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, women's world championship events are held for the same events in the same manner ; under-23 world championship for cyclists under the age of 23 years; junior world championships for cyclists under the age of 19 years.
- 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 'mass start' road race, the winner being the first across the line at the completion of the full race distance.
The road race is contested by riders organized by national cycling teams as opposed to commercially sponsored or trade teams, which is the standard in professional cycling.
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History
The first professional World Cycling Championship took place in 1927 at the Nürburgring in Germany and was won by Alfredo Binda, of Italy. In 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 World Tour or its predecessors. 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.
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Medalists
Only six cyclists have successfully defended their title (three Belgians, two Italians and a Slovakian): 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) and Peter Sagan (Slovakia, 2015-16). Spaniard Alejandro Valverde has the most total medals by any one individual with six, although he has never won the rainbow jersey (2 silver 2003, 2005 and 4 bronze - 2006, 2012-14).
Most successful riders
- Spaniard Alejandro Valverde had a record six podium finishes as of 2014 (twice silver and four times bronze) but never managed to become world champion.
Medallists by nation
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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