Cyclo-cross World Championships among the most popular sports competitions

To date, there are a lot of different sports, and each such sport implies the holding of various cycling competitions, tournaments and championships. Cycling, although not as popular as football or boxing, still has a sufficient number of like-minded people and adherents. Championships and cycling races are becoming more and more popular in different countries, on different continents. The UCI organization introduced more and more different cycling tournaments every year of its existence, but the Cyclo-cross World Championships enjoyed the most stunning success immediately upon its launch.

What is the essence of the World Championship in cyclocross?

The cyclocross championship is organized and funded by the International Cycling Union. This event has been held annually
since the 1960s. The championship is quite young, but this does not prevent it from being very famous among athletes. In the sporting event itself, it is planned to hold six cycling races annually. These cycling races include – Men’s and Women’s Elite, Men’s Juniors (under age of majority), Women’s Junior, and Men’s and Women’s Under 23’s. Elite for men and women are usually held according to the calendar on the last day of the week, and all other events are usually held the day before on Saturday. Anyone who fits one or another category in races and who is ready to show their professionalism can participate. The International Cycling Union itself also made the initial decision to award the best cyclists with a gold medal. And also, as a brand and a distinctive sign of the cycling event, the winner is awarded a t-shirt in a rainbow coloring. Traditionally, the second and third place also receive awards – silver and bronze, respectively.

History and origins of the Cyclo-Cross World Championship

1951 – became the year of the premiere of this sporting event. Initially, something like that already existed, but the International Cycling Union decided to replace the French race with a French name with the Cyclo-Cross World Championship, which is already familiar to us today. Back in those years, the event was considered unofficial, although it had the title of the world’s first international bike-cross. Traditionally, as was customary in the initial years of the cycling championship, the Championship is held annually and usually covers the period January-February.

It is very remarkable that from the very beginning there were not all six races in the race. And sport-cross concerned only the elite event of men. Only after about 20 years of such bike-crosses did the Bicycle Union decide to add two more events to the number of cycling races – a male under 23 race and a junior male / female. The addition of racing categories continued until 2016 and the latest segment was the female elite. In addition, during the 70-90s of the last century, the International Cycling Union also held annual bike races for amateur athletes, where it also awarded the best winners.

In terms of geographical location, the Championship is mainly based on European lands. A lot of effort and time has gone into expanding bike-cross to other continents as well. For example, in 2014 the Union managed to organize a race in the USA.

Current 2021 Cyclo-Cross Champions

In 2021, the Championship was held in Belgium during the last two days of January. Traditionally, there were six events in the qualification of the entire Tournament and one champion and silver and bronze medalists were selected in each race. As of the start of the new 2022 bike season, the champions of last year’s competitions are still valid. Who exactly what categories headed – we suggest you familiarize yourself now.

• Elite Men – cycling champion Pidcock from England.
• Women’s elite – Vos from Holland.
• The male category up to the age of 23 is Wyseur from Belgium.
• The female cycling category up to the age of 23 is Pieters from Holland.
• Junior men – Christen from Switzerland.
• Women’s junior – Bucksted from England.

Retrospective of the cyclocross championships

As we have already said, the main number of bicycle races was always held on the territory of European countries, since it was difficult to organize races outside of Europe, somewhere in the USA, for example. The very first country to host bike-cross was France, the events took place in the capital. In 70-90 years the Championship was held in different countries – Luxembourg, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Belgium. 2013 was the first year of cyclocross racing outside of Europe, with the Championship held in the US in Louisville. After that, the Bicycle Union returned to the usual practice of territorial distribution in Europe. But not this season. 2022 is set to be the second year of international hosting, with the races once again taking place in the US at Fayetteville. After 2022, they plan to return the practice to European lands. Although now there is more and more talk about the expansion of bike-cross to other countries, perhaps Asian ones.

The love for this Tournament grows every year

As you can see, the Cyclocross World Championship has been held annually for 70 years. Such a long age of a sports tournament can only demonstrate one thing – every year more and more athletes come to participate and more and more fans follow this tournament.
The organizers, even while planning the creation of the Championship, set themselves the main goal – to unite all athletes of the cycling segment from all countries, from all continents, people of all nations and faiths into one single society – the society of bike-athletes. Whether you’re an amateur or a professional, whether you live in Greenland or Miami, there’s a place where you’ll always be welcome. This goal was achieved very quickly and more than successfully.

To this day, the huge popularity of the Cyclocross Tournament only continues to demonstrate that then, 70 years ago, all the efforts were not in vain. And at this stage, everyone is sure that the process of expanding the geography of the sporting event to different continents will also be successful.