India's bid to host 2032 World Championships expected to beat Dutch; Groningen and Drenthe settle for 2034 event instead
CyclingWednesday, 23 September 2026 at 23:00
The 2026 World Championships in Montréal are already underway. And that means that UCI has the opportunity to make some key decisions regarding the sport's future. Among others, where will some of the future editions take place.
Thus far, we already know that the second Cycling "Super" World Championships will take us to Haute-Savoie (France) in 2027. Then it'll be the turn of Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) in 2028, Copenhagen (Denmark) in 2029, Brussels (Belgium) in 2030, and the Cycling "Super" World Championships will take place in Trentino (Italy) in 2031.
Throughout this week, it is expected that UCI will confirm some of the destinations beyond 2031 season. For 2032, there were two strong bids; a debut Championships in India (likely in the surroundings of Pune, where the innaugural edition of Pune Grand Tour took place this January), and a combined bid from the Dutch cities of Groningen and Drenthe.
First-ever World Championships for India
According to Het Laatste Nieuws, it will be the Asian country whose bid eventually won over the hearts of UCI, who will communicate their decision in coming days.
HLN reportedly spotted a large Indian delegation at the hotel in Montreal where the UCI is staying this week, including the governor of the state of Maharashtra, where the World Championship is supposed to take place.
Worlds return to the Netherlands after more than two decades
However the Dutch won't walk away empty-handed. The UCI liked their bid as well, and should reserve them a spot in 2034.
This would mark the road cycling's biggest one-day event's return to the traditional cycling land after 22 years.
In 2012, Limburg's Valkenburg hosted a thrilling race centered around the Cauberg climb. The race was won by Philippe Gilbert, ahead of Edvald Boasson Hagen and Alejandro Valverde.
Unlike two decades earlier, the 2034 edition in Groningen/Drenthe area is very likely to feature a race suited to sprinters, unless wind blows the race into pieces just like in Qatar in 2016.
While the 2035 Cycling "Super" World Championships have been already marked by Japan which intend to present a multi-city bid in the near future, the 2033 World Championships remain open to applications with early rumours hinting at a possibility of non-European host, however no particular location has been listed at the moment.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- It's a horribly composed article. It doesn't mention his name until the third paragraph, and even then it only mentions his last name. I miss the days when we had what was called journalism.
santiagobenites23-09-2026 - My pick for the win is Isaac Del Toro, given how great he looked while winning the race in Montreal a week and a half ago. My sentimental favorite for the win is Wout Van Aert. I know that that's not going to happen, but I'm sure that a lot of cycling fans would be absolutely thrilled if he did.santiagobenites23-09-2026
- Ineos didn’t know what they had or how to handle him.mij23-09-2026
- Yes and I don’t know any female TT specificalists that are this great. Marlen is amazing, but who else? Vos is a goat but not TT.mij23-09-2026
- I don’t know who some is or are but if you read all the other reports with comments by those who were part of that peleton (and there are at least two others with quite some coverage on this website), it seems like some are happy to stay as anonymous as possible because they’re in a very tiny minority. Even the motorbike comments oppose what the anonymous some from this article are giving as an explanation. I think it’s pretty obvious, despite the Montreal course being considered too tough for him, he’s intending to give it his all. And someone capable of finishing LBL with distinctly more elevation gain 3rd shouldn’t be considered inferior to any of Remco, Wout or Seixas.Jumpyjohn23-09-2026
- I didn’t but it just confirmed that we should have been discussing what he was up to. He obviously decided stages 2-4 were of no use or interest to him in light of his plan for stage 5, or is someone going to try to convince me he woke up that morning one week before the WC and spontaneously decided he’d go for his own personal training ride during a stage race?Jumpyjohn23-09-2026
- "USA - nearly home advantage". Ha - Canadian fans likely to be booing when they see the Stars and Stripes on the road. Trump's 51st state nonsense not likely to be generating many warm fuzzy feelings between neighbours.mobk23-09-2026
- You’d have to move to the ladies to find anyone that could be considered equal in that department.Jumpyjohn23-09-2026
- If Seixas does it, it'd be meteoric, but I have to go with Pidcock as he's my home man, may the best rider win, whomever gets it, will be a valiant winner 👍
leedorney23-09-2026 - Agreed, and I wouldn’t write him off for GTs even as it gets more competitive. If you remember some, like Thomas, who started and had success on the track before slowly improving GT abilities, he should keep the options.Jumpyjohn23-09-2026
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