Here, we reveal what the world’s finest cyclists will face in Australia.
The 2022 UCI Road World Championships will take place between 18 and 25 September in Wollongong, Australia. There’s a wealth of racing in store and titles up for grabs:
Sunday 18 September: morning, individual time trial Women Elite; afternoon, individual time trial Men Elite.
Monday 19 September: afternoon, individual time trial Men Under 23.
Tuesday 20 September: morning, individual time trial Women Junior; afternoon, individual time trial Men Junior.
Wednesday 21 September: team time trial - mixed relay.
Friday 23 September: morning, road race Men Junior; afternoon, road race men Under 23.
Saturday 24 September: morning, road race Women Junior; afternoon, road race Women Elite.
Sunday 25 September: road race Men Elite.
The crowds will be out in their thousands to watch all the races. As will local legends of the sport. Simon Gerrans, the Australian puncheur who raced professionally for 14 seasons and won Milano-Sanremo and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, is commentating for international broadcast, and is counting down the days till the world’s spotlight falls on his country.
“I cannot wait to see the UCI Road World Championships come home to Australia, to see the peloton racing alongside our iconic beaches and to hear the Aussies cheering on the world’s best as they battle it out on the streets of Wollongong,” he says. “After competing in the last Australian edition of the event in Geelong in 2010, I can again feel the adrenaline and enthusiasm that will come from the fans and the athletes in Wollongong.”
Countrywoman Rochelle Gilmore, who raced professionally for 15 seasons and is commentating alongside Gerrans, is equally excited. “This is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to see world-class racing against a spectacular backdrop, and to learn about the quintessential Australian landscape, culture and way of life,” she says.
While all races are sure to enthral and captivate, we’ll focus on the Men Elite and Women Elite road races, identifying the key areas of the parcours…
Keira the disruptor
Both the women’s and men’s races start in Helensburgh, which is situated south of Sydney and north of Wollongong, with the women’s race coming in at 164.3km with 2,433m elevation and the men’s at 266.9km with a total elevation of 3,945m. The races begin with a neutral section to Stanwell Park, which will see the official start. From here, the riders head to the famous Sea Cliff Bridge, the 450m bridge that braces against the Tasmin Sea. The world’s best riders in their national livery will be one of the sights of the championships.
Both races then weave their way along the coastline before arriving at Wollongong. That’s when the riders head inland toward Mount Keira for the Mount Keira loop. “This is where the race will come alive,” former Australian professional Mark Renshaw said when assessing the parcours. “It’s a long climb of 8.7km at an average gradient of 5%. The total elevation of Mount Keira is 473m. There’ll be some big moves here from the riders looking to break the race up.”
Mount Keira kicks up from the get-go, tipping over 10% during the second kilometre. It settles down slightly before cranking up again during kilometres five and six where it peaks at 15%. The current KOM time on Strava is a whisker under 17 minutes and it’ll be fascinating to see which national teams are looking to break things up so early in the race.
Technical city racing
After the summit, a tight and twisty 10km descent follows. Once the riders reach the bottom, the races open up into a fast open road. They then head to Wollongong for the city circuit where the Men Elite face 12 laps while the Women Elite face six laps.
It’s 17.1km long, is relatively flat but is highly technical with 33 corners. There’ll also be nerves aplenty with so many riders trying to find the best line. A small rise up Mount Osley is the first obstacle followed by Mount Pleasant.
“This will be the most difficult section [of the city laps],” says Renshaw. “It’s 1.1km long, averages 7.7% and maxes out at 14%. This’ll be the moment where the race really exposes who’s going to go for victory and who’s going to go out the back of the bunch.”
Once the riders crest Mount Pleasant, there’s a lightning-fast descent that’ll see riders tipping over 100km/hr as they head back to the coast. The final 2km will be incredibly exciting as it features a short climb that’ll provide a last-ditch place to attack. “Then it’s onto the final corner and down onto Marine Drive,” says Renshaw. “It’ll be an extremely fast finish to the race.”
Who will win? If the sprinters have their climbing legs on they could be in with a small chance. Or will it be the puncheurs who’ll be dressed in rainbow apparel? It’s not long until we find out…
Check out the details of the track in this course preview presented by Shimano: