The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) Zurich 2024 have set the start times for the 53 races of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland. After the opening ceremony at 16:00 CET on Saturday 21 September, para-cyclists will take centre stage, opening the inclusive competition programme with the spectacular mixed handbike team relay (17:15 CET). The Men Elite road race will conclude the global cycling event on Sunday 29 September, with the start being given at 10:30 CET in Winterthur.
Individual time trials and road races will be organised across various categories: Women Elite, Men Elite, Men Under 23, Men Junior, Women Junior, Para-cycling Women and Para-cycling Men. The latter compete on tandems, tricycles, handbikes or cycles, according to their sport class. Depending on the race day and programme, the first riders will take to the road from 8:15 CET. There will also be two team events: the team time trial – mixed relay and the para-cycling mixed handbike team relay. All details are available at https://zurich2024.com/en/sport-competition-schedule/.
For the first time in the history of cycling, the UCI Road World Championships and UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships are combined into one event dedicated solely to road, with both para-cyclists and non-para-cyclists sharing the same routes and crossing the same finish line. After the opening mixed handbike team relay, the individual time trials will take place from Sunday 22 September to Tuesday 24 September, the team time trial – mixed relay on Wednesday 25 September, and the road races from Wednesday 25 September to Sunday 29 September.
GPX files of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships routes available
The GPX files for all race routes are now also available at the above link. In this context, LOC Zurich 2024 would like to expressly point out that these routes will only be active during the UCI Road World Championships and that road traffic regulations will otherwise apply. Specially curated segments of individual routes of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships will also be part of the “Züri Velo Cup 2024”. Further details on this accompanying measure will be announced on 21 March.
PubliBike and the Local Organising Committee Zurich 2024 are launching a strategic marketing cooperation in the area of environmentally friendly event travel. As part of this collaboration, spectators can park their car in the AMAG Messe Zürich multi-storey car park, then enjoy a relaxed ride on a PubliBike to the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich with a 50% discount on the regular rental fee.
850,000, but hopefully many more: the Local Organising Committee (LOC) Zurich 2024 is expecting crowds of fans and visitors to watch the UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships next September. The majority are likely to travel by public transport – or with their own or a rented bike. But there is also an innovative way to travel into Zurich to watch this international event: The AMAG multi-storey car park at Messe Zürich is offering event visitors special conditions for parking fees. Once they have parked their car, they can easily switch to a PubliBike to reach the finish area at Sechseläutenplatz and the various fan zones, benefitting at the same time from a 50% discount on the B-Quick offer from the bike-sharing provider.
“LOC Zurich 2024 is delighted to be promoting environmentally friendly travel options thanks to the strategic cooperation with PubliBike,” said Ina Bauspiess, Head of Marketing & Sponsoring. “Together We Park & Bike. And: Together We Communicate. All partners involved will realise various marketing measures for the travel offers in the coming months. We are also looking forward to the UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships advertising on the PubliBike bike baskets in late summer.”
During the event in Zurich, the various PubliBike stations located in or near the perimeter of the UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships will be fully active. The PubliBike station on General-Guisan-Quai, where one of the fan zones will be located, will also be able to be expanded spontaneously for this period if there is an increased demand.
For Markus Bacher, Chief Executive Officer of PubliBike, the strategic marketing cooperation fulfils one of the company’s most important goals: “PubliBike wants as many people as possible to be able to travel seamlessly, especially at a major event like the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships, where the bicycle takes centre stage. Our offer in cooperation with the AMAG car park at Messe Zürich combines the various individual modes of transport in an ideal way.”
About PubliBike (www.publibike.ch)
As a pioneer of bike sharing in Switzerland since 2011, PubliBike enjoys a high level of recognition and popularity. With networks in seven cities and regions, 1,050 stations and 8,500 bikes and e-bikes, Publibike provides a comprehensive mobility offering for urban and sustainable local transport and is the ideal complement to private and public transport.
