ROAD

Riders give everything they’ve got as they tear up the road at high speeds

The rules of the road are simple: fastest wins. But a winning time comes down to more than just raw RPM. Pace setting, strategically timed attacks and gutsy breakaways will separate the race leaders from the pack on the high-speed hills, thrills and spills of Scotland’s most challenging roads.

Road Race

The Road Race is a mass start event, the first person across the line is declared the winner, and riders take part in national teams with the number of riders each nation has is determined by the number of points that the country has amassed in the official UCI rankings. The distance for each road race varies with the shortest distance being 70 km on the Glasgow Circuit and the longest being an eyewatering 271.1km from Edinburgh to Glasgow

Most of the 2023 road races involve laps of Glasgow Circuit a 14.3km loop at the end of the course

The majority will ride in the bunch or peloton, expect to see a number of riders go for an early breakaway in the hope of evading the peloton and securing an incredible victory. More often than not though, the breakaway is caught before the finish as each nation’s star riders are thrust into contention as they go wheel to wheel for that prestigious rainbow jersey.

Individual Time Trial

Introduced to the UCI Road World Championships in 1994, Individual Time Trials are one of the most demanding and dramatic races in the Championships. In this discipline cyclist don’t ride in a bunch but alone against the clock. As competitors are set off at regular intervals meaning spectators are treated to nonstop action right along the course. The rider who logs the fastest time over the course is declared the winner. Every second counts and as aerodynamics plays such an important role, riders compete on specially designed bikes and kit that appear almost futuristic. Whilst the course is usually much shorter than a road race, a time trial is one of the most demanding disciplines in cycling. To put themselves in contention, riders must measure their efforts carefully to ensure they ride as close to their physical limit as possible for the duration, without going to far into the red zone and scuppering their chances for good. The Individual Time Trials at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships will finish in the iconic Stirling Castle.

Team Time Trial Mixed Relay

The Team Trial Mixed Relay sees national teams of six - three female riders and three male riders all working together in a team. Unlike in an individual time trial where athletes are not permitted to ride behind one another, in the Team Time Trial Mixed Relay riders are allowed to employ this as one of the main tactics. The male riders wills et off first for one lap of the 20.15km Glasgow circuit completing it as fast as they can, the women will replace them on the road as soon as the second male rider has crossed the finish line, and also complete a 20.15km lap of the circuit. Final timings will then be taken when the second female rider crosses the finish line and the fastest team will be declared the winner.

RIDER TO WATCH Annemiek van Vleuten (NLD)

A two-time winner of both the 2019 and 2022 Road Race and the 2017 and 2018 Individual Time Trial at the UCI Road World Championships, the Dutch road racing pro has a slew of victories to her Palmarès, and has been awarded Dutch women’s cyclist of the year three times. Due to retire at the end of the 2023 season, all eyes will be on her as she hits the Championships one final time. Instagram @annemiekvanvleuten

WHERE Glasgow, Loch Lomond, Stirling and Edinburgh - turn to page 150 for route maps

WHEN 5–6, 8–13 August

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Early Start

Road racing has featured at every Olympic Games since its first edition in 1896.

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