UCI Road World Championships 2021

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Day 7 - Julian Alaphilippe defends world title with stunning victory in Flanders World Championships

UCI Road World Championships 2021: Men's Elite Road Race - As it happened

Julian Alaphilippe (France) went on the offensive and rode solo across the line at the elite men's road race to take back-to-back titles at the UCI Road World Championships on Sunday.

From among a select group of 17 riders, the Frenchman attacked a third time as the race wound down to 20 kilometres from the finish in Leuven, and this assault on the  Sint Antoniusberg proved decisive. 

Four riders gave chase, but could not close down a gap that reached 32 seconds by the time they crossed the finish of the 168.3km race, Dylan van Baarle (Netherlands) taking the silver medal. Michael Valgren (Denmark) just grabbed the bronze medal, surging in front of Jasper Stuyven (Belgium), and Neilson Powless (USA) was fifth.

Day 6 - Elisa Balsamo wins elite women's world title at Flanders World Championships

UCI Road World Championships 2021: Women's Elite Road Race - As it happened

Elisa Balsamo (Italy) took the victory in the elite women’s road race at the UCI World Championships with an incredible sprint to beat Marianne Vos (Netherlands), who was forced to settle for the silver medal in Leuven, Belgium.

Her compatriot Elisa Longo Borghini made a strong move on the final climb, which acted as a perfectly-timed lead-out for Balsamo, who jumped off her wheel inside 100 metres to go to take the world title. Vos tried to come around the Italian but she didn't have enough power to do so and finished second. Katarzyna Niewiadoma finished third to take bronze for Poland.

Day 6 - World Championships: Zoe Backstedt wins junior women's road race title

Zoe Backstedt (Great Britain) won the junior women’s road race at the UCI Road World Championships in a two-woman sprint against Kaia Schmid (USA).

The two riders broke clear on the third of five laps in Leuven, then worked well together all the way to the finale to sprint for victory, with Backstedt edging it by a bike length. Linda Reidmann (Germany) led home the chasing group to win the bronze medal ahead of Elise Uijen (Netherlands) and Makayla MacPherson (USA). 

Day 5 - World Championships: Baroncini wins U23 men's road race title for Italy

Using a solo atttack with 5.5 kilometres to the sloping Geldenaaksevest finish in Leuven, Filippo Baroncini won the men's under-23 world title for Italy. He catapulted from the front group on the penultimate climb, the Wjinpers, and held off a charging Biniam Girmay (Eritrea) who took the silver. Olav Kooij (Netherlands) finished just behind to take bronze. 

Baroncini's winning attack scooped up Mauro Schmid (Switzerland) and Arthur Kluckers (Luxembourg), who were leading the race at the time. Equally as exciting was the medal performance by Girmay, who made history in becoming the first Eritrean and the first black African to win a medal at the Road World Championships.

Day 5 - Per Strand Hagenes wins junior men's road race title at Flanders World Championships

Per Strand Hagenes (Norway) took the rainbow stripes in the junior men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships on Friday, riding solo across the line in Leuven. Trailing 19 seconds later was European Champion Romain Gregoire (France) for the silver. Madis Mihkels (Estonia) took the bronze in the 28-rider bunch sprint, another five seconds back. 

Hagenes, who will ride for Jumbo-Visma’s development squad in 2022, attacked on the penultimate climb of Wijnpers to wipe out a six-man move at the beginning of the final lap and earn the victory.

Day 4 - Germany win team time trial mixed relay title at Flanders World Championships

UCI Road World Championships 2021: team time trial mixed relay - As it happened

With the most balanced six-rider squad over the 44.5km course, Germany won the team time trial mixed relay on Wednesday at the UCI Road World Championships in Bruges. It was just the second time a mixed relay event has been held at Worlds, the inaugural event won by the Netherlands in 2019 and Germany taking the silver.

This time out under bright, blue skies in the Flanders region of Belgium, the top two teams swapped positions, Germany taking gold and the Netherlands taking silver, 13 seconds slower. Italy improved from a fourth place in 2019 in Harrogate to the bronze medal. The Italians delivered huge disappointment for the team from Switzerland, who were bumped from the podium by only five hundredths of a second.

The first leg of the race saw the German men - Tony Martin, Max Walscheid and Nikias Arndt - post the second fastest time, followed by the women - Lisa Brennauer, Lisa Klein and Mieke Kroeger - who carried the team to the top spot. It was a special victory for Germany, as riders celebrated the final pro race for Martin at the finish.

A total of 12 nations and a composite team field by the UCI World Cycling Centre took part in the team time trial mixed relay.

Day 3 - Wang wins junior men's time trial title at Flanders World Championships

Gustav Wang (Denmark) setting an early time of 25:37 on the 22.3km course across Flanders, Belgium and held on to win the rainbow jersey in the junior men’s time trial at the UCI Road World Championships. 

