Gallery: Four decades of road Worlds

Another chapter of the elite men's road race world championship is waiting to be written on Sunday afternoon and with 25 of the top 30 riders in the world slated to start, including all three Grand Tour winners from this year as well as the previous four rainbow jersey winners, the racing should be stellar.

The parcours in Florence, Italy, will be punishing, featuring 3,000 meters of climbing over a 272km route and undoubtedly a worthy champion will be crowned.

To whet your appetite for Sunday's finale Cyclingnews has compiled images from 30 different world championship editions, stretching back to 1968 where Vittorio Adorni crushed the peloton and won alone by an astonishing 10 minutes on home soil in Imola, Italy.

The world championships are a special day of racing as it's the one event each year where trade team kits, albeit not always loyalties, are traded for the colours of one's national team.

Check out the 116 photo gallery for a trip down memory lane consisting of cycling luminaries such as Eddy Merckx, Francesco Moser, Bernard Hinault, Greg LeMond, Moreno Argentin, Gianni Bugno as well as the champions of a more recent vintage.

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Based in the southeastern United States, Peter produces race coverage for all disciplines, edits news and writes features. The New Jersey native has 30 years of road racing and cyclo-cross experience, starting in the early 1980s as a Junior in the days of toe clips and leather hairnets. Over the years he's had the good fortune to race throughout the United States and has competed in national championships for both road and 'cross in the Junior and Masters categories. The passion for cycling started young, as before he switched to the road Peter's mission in life was catching big air on his BMX bike.