Watch every event from the 2021 UCI Road Cycling World Championships in Flanders, with coverage on SBS OnDemand and SBS VICELAND from September 19-26.
At an official press conference in Belgium, Wollongong 2022 Chief Executive Stu Taggart revealed how the event would be a showcase of the Illawarra region and the globe’s best cyclists.
The event is set to feature a full program of professional and spectator events with Taggart announcing that a number of unique initiatives would make Wollongong 2022 a world first.
One example of that was a world-first approach to gender equality when the Men Elite and Women Elite individual time trials are staged on the same day, over the same distance.
Taggart said the 2022 event would signify a hallmark moment for cycling.
"Australian postcard moments will come to life in Wollongong with white sandy beaches, crystal clear oceans and dramatic natural escarpment setting the scene for the high-energy 2022 UCI Road World Championships," Mr Taggart said.
"Hosting the UCI Road World Championships is the equivalent of hosting the Olympic Games for Wollongong and we'll be welcoming athletes, staff and spectators with the same enthusiasm and fanfare."
Mr Taggart said Wollongong 2022 and the UCI were actively seeking to embed gender equality at the event which will place a spotlight on women, and their success, skill, resilience and determination.
"Having the world's elite female cyclists competing in the individual time trial on the same day and over the same distance as the elite men for the first time on the opening day of the championships will be a transformational moment for our sport," he said.
UCI president David Lappartient said Wollongong hosting the 2022 UCI Road World Championships would confirm the global reach of one of cycling's major annual events.
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"The UCI Road World Championships are the UCI's flagship annual event, bringing together the very best road cyclists in the world," he said.
"Following five years in European venues, it was important for the UCI to again take our event to another region. This is the first time we return to Oceania since 2010 when the UCI Road World Championships were staged in Melbourne and Geelong.
"Athletes competing at this level require excellent conditions in order to perform to their best, and I know that their expectations will be met in Wollongong. The cycling world looks forward to coming to Wollongong in 2022."