From the early group of starters in the field of 78 juniors, Joshua Tarling (Great Britain) was the second rider on the course and was in the hot seat for a short time until Wang took over for more than an hour. Tarling held on for silver, 20 seconds back. 

The final rider down the start ramp was race favourite, European Champion Alec Segaert (Belgium), who had to settle for third place at 29 seconds. 

Day 3 - Alena Ivanchenko wins junior women's time trial title at Flanders World Championships

Junior women's time trial European Champion Alena Ivanchenko (Russia) secured the rainbow jersey on Tuesday at the UCI Road World Championships as the fastest rider on the 19.3km course Tuesday. 

Her time of 25:05 was 10 seconds faster than Great Britain’s Zoe Backstedt, who earned the silver medal, and 25 seconds better than Germany's Antonia Niedermaier, who took the bronze. The podium trio were the only riders to break the 26-minute mark on the fast, flat course between between Knokke-Heist and Bruges, which avoided some of the longer sections covered in the elite races.

Day 2 - Ellen van Dijk wins elite women's time trial title at Flanders World Championships

UCI Road World Championships 2021: Elite women's time trial - As it happened

Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands) won the elite women's individual time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Bruges, Belgium on Monday. It was the second rainbow jersey of her career, last winning eight years ago in 2013.

The Dutch rider covered the 30.3km flat route with a winning time of 36:05 to beat silver medallist Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) by 10 seconds. Olympic Champion Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands) claimed bronze, taking third at 24 seconds.

From the 50 riders to compete, Van Dijk was the 20th rider to take on the course from Knokke-Heist to Bruges. Reusser, who was the 49th rider on the course, was slightly faster at the first two intermediate checkpoints, but lost time in the final section to finish 10 seconds slower than Van Dijk.

Day 2 - World Championships: Johan Price-Pejtersen wins U23 men's time trial title

Johan Price-Pejtersen (Denmark) won the Under-23 men’s individual time trial on the 30.3km flat course between Knokke-Heist and Bruges. As the final rider to cross the line, he unseated Luke Plapp (Australia) with a time of 34:29, 10 seconds faster than the Australian. 

The bronze medal went to Florian Vermeersch (Belgium), who was  two seconds faster than Søren Wærenskjold (Norway). A total of 66 riders completed the course, with the top 10 riders finishing within 59 seconds of each other.

Price-Pejtersen took his second big international victory in just one week in the race agains the clock, having won the U23 European title.

Day 1 - Filippo Ganna wins elite men's time trial title at Flanders World Championships

UCI Road World Championships 2021: Elite men's time trial – As it happened

Filippo Ganna (Italy) successfully defending his title the men's time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Flanders, Belgium on Sunday. The Italian was the last man on the flat 43.3km course, and rocketed to the win with five seconds to spare on Belgian Wout van Aert, who had set the fastest time at both intermediate time checks.

The bronze was taken by Belgian Remco Evenepoel, 44 seconds back, who took the final podium spot two seconds better than Kasper Asgreen (Denmark).

State of the nations

• Italy's men's 2021 World Championships team
• Italy's women's 2021 World Championships team
• Netherlands men's 2021 World Championships team
• Dutch women's 2021 World Championships team
• France's men's 2021 World Championships team
• Denmark's men's 2021 World Championships team
• Great Britain's men's 2021 World Championships team
• Great Britain’s women’s 2021 World Championships team
• USA Cycling's men's World Championships team
• USA Cycling's women's 2021 World Championships team
• Belgium's men's 2021 World Championships team
• Belgium's women's 2021 World Championships team
• Australia's men's 2021 World Championships team
• Australia's women's 2021 World Championships team

2021 World Championships previews and conclusions

• 10 conclusions from the 2021 UCI Road World Championships
• UCI Road World Championships 2021: The Essential Preview
• 10 riders to watch in the elite men's road race
• 10 riders to watch for the elite women's road race
• How to watch the 2021 UCI Road World Championships – live TV and streaming
• 5 riders to watch in elite men's time trial
• 5 riders to watch in elite women's time trial

