The 2023 Glasgow Cycling World Championship are the first so-called 'super' World Championships combining various different disciplines across almost two weeks. UCI president David Lappartient still hopes for more expansion.
"I had the vision to set up a multidisciplinary event and I am extremely proud that my vision has become a reality. We're getting 11 days of non-stop action across disciplines, something we've never experienced in our sport," says Lappartient, who was elected president in 2017 in a conversation with In de Leiderstrui.
The multi-discipline format of the World Championships sees multiple riders compete across the various events such as Filippo Ganna both on the road and on the track and Mathieu van der Poel on the road and in cyclocross.
“I see it as a great thing. The fact that Mathieu can combine road racing and mountain biking here would not have been possible without such a super World Championships," says Lappartient. "I find it very inspiring that he will actually do so."
In the coming years though, even more could be coming to the World Championships. Although as Lappartient says himself, that can cause problems of it's own. "It was also something we had to pay attention to when planning," the UCI president admits. "To prevent a clash between disciplines, we looked at the agenda with great precision, and we will do that even better next time. In this way we can ensure that next time more drivers can do two or even three disciplines."
"In 2027 there will also be gravel, a sport that is also practised by many road cyclists these days," he concludes. "Those are things we also have to take into account. That turns out to be difficult to plan, because it is and will remain a winter sport."
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