Road Cycling World Championships 2022: Results, routes and schedule

Dates: September 18 - September 25, 2022
Events: 11
Location: Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
TV Coverage (UK): Eurosport, GCN+, BBC, Flobikes

The road cycling World Championships 2022 are taking place in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. They began on Sunday, 18 September, and continue for a week, with events happening almost every day.

The battles for the rainbow jerseys began with the elite time trials last Sunday morning in Australia, which is early morning in Europe. The women set off first, with defending champion Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands) successfully fending off challengers to take her third rainbow jersey against the clock, with Australia's Grace Brown in second, and Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) in third. Italy's Vittoria Guazzini was declared the U23 winner, as the best young finisher in that rrace.

It was then the turn of the men, with two-time winner Filippo Ganna (Italy) disappointing. Instead, there was a shock winner as Tobias Foss of Norway stormed to victory, beating Stefan Küng (Switzerland) and Remco Evenepoel (Belgium).

On Monday, Norway's Søren Wærenskjold won the under-23 men's race, as GB's Leo Hayter finished third. Alec Segaert (Belgium) grabbed silver. 

The individual time trial events were rounded off by the junior categories. Both rainbow jerseys were claimed for GB, as Josh Tarling won the men's race and Zoe Bäckstedt won the women's version in stunning fashion.

The mixed relay team time trial was won by Switzerland on Wednesday, in a race that also saw Annemiek van Vleuten crash heavily and break her elbow, an incident that puts her doubt for the elite road race on Saturday.

The women's road race distance has grown steadily since its inauguration in Reims, 1958, when it was 59.4km, and this is the first time it has risen above the 160km mark. 

Both men and women begin with a 30km southward coastal traverse from the start at Helensburgh to the heart of the championships at Wollongong. Once there, both the men and the women embark on a single circuit over the considerable climb of Mount Keira, which sits just inland from the city and offers incredible views. At 8.7km long with a 5% average grade and ramps of up to 15%, it will add fatigue to the legs and see riders from lesser cycling nations dropped. 

There is a long way for any splits to be repaired, but with both races going straight from Mount Keira into the more technical and lumpy Wollongong city circuit, controlling the time gaps will be difficult. 

The 17-kilometre Wollongong circuit is essentially a criterium on steroids with a tough climb thrown in for good measure. With the men riding 12 laps and the women six, this is where most of the action is likely to happen. Descending off Mount Keira, the elite riders enter the course just after the finish line for a straightforward first few kilometres, before things get more tricky with frequent 90° turns left and right. 

This section leads to the short, sharp twin peaks of Mount Ousley and Mount Pleasant around the back of the course. These take riders pretty much from sea level to 119m in just over two kilometres, with a short downhill in the middle. It’s then a fast descent back to the coast and five kilometres along the seafront to the finish line. 

All of the other road races make use of this city course to some extent, missing out both the Helensburgh start and the Mount Keira circuit. Friday sees the junior and under-23 men take on eight and 10 laps of the circuit respectively, while the junior women follow on the Saturday morning with four laps before handing over to the elites.

Here are 12 contenders across the events, five wildcards to watch out for, and also our guide on how to watch all the different races.

