Countdown: 100 Days to the 2018 UCI Road World Championships!
With the clock ticking and the world’s focus turning to Innsbruck-Tirol, see what the leading men and women pro riders make of the course.​
13th June, Innsbruck Austria: In 100 days’ time, the 2018 UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck-Tirol (Austria) will open. Racing will take place over eight action-packed days with more than 1,000 athletes battling it out in the Team Time Trials, Individual Time Trials and Road Races for the right to wear the coveted UCI Rainbow Jersey.
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Photo Credit: Innsbruck-Tirol Rad WM 2018 GmbH / EXPA
Many of the riders have already ridden the course either via sections of the Tour of the Alps or separately with team-mates, previewing the twists, turns and climbs to work out how they can come out on top.
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Four-time Individual Time Trial UCI World Champion, seven-time German National ITT Champion and Olympic medalist Tony Martin is set to search for his fifth Worlds title. The famously driven and powerful rider said: “My first impression of the two time trial courses is really good. The tough climbs will be where the races are won and lost…I would like to fight for a spot on the podium again.”
Photo Credit: Tirol Werbung / Reinhard Eisenbauer
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The Czech Republic’s former National Road Race Champion at both junior and senior level Roman Kreuziger would love to add the ultimate win to his records that includes a win in the Road Race and a second place in the ITT in the junior category at the 2004 UCI Road World Championships. He said: “The long climb during Road Race is very solid – it can be quite painful, so I expect the Höll climb will see a reduced group – I'm really looking forward to racing it. To wear the rainbow jersey for a whole year is really impressive, for me it’s one of the big goals of the season and I will be focusing on it… I hope to see lots of fans on the roads!”
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Former Slovenian National Road Race Champion, Giro d’Italia ITT winner and last year’s UCI World Championships ITT runner-up Primož RogliÄ will compete for his home nation – that he also used to represent as a ski jumper. He said: “I have had a chance to try the whole ITT course, it looked smooth, not too technical – nice roads, I had the wind behind me – the climb to the finish will be my favorite part,” said RogliÄ. “It will be hard, but I like that as I don't like flat TTs! The landscape is very beautiful.”
Photo Credit: Tirol Werbung / Johannes Mair Alpsolut
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Olympic medalist and current Italian National Time Trial and Road Race Champion Elisa Longo Borghini said: “The course of the Women’s Elite Road Race is very hard. The three-kilometer climb before the Olympic course from Vomperbach to Gnadenwald was a bit of a surprise. I hope that I will be in peak form for the Worlds.”
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One of the world’s most decorated female cyclists, Olympic and European Road Race Champion Anna van der Breggen – who finished runner-up in the ITT in both the 2015 and 2017 UCI Road World Championships – said: “The first word that comes into my mind when I think about the courses of the RWC Innsbruck-Tirol is ‘steep’. We do more climbs in different countries, but Tirol really is a challenge – all the climbs in the area are really steep. If you have good legs it’s good, but if you are not in shape it’s tough to ride a bicycle here. Normally the courses should fit me very well. I like challenges!”
Photo Credit: Tirol Werbung / Klaus Kranebitter
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Triple former Italian National Road Race Champion Elena Cecchini said: “The elite women’s road course is very hard and the winner will be no surprise. I think a lady who is good at climbing will win. It’s good to already know the course because it really needs time to prepare.”
Cycling fans keen to follow the action can book tickets for the finish area now, they are available at: https://www.innsbruck-tirol2018.com/en/tickets. For more information about the 2018 UCI Road World Championships, visit www.innsbruck-tirol2018.com or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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About The 2018 UCI Road World Championships
From 22 to 30 September the 2018 UCI Road World Championships will take place in Innsbruck-Tirol. 1000 athletes will be competing in twelve races in three disciplines; the UCI Team Time Trial, the Individual Time Trial and the Road Race. The races will start in four different locations and all finish in the centre of Innsbruck, the regional capital of Tirol. The four start locations for the 2018 UCI Road World Championships are Ötztal (AREA 47), Hall-Wattens (Swarovski Crystal Worlds), Alpbachtal-Seenland (Rattenberg) and Kufstein. Up to 500,000 spectators are expected for the duration of the event.
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