Last year, the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, were labelled as a ‘super event’, featuring all cycling disciplines competing for world titles over the same two weeks. However, the 97th edition of this prestigious cycling event will revert to its traditional stand-alone format, with only the road events taking place in Zurich, Switzerland, between September 21-29, 2024.
Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) and Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) claimed victory in the women’s and men’s elite road races last year, each securing solo wins after a demanding route that concluded with a challenging circuit around Glasgow city centre. The Zurich courses will offer a similar terrain, with short, sharp climbs scattered throughout both routes and a 27km circuit featuring two climbs—the Zürichbergstrasse and Witikon—before finishing in the city centre.
As always at the World Championships, the rider who pulls on the rainbow jersey in Zurich will be a deserved winner; these races will be exceptionally tough. The men’s elite race, just under 300km, combined with the relentless undulations – 4,470 metres for the men and 2,384 metres for the women – will ensure that contenders for the iconic rainbow bands will face a gruelling challenge until the very end. For fans, this translates to ample drama and plenty of opportunity to see their favourites in action if they have the chance to be on the roadside.
Here’s everything you need to know about the routes for the 2024 UCI Road Race World Championships and the individual time trial events.
UCI Road World Championship 2024 Elite Men’s Road Race
Date: Sunday, September 29, 2024
Start time: 10:30 CEST
Finish time (approx): 17:00 CEST
Distance: 273.9km
Elevation gain: 4,470m
The elite men’s road race kicks off in Winterthur before heading north out of the city towards Flaach. The route then returns to Winterthur and continues to Kyburg, where at 50km, the first climb awaits. The Kyburg climb is 1.2km in length but features a brutal gradient of 12%, peaking at 16%. The route continues to undulate through Volketswil and Fällanden, past Lake Greifensee to Maur, where the riders will enter the city circuit for the first time. They will need to complete seven laps of this circuit.
The 27km-long city circuit features two notable climbs. The first is the Zürichbergstrasse, which is 1.1km long with an average gradient of 8%, topping out at 15%. The second, the Witikon, comes shortly after a brief descent and is slightly longer at 2.3km, with an average gradient of 5.7%. Both climbs will provide opportunities for riders to attack and put their rivals under pressure. The only respite the riders will get on their seven laps will be a short descent that occurs after 15km and again after 20km of the circuit, before they must tackle the gruelling course once more. After the final lap, there is a flat run-in to Sechseläutenplatz, where the finish line is located.
UCI Road World Championship 2024 Elite Women’s Road Race
Date: Saturday, September 28, 2024
Start time: 12:45 CEST
Finish time (approx): 17:00 CEST
Distance: 154.1km
Elevation gain: 2,384m
The elite women’s race is shorter than the men’s, measuring 154.1 kilometres in length, and features a different starting location. The race begins in Uster, situated next to Lake Greifensee, where the riders will complete a full lap of the lake before passing through Maur and joining the same route as the men’s race. As they start from a different location, their first climb will be the 4.6km Binz climb, which has an average gradient of 4.5% and peaks at 9%, occurring 30km into the course.
Similar to the men’s race, the city circuit will be a focal point of the race, although it appears earlier in the women’s race. Despite completing the circuit only four times, the riders will still face the 27km undulating course with two challenging climbs, providing ample opportunity for attacks. Defending champion Lotte Kopecky is a key contender for this type of terrain, and the repeated efforts on the short but steep climbs after 150km of racing will determine who remains in contention for the 2024 road world champion title.
UCI Road World Championship 2024 Elite Men’s and Women’s Time Trial
Date: Sunday, September 22, 2024 (men’s and women’s)
Start time: 14:45 CEST (M) / 12:00 CEST (W)
Finish time (approx): 17:30 CEST (M) / 14:45 CEST (W)
Distance: 46.1km (M) / 30km (W)
Elevation gain: 413m (M) / 327m (W)
The men’s and women’s time trials will both finish in Zurich, following the shores of Lake Zurich as they approach the city, but they will have different starting locations and lengths. The men’s individual time trial will cover 46.1km and will start in the northern part of the city, in Oerlikon. The route will head southeast towards Mönchaltorf before joining the same return route to Zurich as the women’s course. The women’s time trial is shorter, at 30 kilometres, and begins in Gossau before passing through Mönchaltorf.
Both courses feature several ascents over 10 kilometres – occurring just under halfway for the men and after only 10km for the women. Therefore, pacing will be crucial for success in these races against the clock. However, those who excel on flat terrain will have a long, flat run-in to the finish line, providing an opportunity to make up for any lost time.
UCI Road World Championships 2024 Under-23 Men’s Road Race
Date: Friday, September 27, 2024
Start time: 12:45 CEST
Finish time (approx): 16:45 CEST
Distance: 173.6km
Elevation gain: 2,483m
The under-23 men will race the same route as the women’s elite race, but they will complete one additional lap around Lake Greifensee, making their total distance slightly longer than the women’s elite race. They will also complete four laps of the city circuit, entering the 27km circuit around the 70km mark.
UCI Road World Championships 2024 Junior Women’s and Men’s Race
The junior men’s race will follow the same route as the elite women’s race on Thursday, September 26, 2024. Starting in Uster, the juniors will complete a lap around Lake Greifensee before tackling the city circuit three times, finishing at Sechseläutenplatz. The total distance for the junior men’s race is 127.2km.
On the same day, in the morning, the junior women’s race will also take place. The 73.6km-long route starts in Uster and follows the same path as the junior men’s race. However, the junior women will complete one lap of the city circuit before finishing.
