-placed Rogers.
| Pos. | Country | Total wins | Road Race | First time | Time Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgium |
25 | 25 | 1928 | 0 |
| 2 | Italy |
18 | 18 | 1927 | 0 |
| 3 |  France |
9 | 8 | 1933 | 1 |
| 4 |  Netherlands |
7 | 7 | 1947 | 0 |
| 5 | Spain |
7 | 5 | 1995 | 2 |
| 6 |  Switzerland |
6 | 3 | 1946 | 3 |
| 7 |  Germany |
4 | 2 | 1952 | 2 |
| 8 |  United States |
3 | 3 | 1983 | 0 |
| 9 | Australia |
3 | 0 | 3 | |
| 10 |  United Kingdom |
2 | 1 | 1965 | 1 |
| 11 |  Latvia |
1 | 1 | 2000 | 0 |
| 12 |  Ireland |
1 | 1 | 1987 | 0 |
| 13 |  Ukraine |
1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 14 |  Colombia |
1 | 0 | 1 |
Note: This Cycling World Championship country-wins list shown here represent only the above two major professional road cycling disciplines, road race and time trial.
- Rainbow jersey
- GP Wolber
- Mountain Bike World Championships
- UCI Road World Championships, Women
- World Championship of Track Cycling (women)
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