Road World Championships 2022 routes

Road World Championships 2022 schedule

Past World Championship winners

2000:
WE TT Mari Holden
ME TT Serhiy Honchar
MU23 TT Evgeni Petrov
MJ ITT Piotr Mazur
MJ RR Jeremy Yates
MU23 RR Evgeni Petrov
WJ RR Nicole Cooke
WE RR Zinaida Stahurskaya
ME RR Romans Vainšteins
2001:
WE TT Jeannie Longo
ME TT Jan Ullrich
MU23 TT Danny Pate
MJ ITT Jurgen van den Broeck
MJ RR Oleksandr Kvachuk
MU23 RR Yaroslav Popovych
WJ RR Nicole Cooke
WE RR Rasa Polikevičiūtė
ME RR Óscar Freire
2002:
WE TT Zulfiya Zabirova
ME TT Santiago Botero
MU23 TT Tomas Vaitkus
MJ ITT Mikhail Ignatiev
MJ RR Arnaud Gérard
MU23 RR Francesco Chicchi
WJ RR Suzanne de Goede
WE RR Susanne Ljungskog
ME RR Mario Cipollini
2003:
WE TT Joane Somarriba
ME TT Michael Rogers
MU23 TT Markus Fothen
MJ ITT Mikhail Ignatiev
MJ RR Kai Reus
MU23 RR Sergey Lagutin
WJ RR Loes Markerink
WE RR Susanne Ljungskog
ME RR Igor Astarloa
2004:
WE TT Karin Thurig
ME TT Michael Rogers
MU23 TT Janez Brajkovič
WJ ITT Tereza Huríková
MJ ITT Patrick Gretsch
MJ RR Roman Kreuziger
MU23 RR Kanstantsin Siutsou
WJ RR Marianne Vos
WE RR Judith Arndt
ME RR Óscar Freire
2005:
WE TT Karin Thurig
ME TT Michael Rogers
MU23 TT Mikhail Ignatiev
MJ ITT Marcel Kittel
MJ RR Ivan Rovny
MU23 RR Dmytro Grabovskyy
WJ RR Mie Lacota
WE RR Regina Schleicher
ME RR Tom Boonen
2006:
WE TT Kristin Armstrong
ME TT Fabian Cancellara
MU23 TT Dominique Cornu
MJ ITT Marcel Kittel
MJ RR Diego Ulissi
MU23 RR Gerald Ciolek
WJ RR Rasa Leleivytè
WE RR Marianne Vos
ME RR Paolo Bettini
2007:
WE TT Hanka Kupfernagel
ME TT Fabian Cancellara
MU23 TT Lars Boom
WJ ITT Josie Tomic
MJ ITT Taylor Phinney
MJ RR Diego Ulissi
MU23 RR Peter Velits
WJ RR Eleonora Patuzzo
WE RR Marta Bastianelli
ME RR Paolo Bettini
2008:
WE TT Amber Neben
ME TT Bert Grabsch
MU23 TT Adriano Malori
WJ ITT Mari Grandt Petersen
MJ ITT Michał Kwiatkowski
MJ RR Johan Le Bon
MU23 RR Fabio Duarte
WJ RR Jolien D'Hoore
WE RR Nicole Cooke
ME RR Alessandro Ballan
2009:
WE TT Kristin Armstrong
ME TT Fabian Cancellara
MU23 TT Jack Bobridge
MJ ITT Luke Durbridge
MJ RR Japser Stuyven
MU23 RR Romain Sicard
WJ RR Rossella Callovi
WE RR Tatiana Guderzo
ME RR Cadel Evans
2010:
WE TT Emma Pooley
ME TT Fabian Cancellara
MU23 TT Taylor Phinney
MJ ITT Bob Jungels
MJ RR Olivier Le Gac
MU23 RR Michael Matthews
WJ RR Pauline Ferrand-Prévot
WE RR Giorgia Bronzini
ME RR Thor Hushovd
2011:
WE TT Judith Arndt
ME TT Tony Martin
MU23 TT Luke Durbridge
MJ ITT Mads Würtz Schmidt
MJ RR Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier
MU23 RR Arnaud Démare
WJ RR Lucy van der Haar
WE RR Giorgia Bronzini
ME RR Mark Cavendish
2012:
WE TT Judith Arndt
ME TT Tony Martin
MU23 TT Anton Vorobyev
WJ ITT Elinor Barker
MJ ITT Oskar Svendsen
MJ RR Matej Mohorič
MU23 RR Alexey Lutsenko
WJ RR Lucy van der Haar
WE RR Marianne Vos
ME RR Philippe Gilbert
2013:
WE TT Ellen van Dijk
ME TT Tony Martin
MU23 TT Damien Howson
WJ ITT Séverine Eraud
MJ ITT Igor Decraene
MJ RR Mathieu van der Poel
MU23 RR Matej Mohorič
WJ RR Amalie Dideriksen
WE RR Marianne Vos
ME RR Rui Costa
2014:
WE TT Lisa Brennauer
ME TT Bradley Wiggins
MU23 TT Campbell Flakemore
WJ ITT Macey Stewart
MJ ITT Lennard Kämna
MJ RR Jonas Bokeloh
MU23 RR Sven Erik Byrstrøm
WJ RR Amalie Dideriksen
WE RR Pauline Ferrand-Prévot
ME RR Michał Kwiatkowski
2015:
WE TT Linda Villumsen
ME TT Vasil Kiryienka
MU23 TT Mads Würtz Schmidt
WJ ITT Chloe Dygert
MJ ITT Leo Appelt
MJ RR Felix Gall
MU23 RR Kévin Ledanois
WJ RR Chloe Dygert
WE RR Elizabeth Deignan
ME RR Peter Sagan
2016:
WE TT Amber Neben
ME TT Tony Martin
MU23 TT Marco Mathis
WJ ITT Karlijn Swinkels
MJ ITT Brandon McNulty
MJ RR Jakob Egholm
MU23 RR Kristoffer Halvorsen
WJ RR Elisa Balsamo
WE RR Amalie Dideriksen
ME RR Peter Sagan
2017:
WE TT Annemiek van Vleuten
ME TT Tom Dumoulin
MU23 TT Mikkel Bjerg
WJ ITT Elena Pirrone
MJ ITT Tom Pidcock
MJ RR Julius Johanesen
MU23 RR Benoît Cosnefroy
WJ RR Elena Pirrone
WE RR Chantal van den Broek-Blaak
ME RR Peter Sagan
2018:
WE TT Annemiek van Vleuten
ME TT Rohan Dennis
MU23 TT Mikkel Bjerg
WJ ITT Rozemarijn Ammerlaan
MJ ITT Remco Evenepoel
MJ RR Remco Evenepoel
MU23 RR Marc Hirschi
WJ RR Laura Stigger
WE RR Anna van der Breggen
ME RR Alejandro Valverde
2019:
WE TT Chloe Dygert
ME TT Rohan Dennis
MU23 TT Mikkel Bjerg
WJ ITT Aigul Gareeva
MJ ITT Antonio Tiberi
MR TTT Netherlands
MJ RR Quinn Simmons
MU23 RR Samuele Battistella
WJ RR Megan Jastrab
WE RR Annemiek van Vleuten
ME RR Mads Pedersen
2020:
WE TT Anna van der Breggen
ME TT Filippo Ganna
WE RR Anna van der Breggen
ME RR Julian Alaphilippe
2021:
WE TT Ellen van Dijk
ME TT Filippo Ganna
MU23 TT Johan Price-Pejtersen
WJ ITT Alena Ivanchenko
MJ ITT Gustav Wang
MR TTT Germany
MJ RR Per Strand Hagenes
MU23 RR Filippo Baroncini
WJ RR Zoe Bäckstedt
WE RR Elisa Balsamo
ME RR Julian Alaphilippe

(WE TT: Women's elite time trial; ME TT: Men's elite time trial; MU23 TT: Men's under-23 time trial; WJ TT: Women's junior time trial; MJ TT: Men's junior time trial; MR TTT: Mixed relay team time trial; MJ RR: Men's junior road race; MU23 RR: Men's under-23 road race; WJ RR: Women's junior road race; WE RR: Women's elite road race; ME RR: Men's elite road race)