LONDON (Reuters) – Scotland will next year host the biggest ever cycling event when all the sport’s disciplines will feature at a single world championships for the first time.
World titles will be contested in 13 disciplines over 11 days in August, including road, track, mountain bikes and BMX.
In a news conference on Wednesday, cycling’s world governing body the UCI confirmed the inaugural Cycling World Championships would take place in Glasgow and across Scotland from Aug. 3-13 2023.
Separate world championships have previously been staged at different times throughout the year but UCI president David Lappartient has delivered on his target of showcasing all the sport’s disciplines in a festival of cycling.
“Today’s announcement of the dates is an important milestone in the organisation of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships,” Lappartient said.
“Bringing our existing UCI World Championships together at the same time and in one venue every four years was one of my visions before my election as UCI President in 2017. We’ve been working towards this ever since.”
Six venues were announced, including the Chris Hoy velodrome and the Glasgow BMX Centre, with additional locations to be confirmed.
The road races will take place in Scotland’s scenic Southern Uplands with the finish line in Glasgow’s George Square.
The UCI says one million spectators are expected over the course of the championships with an estimated global TV audience in excess of one billion.
“This will quite simply be the biggest cycling event ever held and we are proud that venues in Glasgow and across Scotland will be used to create cycling history,” Paul Bush, Chair of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, said.
“It is an honour that the UCI has entrusted us with hosting the first ever UCI Cycling World Championships.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)
