I am delighted that the UCI has today awarded the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships to Glasgow and Scotland. The creation and the implementation of this event was one of the commitments I had made during my campaign for UCI presidency and I am proud to have fulfilled it. I wish to thank Event Scotland, Glasgow Life, UK Sport and British Cycling for their enthusiastic involvement in the very first edition of this historic event, which will uniquely showcase our sport and its different disciplines on an international stage. Glasgow and Scotland have a great deal of experience in the organization of major sporting events, notably multi-sports, such as the first edition of the European Sports Championships that it organized in 2018. I am convinced that the UCI Cycling World Championships will be a great success, and I look forward enormously to preparing them with our Scottish partners. — David Lappartient

List of UCI Mountain Bike World Championships awarded

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

From 2023, the UCI Cycling World Championships will be held every four years, in each pre-Summer Olympic year. Over several weeks, the host city and/or region will become the true cycling capital of the world.

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The winner of the Commonwelath Games event in Glasgow, Catharine Pendrel

Glasgow has been awarded the first ever UCI all-discipline World Championships in 2023. The city will host the XC at Cathkin Braes, on the same course as the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the marathon in Glentress and the downhill at Fort William.In total, 13 different championships will be held in and around the city from all different disciplines of cycling in the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships, which is now penciled in to happen every four years.UCI Mountain Bike World Championships: Mont Sainte Anne (Canada)UCI Mountain Bike World Championships: Leogang (Austria)UCI Mountain Bike World Championships: Val di Sole (Italy)UCI Mountain Bike World Championships: Les Gets (France)UCI Cycling Championships: Glasgow (Scotland)UCI Mountain Bike World Championships: Vallnord Pal Arinsal (Andorra)With all of the cycling infrastructure already in Glasgow, it's no surprise it was chosen as the venue for the inaugural Cycling World Championships. However, with a new venue to find every four years, we wonder how many cities in the world are truly equipped to host all disciplines of cycling without some compromises on a true "World Championship" caliber course or track?It's hard to say but it seems that the most difficult sport to build a proper venue for would, of course, be downhill - velodromes and XC courses are more easily built than mountains after all. We are reaching out to the UCI for further comment about how the selection is being made and what considerations for each sport's needs are and we'll make an update when we hear back.We knew that an all-discipline World Championships was coming and we now have the first city to throw its hat into the ring - Glasgow, Scotland.The host city will have to accommodate 13 different disciplines from downhill to BMX to track cycling. It's the first time the UCI has tried this and it is hoping to create a "mega event" with 100 countries represented and 200 World Championships awarded.We were originally worried that mountain biking, and especially downhill, would struggle to find an appropriate venue. The need for a velodrome and BMX track means that you would probably have to look at Olympic cities and the only two that have come close to hosting a World Cup are Montreal (Mont Sainte Anne) and Sydney (Canberra).So where does Glasgow come in? Well, as host of the Commonwealth Games it has pretty much all the facilities covered and the downhillers will be up in Fort William, which last hosted a World Champs in 2007. The cross country would be held at Cathkin Braes , on the Commonwealth Games course where Catharine Pendrel and Anton Cooper won gold, and the marathon at Glentress.Glasgow City Council and EventScotland approached the UCI about hosting the event and have until February to put the city’s case forward. The event would create jobs, support businesses and attract visitors to the city, benefiting the Scottish economy by £67 million, reports Glasgow Live In a report to the committee, Depute Leader of the council, David McDonald, said: “This will be the biggest cycling event in the world. The huge media interest will guarantee worldwide broadcast coverage delivering massive international profile for both Glasgow and Scotland.”“Being the first ever hosts of this event, which will become the pinnacle of the international cycling competition calendar, will cement Glasgow and Scotland’s position as a worldwide leader and innovator in the planning and delivery of major sporting events.“Uniquely, Glasgow and Scotland have the opportunity to host a World Championships of this scale, unchallenged, and without the resource and cost implications of undertaking a formal and time-consuming bid process as would be the case for any other World Championships.“This represents a very clear statement of intent that the city and our partners are looking to host what would be a world first, in bringing together cycling disciplines for the inaugural World Cycling Championships to Glasgow and Scotland in 2023.”A decision on whether to progress with the bid will be made by the city administrations committee next week. They have been recommended to approve the request for Glasgow to be a host city of this event.