The Zurich Convention Center (“Kongresshaus Zurich”) will be the first Institutional Partner of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships next September. Located close to the finish area on Sechseläutenplatz, the prestigious complex will be the headquarters of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) will hold both its annual Congress and its Gala at the Zurich Convention Center. In addition, the UCI and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) Zurich 2024 will use the various rooms for delegation briefings and other work connected to race operations, while the international media centre will also be set up within the convention center’s walls.
The Zurich Convention Center combines business, culture, art and gastronomy under one roof. The building, which also includes the Tonhalle, is an important example of Swiss architecture.
« The Zurich Convention Center is delighted to be the hub of the UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich», emphasised CEO Michel Loris-Melikoff. «The latest technology and a very dignified ambience, which skilfully combines tradition with modernity, enable us to host such important events competently and in the interests of the organisers.»
Gabriela Buchs, Co-director of the supporting events at the LOC Zurich 2024, added: «Thanks to its location on the lake basin, within walking distance of Sechseläutenplatz and the fan zones, as well as its state-of-the-art rooms and facilities, the Zurich Convention Center is the ideal venue for the headquarters of the UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships. It also provides a stylish setting for the UCI Gala.»
The Zurich Convention Center also plays a pioneering role in terms of inclusion and sustainability. All the building’s event rooms and spaces are directly accessible by wheelchair. Events are climate-neutral, and the operating company relies on regional sources for its energy supply and food.
About Kongresshaus Zürich AG (https://www.zurichconventioncenter.com/en/)
Located directly on Lake Zurich, the Zurich Convention Center is the largest and most modern event venue of its kind in Switzerland with 5,300 square metres of multifunctional event space, 4,500 seats and over 20 rooms. Together with the world-famous Tonhalle, it combines business, culture, art and catering under one roof and sets new standards in terms of technology, sustainability and flexibility. The Kongresshaus/Tonhalle building complex is an icon of Swiss architecture and is therefore of national importance. www.kongresshaus.ch
Swiss beverage manufacturer Rivella is joining the growing peloton of Official Suppliers of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich. The company, which provides refreshing moments and the unmistakable attitude to life of active Switzerland like no other, will be present at the global cycling festival next September with its Focuswater brand.
In everyday life and especially during sport, adequate hydration is crucial for physical performance and general well-being. The choice of the right drink depends on the type and intensity of the activity. With Focuswater, the Swiss vitamin water, fans and visitors to the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships will be able to enjoy a contemporary thirst quencher in the fan zones and other official areas.
Focuswater: Find Your Flow!
“Find your flow, the slogan of our newest member of the Zurich 2024 family, also applied to all discussions with Rivella,” said Daniel Rupf, managing director of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) Zurich 2024. “We found our common flow straight away and set up a great partnership within just a few weeks. We are proud to welcome Rivella as one of our supplier brands and look forward to providing visitors in the fan zones with Focuswater in what we hope will be sunny late summer weather.”
Bruno Kühne, Rivella Sales Manager Gastronomy, is looking forward to being present at the major cycling world event in his own country: “We at Rivella are enthusiastic about the concept of this year’s UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich. Our involvement with Focuswater at this unique event completes our activities in sports experiences this year.”
Rivella: part of Switzerland – and the UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships
Rivella has been part of Switzerland since 1952, both as a drink and as a company. Fun fact: The company was founded in Uster, one of the four starting locations for the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships alongside Zurich, Winterthur and Gossau. It was in the Zurich Oberland, where the company laid the foundations for its continued success in the first two years of its existence.
Focuswater has been part of the Rivella Group since 2019. The perfectly balanced blend of vitamins, minerals and only a very small amount of natural sugar provides the body with important elements for its daily needs. The Swiss quality product is free from artificial colours, flavours and sweeteners and contains no preservatives. Five decilitres cover 75-100% of the recommended daily intake of vitamins for adults.
