The Road and Para-Cycling World Championships begin on Saturday in and around Zurich. 53 races will put the city and surrounding communities in a state of emergency. Everything you need to know about the big event.
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- From Saturday, the 2024 Road and Para-Cycling World Championships will take place in and around Zurich.
- Over nine days, 53 races will take place, putting Zurich and the surrounding area in a state of emergency.
- Find out everything you need to know about the World Championships, including how the major event will affect traffic, who will be competing for medals for Switzerland and where the fan zones will be set up.
Over 50 races in nine days
The Road and Para-Cycling World Championships are on the program in Zurich from 21 to 29 September. For the first time ever, the title fights for elite and para-athletes will take place at the same time and comprise a total of 53 races, all of which will finish in the city of Zurich at Sechseläutenplatz. You can find the detailed race program here.
The elite program of the World Cycling Championships in Zurich
- Sunday, September 22, from 12 noon: Women's elite individual time trial
- Sunday, September 22, from 2.45 p.m.: Men's elite individual time trial
- Wednesday, September 25, from 2 p.m.: Mixed Relay, Team Time Trial
- Saturday, September 28, from 12.45 p.m.: Women's elite road race
- Sunday, September 29, from 10.30 a.m.: Men's elite road race
The categories and the Swiss line-up
There are medals to be won in nine different categories in the road races and time trials: Elite Women, Elite Men, Men U23, Junior Women, Junior Men, Team Women and Team Men, Para Women and Para Men. The Swiss squad for the home World Championships consists of 40 athletes and is as follows:
The Swiss squad for the World Cycling Championships in Zurich
- Men, elite: Stefan Küng, Stefan Bissegger, Silvan Dillier, Marc Hirschi, Johan Jacobs, Mauro Schmid, Yannis Voisard
- Women, elite: Elena Hartmann, Caroline Baur, Elise Chabbey, Noemi Rüegg
- Men, U23: Jan Christen, Fabian Weiss, Fabio Christen
- Women, U23: Jasmin Liechti, Linda Zanetti
- Men, U19: Nicolas Ginter, Nicolas Halter, Nicola Zumsteg, Nicolas Bialon, two further starting places to be allocated
- Women, U19: Muriel Furrer, Lara Liehner, Chiara Mettier, Sirin Städler
- Men, Para-Cycling: Fabio Bernasconi, Roger Bolliger, Timothy Zemp, Benjamin Früh, Fabian Kieliger, Tobias Lötscher, Fabian Recher, Yves Schmied, Alain Tuor, Micha Wäfler
- Women, Para-Cycling: Franziska Matile-Dörig, Flurina Rigling, Celine van Till, Sandra Stöckli
The World Championship routes
All races finish at Sechseläutenplatz, although the routes and starting locations vary. The elite men's road race starts directly in front of Winterthur's landmark, the Sulzer Tower. The elite men's time trial starts on the open Oerlikon racecourse.
The women's elite road race starts at the Pünt-Areal in Uster - just like the juniors and men in the U23 category. The elite women's and U23 men's time trials and various men's and women's para-cycling races will start in Gossau. In addition, several races will start in the city of Zurich at Münsterhof or Sechseläutenplatz. You can find details of the World Championship routes here.
The traffic
The packed World Championships program will have an impact on the traffic situation in Zurich. Restrictions and adjustments in the city of Zurich and in the neighboring municipalities in Zurich East and throughout the canton are unavoidable. Many roads will be closed and it is strongly recommended that people avoid using their cars and instead travel into the city by public transport or bicycle. However, public transport is also restricted in many municipalities and in the city. The affected streetcar and bus routes will be diverted, shortened or suspended depending on the day of the race.
Access to hospitals is guaranteed at all times. On race days, the affected roads will be open to normal traffic again from 7 pm at the latest. Traffic from eastern Switzerland will already be diverted from Reichenburg, Canton Schwyz, towards the left bank of the lake. The website of the World Cup organizers shows when which roads are closed and where there are restrictions on public transport. A hotline has also been put into operation.
Please note: Roads will be closed several days before and after the World Championships for construction and dismantling work, for example in Zurich's Seefeld district.
The fan zones
A varied program will be offered in various fan zones in the city during the title fights. All medal ceremonies for the 66 world champions will take place on Sechseläutenplatz, as well as talks and concerts. The official World Cup ambassador Ritschi will be performing live on Thursday, September 26. A ticket is required for admission to Sechseläutenplatz, while access to the tracks and other fan zones - at General-Guisan-Quai, Bürkliplatz and Münsterhof - is free of charge.
