Japan announces a serious interest to host the 2035 "Super" World Championships in a multi-city model
CyclingTuesday, 01 September 2026 at 23:00
The cycling's biggest stage could, after more than four decades, return to the "land of samurais" - Japan. The east-Asian country is reportedly preparing a bid to host the 2035 World Championships, coinciding with the quaternial 'Super Championships' where road cycling meets track cycling, mountain bikes, BMX, and many other disciplines at the same time.
The news is reported by Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun where the ambitious plan was presented by Japan Cycling Federation vice-president Koichi Nakano and executive director Kunihiko Kaji.
In 2023, Glasgow hosted the first event of this scale. And for 2027, the French region of Haute-Savoie will carry on the new tradition. Meanwhile Trentino, Italy will do so in 2031. And Japan would wish to become the world cycling's hub in 2035. But rather than hosting all events in the same place, it intends to spread the entire programme across multiple venues in Japan.
Return after 45 years
Across Asian countries, there's no doubt that Japan has some of the most extensive cycling traditions. In fact, the first-ever World Championships held in Asia date all the way back to 1990. That year, Utsunomiya welcomed the world's best cyclists. The race ended in a Belgian double with Rudy Dhaenens taking the rainbow jersey, backed by Dirk De Wolf.
Since then, Qatar's Doha held 2016 World Championships won by Peter Sagan. And in 2028, it will be Abu Dhabi's (United Arab Emirates) turn. Japan would then reclaim another "first" among Asian countries as the first nation to hold two World Championship editions.
At the moment, the bid is still very much in the early phases, but Nakano assures that contacts with respective governments and municipalities have already been made with aim to prepare a definite proposal as soon as possible.
Read also
In the meantime, Japan hosted the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships last week. And towards the end of the season, the 2026 Asian Games will be hosted in the city of Nagoya.
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.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Carapaz will ride for Carapaz and Carapaz only.jad2901-09-2026
- literally everytime visma has solid racing options that they table to 'ride for wout' to sprint it backfires.jad2901-09-2026
- My thoughts exactly.anonymouscyclist01-09-2026
- Yeah. This is his 10th GT and his first DNF in a GT. Relative to many riders he’s been lucky in avoiding illness. And lucky or skillful, or most likely a bit of both, to avoid race-ending crashes.mobk01-09-2026
- My man Wout van Aert...PogiSloFans01-09-2026
- Forgot to mention that Michaelgate is cobbled
Rafionain-Glas01-09-2026 - Tut Tut cyclinguptodate. The exact quote to give context is “I’m glad I showed I’m stronger than Mathieu van der Poel on the mountain bike. But I think he’s stronger than me on the road. Still, someday I want to win a world title there, too.”Cyclingsbestfan01-09-2026
- He has at least one good season left in him. He is still powerful and while possibly not a winner, he has his moments and could be used to pace Onley up the climbs. He may not like that role however?Cyclingsbestfan01-09-2026
- I understand that I'm letting him know he's not there so he can change itcyclingcrazy01-09-2026
- That was confirmed 2 hours ago and this was probably written before (but published now)Rafionain-Glas01-09-2026
Loading
Write a comment