As part of the agreement between LOC Zurich 2024 and Rivella, Focuswater Active, Focuswater Care, Michel Apfelschorle, Rivella Red and Blue as well as the new Rivella “Innovation”, which will be launched this spring, will be served at all of the organiser’s official beverage outlets. The offer ideally complements the partnership that the Zurich 2024 Local Organising Committee concluded with Feldschlösschen beverages last November.
About Rivella (www.rivella-group.com)
Rivella AG, based in Rothrist (Aargau), is the largest group of companies for branded soft drinks of Swiss origin and has established itself as a permanent fixture in the country’s society and culture. With a brand awareness level of 93%, Rivella is one of the strongest brands in Switzerland and is the number 2 in the domestic soft drinks market. The company was founded in 1952 by pioneer and Rivella inventor Robert Barth. Today, the company owns Rivella as well as the Michel brand of fruit juice products and Focuswater, the leading Swiss brand in the vitamin water segment.
The clock is ticking down to the start of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich – now also on the official Tissot Countdown Clock. Flurina Rigling, multiple UCI World Champion in para-cycling and one of the ambassadors for next year’s UCI World Championships, unveiled the special time display at Zurich Airport on Thursday, 21 December 2023, exactly nine months before the start of the global cycling event.
Tissot has already started to provide its expert timekeeping, as it will for all the races, with a 3.5 metres high and 2 x 2 metres long and wide Tissot Totem counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to the thrilling event. The special graphic design for the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships Zurich is now the eye-catcher par excellence at Zurich Airport. It not only features the Official Timekeeper’s iconic T-Touch Connect Sport watch, but also Flurina Rigling and individual time trial European Champion Marlen Reusser, another one of the UCI World Championships’ ambassadors. The two exceptional riders are representative of the 1,300 athletes who will be taking part in next year’s event.
On another side of the Tissot Totem, viewers arriving, departing or shopping at Zurich Airport will see the finish area at Sechseläutenplatz. There, for the first time in the history of cycling, participants in the cycling and para-cycling events will cross the same finish line.
In addition to Flurina Rigling, various other personalities took part in the ceremony. Switzer-land’s Rocco Cattaneo, member of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Management Committee and Chairman of the UCI Road Commission, represented the UCI. Cattaneo can look back on a long career as a cyclist. He rode twice in the Giro d’Italia, took part in two editions of the Tour de Suisse and competed four times in the UCI Road World Championships. Also present were Stefan Schötzau, President of the Zurich 2024 Organising Association, Romualdo Cerioni, Brand Manager Tissot, Stefan Gross, Chief Commercial Officer of Zurich Airport and Daniel Rupf, Managing Director of the Zurich 2024 Local Organising Committee.
A symbol rich in tradition and an attractive competition prize
The Tissot Countdown Clock is an integral part of many major sporting events. Weighing just over 1,500 kilograms, the structure will display the time remaining until the opening of the groundbreaking global cycling event on Saturday, 21 September 2024. It will be the first time that para-cycling is integrated into the UCI Road World Championships, which will kick off with the Mixed Handbike Team Relay race.
People who photograph themselves in front of the Tissot Countdown Clock and send in their pictures will be entered into a competition to win a Tissot T-Race Cycling UCI edition watch.
Further information and contest regulations: Facebook – zurich2024 and Instagram – zurich_2024
About the UCI
Founded on April 14, 1900, in Paris, France, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the worldwide governing body for cycling. It develops and oversees cycling in all its forms and for all people: as a competitive sport, a healthy recreational activity, a means of transport, and also just for fun. The UCI manages and promotes the ten cycling disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, BMX Racing, BMX Freestyle, cyclo-cross, trials, indoor cycling, cycling esports and gravel. Five of these are featured on the Olympic Games programme (road, track, mountain bike, BMX Racing and BMX Freestyle), two in the Paralympic Games (road and track), and four in the Youth Olympic Games (road, mountain bike, BMX Racing and BMX Freestyle). For more information: www.uci.org
About Tissot
Since 1853, Tissot has been at the heart of Swiss watchmaking. Our dedication to craftsmanship and quality is matched only by our passion for performance and precision. Over the years, our pioneering products such as the legendary Tissot T-Touch have made headlines as well as history. The ground-breaking Tissot T-Touch Connect Solar uses sustainable solar energy and connected technology that guarantees privacy. It confirms our long-held reputation as innovators by tradition.
