Scotland prepares to welcome international cycling athletes

Thousands of international elite cyclists, including para-athletes, will gather in Glasgow and across Scotland this week for the start of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships.

From Thursday 3 August, Scotland will proudly host the world’s biggest ever staged cycling event, which is expected to attract around a million spectators. The majority of the action will take place in Glasgow – building on the legacy from the 2014 Commonwealth Games – alongside locations including Fort William, the Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Perthshire and Dundee and Angus.

The 11 days of sporting action will see cyclists compete for the following 13 world championships:

• UCI Road World Championships
• UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships
• UCI Track Cycling World Championships presented by Tissot
• UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships
• UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country World Championships presented by Mercedes-Benz
• UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Championships presented by Mercedes-Benz
• UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships
• UCI Mountain Bike Cross Country Eliminator World Championships
• UCI Trials World Championships
• UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Championships
• UCI BMX World Championships
• UCI Indoor Cycling World Championships
• UCI Gran Fondo World Championships

First Minister Humza Yousaf said:

“I want to extend a warm welcome to every cyclist taking part in the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships – the world’s biggest ever cycling event. I wish everyone good luck.

“Hosting the UCI World Championships is further vote of confidence in Scotland as a destination of choice for staging major global events.

“The Scottish Government is proud to fund this innovative and inclusive event. Our funding will help promote the health and wellbeing benefits of cycling and help drive wider economic and social benefits across the country.

“Whether it’s indoor competitions at the velodrome or Mountain Biking and road events set in some of the most scenic parts of Scotland, there is something for everyone. Many of these events are free and I would encourage as many people across the country to try and catch a piece of the action.”

Background

The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships will run from 3 – 13 August 2023 in Glasgow and at venues across Scotland. This innovative event brings together 13 existing cycling disciplines for the first time to create the biggest cycling event in history. The championships are expected to attract 2,600 elite cyclists including para-athletes, from over 120 countries, and attract around one million spectators.

The Championships are funded by the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council, UK Sport and British Cycling and are delivered in a collaboration between the funders and UCI, Glasgow Life and VisitScotland with its EventScotland team through 2023 Cycling World Championships Ltd.

As the road races will travel through a number of local authority areas there will be significant road closures and the public are advised to plan journeys ahead of time. Travel advice is available on the CWC, Twitter feeds and public transport operator websites, including www.traffic.gov.scot/uci.