You’ll never guess how many world championship medals the UCI hands out each year

It was another thrilling year in cycling. Road world championships delivered the magic of the peloton. Mountain bike world championships thrilled with shoulder-to-shoulder racing and the extreme of downhill. Track worlds brought drama and wild sprints to the world of turning left. Cyclocross worlds are shaping up to be an epic battle. Then there was the first-ever gravel world championships. BMX is always exciting. And cycle-ball worlds were …. uh, wait a second. Just how many world championships are there? And how many individual world champions are crowned every single year?

Well, after spending way too long on the Union Cycliste International (UCI) website, which is not at all the world champion of websites, we found out that cycling’s governing organization is quite the busybody. There are hundreds of world championship medals handed out every year.

Here’s a complete list of every world championship event, and the total number of world champions, crowned each and every year by the UCI. Here’s hoping they order those medals in bulk.

World championships

In 2022, there were 18 separate world championship events in different disciplines: road, two track events (elite and junior), mountain bike, mountain bike marathon, BMX, indoor, gravel, fondo, pumptrack, eSport and the combined Urban Cycling event (BMX freestyle and trials). Para-athletes also compete in separate road and track world championship events. Masters account for another four (track, mountain bike, mountain bike marathon and cyclocross).

Many of these will be combined for 2023 at the first UCI cycling world championships in Glasgow, Scotland.

World champions

With 18 different world championships, there are a lot of world champions. Here’s every single event where the UCI gives out a jersey, broken down by discipline.

*We’ve abbreviated men (M) and women (W) where events are equal as well as under-23 (U23) and time trial (TT). That’s about it.

Road

(Sept 18-25, Wollongong, Australia)

Time Trial: M/W Elite, M/W U23, M/W Junior, Mixed Relay (6 rider teams)
Road: M/W Elite, M/W U23, M/W Junior
(13 total events)

Mountain bike

(Aug/Sept 2022, Les Gets, France)

XC: M/W Elite, M/W U23, M/W Junior, Team Relay
DH: M/W Elite, M/W…