2021 World Championships stories and features

Road Races

• Julian Alaphilippe: World champion again, in spite of himself
• Julian Alaphilippe's Tarmac SL7: Finish line to photography in under an hour
• Voeckler: I told Alaphilippe to follow his instincts at World Championships
• Van Baarle comes back from broken pelvis to sprint to Worlds silver
• Valgren saves crash-marred road race for Denmark with bronze medal at Worlds
• Wout van Aert: I'm only human
• Evenepoel answers Merckx’s criticism with tremendous teamwork at Worlds
• Anonymous ride leads to eighth place for Mathieu van der Poel at the World Championships
• Neilson Powless targets Ardennes after securing USA's best men's result at Worlds since 1999
• Colbrelli: I only had eyes for Van Aert and Van der Poel at Worlds
• Tom Pidcock: I missed the train at World Championships
• Matthews: I’m definitely disappointed
• Australia to let others ‘fight it out’ in early stages of men's road race at World Championships
• Peter Sagan: I don't think I have anything left to prove at the World Championships
• Elisa Balsamo: Worlds victory is my revenge for the season
• Vos able to smile despite collecting sixth silver medal at World Championships
• Elisa Balsamo's World Championships-winning Cannondale SuperSix Evo
• Anna van der Breggen: It was a fantastic way to say goodbye at the World Championships
• Niewiadoma: The world doesn't end if you don't win
• Proud and emotional Winder draws her career to a close at Worlds
• Tactics gone wrong for Dutch in women's road race at World Championships
• Deignan 'legless' but hails GB World Championships performance as best in years
• Kata Blanka Vas sprints to fourth as best under-23 rider at World Championships
• Schmid takes USA's first medal at Worlds with road race silver
• Lewis Askey looks ahead to WorldTour move with Groupama-FDJ after U23 Worlds fifth place
• Backstedt bags family bragging rights after winning junior Worlds with slow puncture
• An Insider’s Preview: Jolien D’hoore on the explosive parcours of the Flanders Worlds Championships
• Mark Cavendish: People think I just sit behind eight people and sprint but I can race
• Wout van Aert to use 'battery-saving mode' and trust his sprint at World Championships
• 'Aggressive' racing the name of the game for US women's team at Flanders Worlds
• Vos sees Leuven circuits as 'most important' on Worlds road course
• Baroncini: My U23 Worlds-winning attack was planned before the race
• Biniam Girmay: Worlds silver is for Eritrea and for Africa
• Jumbo-Visma-bound Hagenes celebrates Norway's first junior World title
• Uijtdebroeks inspired by Roglic in valiant World Championships fightback
• Chloe Hosking embraces unpredictable World Championships with no pressure
• Mads Pedersen: If we just watch our Worlds rivals, we'll be one step behind
• Julian Alaphilippe: Dreaming of another rainbow jersey
• Jake Stewart: Tom Pidcock can thrive on World Championships pressure
• Remco Evenepoel can be a ‘hero’ of the World Championships, says Vanthourenhout
• Van Vleuten: I am convinced that Marianne Vos can win the World Championships
• Mathieu van der Poel to ride World Championships despite recent back problems
• Colbrelli, Trentin, Longo Borghini, Bastianelli lead Italy in World Championship road races
• Road race start lists - men and women

Time Trials

• 'A fighter and a team player': Germany’s mixed relay world champions pay tribute to Tony Martin
• 'A perfect goodbye’ as Tony Martin exits cycling in a rainbow jersey at World Championships
• Dutch squad fight back to silver medal in Worlds mixed relay TTT
• Ganna grabs second medal of Worlds as Italy edge Switzerland for Mixed Relay TTT Worlds bronze
• What was stuffed down Great Britain's skinsuits in the Mixed Relay Time Trial?
• Tarling takes Great Britain's second silver of the Worlds in junior men's time trial
• Uijtdebroeks sixth in junior Worlds time trial a week after injury fending off burglar
• Fun the name of the game for multi-talented Zoe Backstedt
• Ellen van Dijk: I've been chasing this second world title since 2013
• Van Vleuten: I've never averaged power numbers as high as today
• Reusser 'really bitter' to miss Worlds time trial win on 30th birthday
• Kiesenhofer 'not mentally prepared' for Worlds time trial after search for spare part
• Five weeks after pelvis fracture, Neben takes Worlds time trial fourth place
• Emotional Price-Pejtersen dedicates U23 TT world title to Chris Anker Sørensen
• Tony Martin bows out in style at final World Championships time trial
• A silver medal too many for Wout van Aert in World Championships time trial
• Filippo Ganna: 'In the end I won Worlds time trial with the head and with the heart'
• World Championships: Ganna expects race of fine margins in elite men's time trial
• Worlds TT: Van Aert and Evenepoel a notch below Ganna and Kung, says Belgium manager
• Van Aert and Evenepoel take aim at world time trial title on home roads in Flanders
• Amber Neben 'locked in' for World Championships time trial despite recent crash
• Marlen Reusser: Taking on the Dutch in the time trial at the World Championships
• Anna van der Breggen pulls out of time trial defense at World Championships
• Filippo Ganna skips World Championships road race to focus on time trials
• Dowsett misses individual TT selection for Worlds but aims for mixed relay success
• Roglic out, Pogacar in for World Championships time trial
• World Championships bikes: Ethan Vernon's Hope HB.TT time trial bike