Our passion for sport is unrivalled and our timing systems are tried, tested and trusted by a range of professional sports and athletes. In basketball the NBA and FIBA, in cycling the Tour de France and La Vuelta a España and in motorsports MotoGPTM are just some of the names that rely on Tissot as their Official Timekeeper. We provide innovative and traditional watches for our customers who appreciate our commitment to quality, authenticity and excellence.
The world’s best cyclists will take part in the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich. To ensure that next year’s global cycling event can also count on the best hosts, the Zurich 2024 Local Organising Committee has launched the official volunteering campaign with the support of Swiss Volunteers.
Every year, around a fifth of the adult population in Switzerland gets involved in voluntary work in clubs and organisations of all kinds, often in sport. The Local Organising Committee (LOC) Zurich 2024 is hoping for this kind of support for next year’s UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships.
Right at the centre, inclusive and with diverse tasks
Volunteers will be needed for a wide variety of areas, such as infrastructure, services, sport/racing, communication, supporting events, guest support and sustainability. As for the first time in sporting history the Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships will be fully organised as a single event, it is particularly important to LOC Zurich 2024 that people with disabilities can also register as volunteers on the recruitment platform.
Daniel Rupf, General Manager of the LOC Zurich 2024, promises that volunteering at the UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships will provide unique experiences. “Anyone who is part of our #Zurich2024 volunteer team will be in the thick of it instead of just being there. We would like to thank all volunteers already today for their invaluable commitment. Together We Ride – Together We Make It Happen!”
Registration via Swissvolunteers.ch
Interested people can register on the Swiss Volunteers management platform and select their four favourite missions. Volunteers will be required in Zurich, Winterthur, Uster, Gossau ZH or at the race tracks. Catering will be provided throughout the volunteer assignments. Volunteers are also provided with an appropriate uniform.
Applications can be registered under the following link:
https://go.swissvolunteers.ch/discover-events/link/b04a5c3be8ff0004001b62dc71e098d3a7eb4c95
For questions and further information, please contact the Volunteer Management: [email protected].
About Swiss Volunteers (www.swissvolunteers.ch)
The national non-profit organisation Swiss Volunteers and its volunteer management platform are aimed at people who want to volunteer and event organisers who want to better plan and value the commitment of their volunteers. Swiss Volunteers promotes social exchange and connects people in a meaningful activity for society.
The politically and denominationally neutral organisation does not pursue any commercial purposes and does not seek to make a profit. Swiss Volunteers is guided by the Swiss Olympic Ethics Charter and is committed to joint and respectful involvement at and around events.
International stars Marlen Reusser, Stefan Küng, Flurina Rigling and Fabian Recher as well as former UCI World Champion and Olympic Champion Fabian Cancellara are the first five high-profile ambassadors of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships taking place in Zurich next September. At a media conference to mark the kick-off to the global cycling event, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) Zurich 2024, together with the cantonal and municipal ministers of sports, Cantonal President Mario Fehr and Municipal Councillor Filippo Leutenegger, were able to announce further good news: The UCI has approved the race courses and the race programme for the UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships.
Buoyed by the traffic solutions that have been agreed with the Children’s Hospital and other opponents and the recent conclusion of another official partnership with Feldschlösschen Getränke AG, the LOC Zurich 2024 is well underway with the preparations for next year’s UCI World Championships. “In the past few months we have pushed ahead intensively with all our plans and, with the support of the canton and city of Zurich as well as Swiss Cycling, we have reached important milestones,” said Daniel Rupf, Managing Director of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road Championships. “We are delighted that from now on the riders and the sport of cycling will take centre stage.”
