The para-cycling community will make history in Zurich at the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships. Among them are defending UCI World Champions and new Paralympic Champions who mean to achieve the double in 2024.
The event is historic in that it is the first time that the UCI combines the UCI Road World Championships and the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships into one event.
“For the first time in cycling’s history, the world’s elite para-cyclists and cyclists will compete on the same roads and share the same finish line,” said UCI President David Lappartient. “In total, 66 titles of UCI World Champion will be awarded over nine days of racing.”
Team relay: France on the hunt for another title
The event’s first para-cycling title comes in the mixed handbike team relay on Saturday 21 September. It covers 16.6km (9 laps) of the Seefeld Circuit at the Sechseläutenplatz. France are reigning UCI World Champions (and 2024 Paralympic Champions), with Germany and the USA silver and bronze medalists in 2023 in Glasgow, Scotland (Great Britain).
Individual time trials: defending UCI World Champions in force
The following day, the Women B time trial will cover 29.9km, starting in Gossau, to finish at the Sechseläutenplatz. The defending UCI World Champion, and Paralympic Champion, is Ireland’s Katie-George Dunlevy. In the Women C4-5 race over the same course, look out for two more UCI World and Paralympic Champions: Samantha Bosco (USA) in the C4 and Sarah Storey (GBR) in the C5.
The same course is used for three time trials on Monday 23 September. The Netherlands’ Tristan Bangma is the 2023 UCI World Champion and Paralympic Champion in Men B. Kévin Le Cunff (FRA – C4) and Daniel Abraham Gebru (NED – C5) also have both titles to their names.
The time trial course on Tuesday is on a slightly shorter course: 18.8km from Herrliberg to Sechseläutenplatz for the first events. In the Women’s C1-3, look out for the reigning UCI World Champions, from Great Britain (Fran Brown - C1), Germany (Maike Hausberger - C2) and Sweden (Anna Beck - C3). All three were on the Women’s C1-3 podium at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
In the Women’s H3-5 class the defending UCI World Champions are Australia’s Lauren Parker (H3), and the Dutchwomen Jennette Jansen (H4) and Chantal Haenen (H5). The American Oksana Masters is H4-5 Paralympic Champion.
Then it’s the Men’s C1-3, with 2023 UCI World Champions Ricardo Ten Argiles (ESP), Alexandre Léauté (FRA) and Matthias Schindler (GER) in the C1, C2 and C3 classes respectively. While the Spanish and French athletes also won gold at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, Schindler had to make do with bronze behind Frenchman Thomas Peyroton Dartet and Spain’s Eduardo Santas Asensio.
The Men H1-5 races will feature the H1 and H2 UCI World Champions Pieter du Preez (RSA), Sergio Garrote (ESP), and the Dutch trio of Mark Mekenkamp (H3), Jetze Platz (H4) and Mitch Valize (H5). All these athletes also won gold in Paris except du Preez, who finished third in a time trial won by the Italian Fabrizio Cornegliani, and Mark Mekenkamp, who could only manage fifth at the Paralympics in the face of two strong home riders from France, Mathieu Bosredon and Johan Quaile.
The day’s final six time trial events cover a 11.3km course from Küsnacht to Sechseläutenplatz. In the Women’s H1-2 race, expect action from H1 and H2 UCI World Champions Luisa Pasini and Roberta Amadeo, both Italians and both absent at the Paralympic Games.
Czechia’s Pavlina Vejvodová and Switzerland’s Celine van Till are the defending UCI World Champions in the Women’s T1 and T2 respectively. The day’s final TT race, the Men’s T1-2, will also include the reigning UCI World Champions, Nathan Clement (CAN – T1) and Maximilian Jäger (GER – T2).
Road races: some of the favourites
The para-cycling road races begin on Wednesday 25th, with Men B: 103.2km with two city circuit laps followed by eight flat lakeside laps. Tristan Bangma is the current Paralympic and UCI World Champion.
Next is the Women B road race, 84.7km with two city laps, then five lakeside laps. Katie-George Dunlevy will face tough opposition, likely from the British: Sophie Unwin won at the Paralympics..
On Thursday 26 September, the 38km Men’s and Women’s H1-5 road races comprise of six flat lakeside laps. Maxime Hordies (BEL – H1), Florian Jouanny (FRA – H2), Mirko Testa (ITA – H3), Jonas van de Steene (H4) and his fellow Dutchman Mitch Valize (H5) have been wearing the rainbow jerseys for the last year. Jouanny and Valize were recently also crowned Paralympic Champions. Reigning Women’s UCI World Champions in the H classes are Pasini (H1) and Amadeo (H2) as well as German Annika Zeyen-Giles (H3), Jennette Jansen (H4) and Paralympic Champion Oksana Masters.
The Men’s C4-5 race is 90.9km, with two city laps then six lakeside laps. Kévin Le Cunff and William Bjergfelt (GBR) are defending UCI World Champions, while the Ukraine’s Yehor Dementyev is C4-5 Paralympic Champion.
Thursday wraps with the Men’s C3: 71.6km, covering two city laps then three lakeside laps. Can Britain’s Finlay Graham retain the rainbow after also claiming gold in the Paralympic C1-3 road race?
The Men’s C1 and C2 races are on Friday 27 September, both 62.7km: ten flat lakeside laps. Liang Weicong (CHN) and Alexandre Léauté (FRA) are the respective 2023 UCI World Champions.
Then the Men’s and Women’s T1-2 races are 31.8km, over five lakeside laps. Lu Rongfei (CHN), will not be present to defend his title, but Dennis Connors (USA), Pavlina Vejvodová (CZE) and Emma Lund (DEN) won’t want to give up their rainbow jerseys.
On Saturday 28 September, the Men’s H3 race will be 57.8km, with one city lap and five lakeside laps. Mirko Testa (ITA) is the custodian of the rainbow jersey, but finished third in the Paralympics behind the French duo of Bosredon and Quaile.
Then it’s the Women’s C1-3 race, 56.5km over nine lakeside laps. Fran Brown, Flurina Rigling (SUI) and Wang Xiaomei (CHN) were 2023’s winners.
The Women’s C4-5 classes compete over 70.2km (one city lap then seven lakeside laps). Samantha Bosco and 2024 Paralympic Champion Sarah Storey doubled up on ITT and road titles in 2023.
Sunday 29th is the final day of para-cycling, with two races, Men’s H4 and H5, over 57.8km (one city circuit then five lakeside laps). Dutchmen Jonas van de Steene (NED) and Mitch Valize are the UCI World Champions. Valize recently doubled with H5 Paralympic gold, while the H4 road race was won by Jetze Plat in Paris.
Para-cycling sport classes
C – Cycle: conventional bike with adaptations if necessary
T – Tricycle: three-wheeled bike
B – Tandem: for visually impaired athletes with sighted pilot
H – Handcycle
Groups C (1-5), T (1-2) and H (1-5) are divided into different sport classes, with the lower the number indicating a higher level of impairment.