UCI President David Lappartient discusses plans for 2027 ‘super’ World Championships: “When I first came up with this idea, no one was convinced”
CyclingWednesday, 16 April 2025 at 18:00
The world of cycling is preparing for its next major
transformation. After the resounding success of the first unified UCI Cycling
World Championships in Glasgow in 2023, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)
is gearing up to host the second edition in 2027. This time, the spotlight
shifts to Haute-Savoie, France, a region steeped in cycling tradition, dramatic
mountain landscapes, and, according to UCI President David Lappartient, one of
the most stunning “playgrounds” in the sport.
The French Alps will take centre stage between August and
September 2027 as 20 disciplines across 12 venues come together in a single
monumental event. It promises to be the largest and most diverse gathering in
cycling history, even surpassing the Glasgow edition in both scale and
spectacle.
“We have one of the most beautiful playgrounds here, in
Haute-Savoie, in the world,” Lappartient told Cyclism’Actu on Tuesday.
“We have a region blessed by the gods for cycling, with a good distribution, so
we're going to experience some extraordinary cycling moments.”
When Lappartient first proposed the idea of a combined
cycling world championship to be held every four years, it was met with
hesitation, if not outright resistance.
“It's true that when I first came up with this idea, no one
was convinced. It was almost only me. And I remember that when I arrived at the
UCI, they said to me: 'But your thing was to get elected, you don't really
intend to implement it?' But yes, I did intend to.”
He faced pushback from those who deemed it impossible, too
many disciplines, clashing calendars, and conflicting needs. Yet, as he
explains, it was exactly this challenge that inspired him to push forward.
“They explained to me that the track was in February, that
indoor cycling was in November, that others were in July... in short, that it
was impossible to change all the calendars. Well, it's precisely because it's
impossible that we're going to do it.”
The 2023 Glasgow edition silenced many of those doubts. It
brought together 13 cycling disciplines over 10 days and featured more than
7,000 athletes. More than a million spectators lined the streets and filled the
venues, while global viewership soared. Van der Poel and Kopecky, among others,
added their names to the list of rainbow jersey legends. The experiment had
succeeded.
“Glasgow was a huge success, with over a million spectators,
audiences tripled compared to the overall World Championships, and superb
winners, such as Mathieu van der Poel and Lotte Kopecky for the road race. The
best won. So yes, the bar is high.”
Now, the UCI is ready to raise that bar again.
Haute-Savoie 2027 will feature seven more disciplines than
Glasgow, including the addition of gravel racing, esports, mountain bike
enduro, pump track, and junior track. Two completely new specialties, indoor
cycle speedway and bike polo, will also make their debut on the world stage.
The total programme now includes 20 separate UCI World Championships, with
events spread across both mountainous and urban locations in the region.
“Here, we'll have seven more disciplines, and we're
expecting all 205 UCI-affiliated nations at the start. Never has a cycling
competition had so many nations. So Haute-Savoie can rise to this challenge.”
Among the new venues will be the Rochexpo complex in La
Roche-sur-Foron, which will host indoor cycling, speedway, and bike polo.
However, due to delays in local infrastructure projects, the track events will
not be held in Haute-Savoie itself.
“A velodrome was planned here, in La Roche-sur-Foron.
Unfortunately, due to various circumstances, it couldn't be built, and so it
will be in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. Well, let's admit that it's the Olympic
velodrome, and I also spent 8 years of my life building it. It's not illogical
for the national velodrome to be used for the World Championships in France.”
While the track events will be located in the Paris region,
the rest of the programme will be rooted firmly in the mountains and towns of
south-eastern France. The list of host cities reads like a love letter to
cycling ,from Les Gets and Annecy to Cluses, Châtel, Sallanches, and beyond.
Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated event will be the elite
men’s and women’s road races. Both will be held on a mountainous course between
Sallanches and Domancy, the site of Bernard Hinault’s famous 1980 World
Championship victory.
“When I spoke with Bernard Hinault from the beginning, he
told me: 'I hope it will be a circuit race, and on the same circuit, and I hope
they will have 20 laps.’ And so his wish was granted, it will be the same
course and the same distance.”
“You know, a mountain competition of more than 265 km, with
5,700 m of elevation gain for the men, 3,500 m for the women, these will
certainly be very, very difficult races, and which will crown the greatest,
like Hinault at the time. We need legendary races.”
Lappartient believes the super worlds format is more than
just a novel experiment. He sees it as a vital pillar in the future of global
sport, a cycling-specific counterpart to the Olympic Games.
“So yes, somewhere the baby has been born, and I am
convinced that these World Championships grouped together once every four years
will certainly be a major element of world sport, not just cycling. By bringing
all this together, we become a major event at the global level.”
With every discipline from BMX to esports, track to trials,
and road to pump track included, the unified championships offer fans a rare
window into cycling’s full diversity. For sponsors and broadcasters, it brings
commercial and marketing clarity. And for athletes, it’s a celebration of their
sport in its entirety.
Full list of 2027 UCI World Championships and venues
- Road: Sallanches - Domancy, Pays du Mont-Blanc (races), Lake Annecy (time trials)
- Para-cycling Road: Rumilly
- Gran Fondo: Thônes - La Clusaz, Aravis Massif
- Track (Elite, Junior & Para-cycling): Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
- Mountain Bike (XCO, XCM, DH, Enduro): Les Gets & Grand Massif
- Pump Track: Saint-Pierre-en-Faucigny
- BMX Racing: Annecy
- BMX Freestyle (Park & Flatland): Cluses
- Trials: Sallanches, Pays du Mont-Blanc
- Indoor Cycling (Artistic & Cycle Ball): Rochexpo, La Roche-sur-Foron
- Cycling Esports: Évian-les-Bains
- Gravel: Châtel, Portes du Soleil
- Indoor Cycle Speedway & Bike Polo: Rochexpo, La Roche-sur-Foron
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