“For the first time, athletes in para-cycling and road cycling will be competing on the same routes and crossing the same finish line as part of the same UCI World Championships,” said President Mario Fehr. “These UCI World Championships will play a pioneering role in the inclusion and integration of para-cyclists.”
“With the Sechseläutenplatz, the finish area is right in the heart of the city of Zurich,” emphasised Zurich’s Minister of Sport Filippo Leutenegger. “The UCI World Championships attract worldwide attention and feature cycling at the highest level. The perfect opportunity for the city on the Limmat to showcase its most beautiful side.”
In addition to contributing to the organisation of the UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships, the city and canton are supporting various accompanying measures in the areas of cycling promotion and location promotion.
Proud ambassadors on bikes and handbikes
During the joint media conference with Swiss Cycling, the LOC Zurich 2024 presented the first five ambassadors. With UCI World Champions (team time trial – mixed relay) and Olympians Marlen Reusser and Stefan Küng as well as multiple UCI Para-cycling World Champion Flurina Rigling and paralympian Fabian Recher, the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships will gain additional charisma. The current quintet of ambassadors is completed by cycling legend Fabian Cancellara. All five are proud to be the first sporting faces of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships.
UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships race courses and race programme approved by the UCI
In close coordination with the LOC Zurich 2024, cycling’s world governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has approved the courses for the various races. The routes correspond to the traffic ordinances of the canton and city of Zurich published at the beginning of 2023. First impressions of what the riders can expect are given in the 3D animations of the routes of the Men Elite Road Race as well as the Women Elite Individual Time Trial. The latter route will also be ridden by Women Under 23 and Men Under 23 as well as by para-cyclists in the B (blind-tandem) and C (cycle) sports classes in the individual races against the clock.
The nine-day race programme, which combines para-cycling road and road cycling competitions for the first time, has also been officialised. The 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships will open with the Mixed Handbike Team Relay. The individual time trials are scheduled from Sunday, 22 September to Tuesday, 24 September. The road races will take place from Wednesday, 25 September to Sunday, 29 September, with the Men Elite road race concluding the UCI World Championships on Sunday. All information is available at www.zurich2024.com.
Feldschlösschen Getränke AG will be an Official Partner of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland. Feldschlösschen will be visible as a sponsor with its non-alcoholic beer “Feldschlösschen Alkoholfrei” and will also be the exclusive beverage supplier for the various fan zones.
The Local Organising Committee (LOC) Zurich 2024 expects around 850,000 spectators for the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships next year in Zurich, Winterthur, Uster and Gossau as well as along the routes – hopefully in beautiful late summer weather. But no one will have to suffer from thirst. As Official Partner, Feldschlösschen Getränke AG will ensure that there will always be sufficient liquid supply in the official UCI World Championships areas.
Strong relationship with major sporting events
The tradition-rich Swiss beverage group and the LOC Zurich 2024 concluded an agreement to this effect at the beginning of November 2023. Feldschlösschen CEO Thomas Amstutz sees next year’s international cycling event as an ideal platform to play to his company’s strengths in supporting major sporting events. “We are very pleased to be a partner of the UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships. Non-alcoholic beer in particular goes perfectly with sporting activities and with our wide range of beverages we will provide the right refreshment for every visitor,” Thomas Amstutz said.
Daniel Rupf, Managing Director of LOC Zurich 2024, stated: “The LOC Zurich 2024 is very proud to have found another important official partner in Feldschlösschen Getränke AG. We are delighted to be able to count on this traditional company with strong roots in sport to cater for the numerous fans from home and abroad.”