Other news

• Remco Evenepoel disappointed by Merckx criticism ahead of Worlds road race
• First U23 women's world champion set to be crowned at Australian Worlds in 2022
• Austrian riders involved in road accident at World Championships
• RGT Cycling announces new 'City of Leuven' route for World Championships
• History-makers: Asma Jan and Kanza Malik become first Pakistani women to race internationally
• Dutch team take valuable lessons from Olympics loss into World Championships
• Sam Bennett withdraws from World Championships
• Sarah Gigante: Lack of U23 women's category at Road World Championships ‘completely unfair’
• Matthews can do something amazing at Worlds, says Haas
• Caleb Ewan leaves Tour de Luxembourg early to recover for World Championships
• Dutch coach holding a spot for Van der Poel to lead World Championship team
• Elisa Longo Borghini: The rouleur of the World Championships
• Lighter and mentally stronger Colbrelli eyes World Championships after European title
• Lizzie Deignan aims for third season peak at World Championships
• It's time for a U23 women's category at the UCI Road World Championships
• National Champions Jackson and Boivin lead Canadian selection at Worlds
• Questions over Tom Pidcock's form as Great Britain give others a chance at Worlds
• Tom Pidcock, Mark Cavendish, Lizzie Deignan lead Great Britain at UCI Road World Championships
• Mathieu van der Poel: Worlds and Paris-Roubaix start chance ‘more than 50/50’
• Kwiatkowski: Mental strength will be key to World Championships success
• Woods: Alaphilippe and Van Aert are the favourites for World Championships
• Coryn Rivera: 'It’s time to get the rainbow stripes back on an American’s shoulders'
• Trentin: Italian team can compete with Van Aert and Van der Poel at World Championships
• Evenepoel all-in for Wout van Aert at World Championships
• Van Aert and Kopecky head up Belgium's selections for the Flanders Worlds
• Mathieu van der Poel to test back injury before decision on Worlds and Paris-Roubaix
• Lotte Kopecky primed to chase rainbows on home soil at Flanders World Championships
• Matthews and Ewan to lead Australian men's squad at World Championships

Worlds overview

The 2021 UCI Road World Championships return to a full schedule in Belgium for a 94th edition of the annual competition. The Flanders region of Belgium will host racing from September 19 to 26, with 11 rainbow jerseys up for grabs. This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the Road World Championships, first contested for amateurs in 1921. 

Racing will be spread across four host cities - host cities Knokke-Heist, Bruges, Antwerp and Leuven. Last fall the junior and Under-23 events were not held due to COVID-19 coronavirus restrictions, but all disciplines are back on the schedule this year. It is the ninth time Belgium has hosted the Road World Championships, and sixth time across Flanders. 

Time trials

• UCI Road World Championships 2021 - Elite Men's ITT Start List
• UCI Road World Championships 2021 - Elite Women's ITT Start List

The start of the time trials is situated on the North Sea beach and will take riders through the centre of Knokke-Heist. The routes will then go inland for finishes in Bruges. 

The elite men open competition on Sunday, September 19 with a 43.3km race against the clock. Elite women and Under-23 men will ride a 30.3km course the next day, and juniors will compete on September 21, the junior men riding 22.3km and the junior women riding 19.3km. 

The team time trial mixed relay was introduced in Harrogate in 2019 and is back on the schedule on September 22. The event will see national teams of three men and three women. The men's teams will start in Knokke-Heist and ride in the direction of Bruges, over a similar route as the other TTs. Upon arrival after 22.5 km in Bruges, the women's team will take over, for a 22km route and finish in Bruges.

The reigning champions will be back to defend – Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands) for the elite women and Filippo Ganna (Italy) for the elite men.

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Road races

• 2021 UCI Road World Championships road race start lists

The junior men will contest the first road race, taking place on Friday, September 24 across 121.4 kilometres on a circuit course in Leuven. The competition will start at the famous Ladeuzeplei. With eight laps on a local circuit in Leuven, with four hills on each lap, and a winner crowned on the slightly uphill Geldenaaksevest.

Then the U23 men will battle on a 160.9km course that begins in Antwerp and ends in Leuven, using the same local circuit as the juniors for two-and-a-half laps, and also take on a Flandrien circuit that offers six climbs.

Saturday is a day for the women, with the junior women riding a 75km Leuven circuit course, followed by the elite women taking on a 157.7km course with 1,047 metres of elevation gain from Antwerp to Leuven. After arriving in Leuven, the riders will take on the local circuit one and a half times, then the Flandrien loop, and finish with two and a half more laps of the local circuit to determine the winner of the rainbow jersey.

Sunday will focus on the elite men, for a monster 268.3km ride with 2,562 metres of elevation gain from the Grote Markt in Antwerp to Geldenaaksevest in Leuven. In total they will ride eight times on the local Leuven circuit and twice around the Flandrien loop.

The defending champion for elite women is Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands) and for the elite men is Julian Alaphilippe (France).

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