Innsbruck confirmed as hosting 2018 UCI Road World Championships

The 2018 UCI Road World Championships will be held in the Austrian city of Innsbruck, the governing body has confirmed.

The decision was made at the meeting of its management committee at this weekend’s UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium.

It will be the third time Austria has hosted the event, following Villach in 1987, when reigning Giro d’Italia  and Tour de France champion Stephen Roche completed the triple crown, and Salzburg in 2006, where Paolo Bettini of Italy took the first of his back-to-back titles.

The women’s road races in those editions were won respectively by the French rider Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli, and by Marianne Vos of the Netherlands.

There was no individual time trial in 1987, while in Salzburg Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland won the first of his record four titles, with the American Kristin Armstrong taking the first of her two rainbow jerseys in the discipline.

The city has twice hosted the Winter Olympic Games, in 1964 and 1976, and also hosted the Winter Paralympic Games in 1984 and 1988.

UCI president Brian Cookson commented: “I have no doubt that Innsbruck will provide a stunning and challenging route for riders to compete on, as well as a wonderful, unique backdrop that can only add to the spectator and viewer experience.”

With last year’s championships held in Richmond, Virginia, USA and this year’s event taking place in Doha, Qatar, the event returns to Europe after a three-year absence in 2017 when Bergen in Norway will be the host city.

The UK government has said that it would back a bid by Welcome to Yorkshire to bring the world championships to the region, and the tourism and business growth agency has confirmed it has held initial talks with British Cycling about hosting the event.

> Government backs British bid for UCI Road World Championships -