Wide range of drinks for every taste
The wide range of Feldschlösschen beverages with and without alcohol will be available on tap at the beverage stations in all fan zones as well as at other beverage stands, such as the iconic Open Racecourse in Oerlikon. As part of the agreement, Feldschlösschen will serve Pepsi, mineral water and other drinks in addition to beer with and without alcohol. A special attraction will be the attractive Feldschlösschen Lodge, with which Feldschlösschen will be present in one of the fan zones.
About Feldschlösschen Getränke AG (www.feldschloesschen.swiss)
Feldschlösschen, headquartered in Rheinfelden in the canton of Aargau, is the leading brewery and largest beverage distributor in Switzerland. The company has been in existence since 1876 and employs 1200 people at 22 locations throughout Switzerland. With a range of over 40 own-brand Swiss beers and a comprehensive beverage portfolio from mineral water to soft drinks and wine, Feldschlösschen supplies 25,000 customers from the catering, retail and beverage trade sectors.
The Züri Velo Cup, one of the accompanying measures initiated by the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships Zurich, is proving to be a real hit with the public. Reason enough to extend this event until 26 November 2023.
The numbers speak for themselves: over 1,600 registrations, more than 1,000 participants who have collected a total of 7500 segments so far, plus 1100 members in the Strava Club. The iconic segments in memory of the legendary Züri Metzgete have got cyclists fully into gear since May 2023. So far, 483 participants have completed all the segments. And those who are only now getting into the mood for a ride haven’t missed out yet. The Züri Velo Cup will be extended until 26 November.
The beautiful and warm summer, which is now turning into an equally sunny late autumn, has contributed to the success. More than 400 bike fans took part in the Open Ride on 7 October – the Züri Metzgete was revived. The community was unanimous in its praise for the organisation of the event. Refreshment stations offering delicious food and drinks made the exertions on the saddle a little more bearable. Sustainability was at the forefront: no long journeys to a defined starting point, reusable or compostable cups for coffee or normal plates for the welcome pasta.
The best proof of how hard the cyclists pedalled are the goodies for the finishers. More than 150 pairs of the exclusive World Championships socks have been sent to the most eager pedalers since the Open Ride weekend.
The idea factory for 2024 is already in full swing. For example, next year’s Züri Velo Cup is to include segments of the official world championships routes. Together we ride!
The 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships put cycling at the centre of attention. With the “lighthouse”, the world championships, and above all through the various accompanying measures, the three hosting entities, the City and Canton of Zurich and Swiss Cycling, are specifically promoting cycling, sports and tourism/location, thus leaving a special legacy.
The Zurich 2024 Local Organising Committee has developed a wide range of accompanying measures. Starting with the Züri Velo Cup, which was launched as the first initiative in 2023, they range from the organisation of the first national cycling forum (planned for May 2024) to helping to define a new standard for the construction of a compact bike infrastructure that can be implemented throughout Switzerland. In addition, as of September 2023, Swiss Cycling has created a new position with the aim of promoting young cyclists in the Zurich region – a project with pilot character for other regions as well.
The accompanying measures are already showing the first signs of success. Since its launch in May 2023, the Züri Velo Cup has attracted over 1,000 cyclists to sections of the legendary one-day classic Züri Metzgete. In September, 41,000 cyclists benefited from the extension of the SlowUp route from Zurich to Meilen.
Starting locations are also active. For example in Uster, where top athletes lead a lesson under the label “Stars in the School”, with for example, Swiss ex-cyclist Franco Marvulli who practised with various school classes on the pump track.
Further projects will be launched in 2024. Among other things, curated routes will connect the greater Zurich region and invite visitors to one-day or multi-day experiences – all year round. The routes are presented with GPX data, descriptions, photos and videos and are suitable for a wide range of users. Families or city bikers will get their money’s worth as well as gravel fans and para-cyclists. A dedicated website will facilitate the planning of bike rides and simplify activities for organisers, tour operators and bike clubs.