UCI unveils courses for 2020 road world championships in Imola
The men's and women's road races will start and finish at Imola’s renowned automobile circuit Enzo e Dino Ferrari.
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The 2020 UCI Road World Championships are set to take place September 24-27 in Imola, Emilia-Romagna in northeast Italy.
The routes announced Friday are for the men’s and women’s individual time trials and road races, with the start and finish at Imola’s automobile circuit Enzo e Dino Ferrari.
The road races will be contained entirely on one 28.8km circuit: The men’s 258.2km road race will climb in excess of 5,000 meters of elevation over nine laps, while the women’s race will cover 143km and about 2,800 meters climbing over five laps.
The UCI modeled the hilly Italian course route off of the canceled Swiss route.
2020 UCI road cycling world championships men’s course profile.
Two climbs will be encountered on each lap — the Mazzolano and Cima Gallisterna — with a combined total 5500m elevation gain over an average gradient of 10 percent and with some sections reaching 14 percent.
The first kilometer and the three last kilometers of each lap of the race will take place on the Formula One racing circuit, while the rest of the course will pass over undulating roads alongside vineyards.
Davide Cassani, a former professional cyclist living in the region and president of the Emilia-Romagna Tourism Promotion Committee said, “It will be a difficult course: riders will need to cope with repeated efforts, there will not be much recovery between the two difficulties, and the second will be followed by three kilometers of descent on a winding road. Team tactics will be important to get the leaders to the end. The finish will be solo or in a small group.”
The elite men’s and women’s time trials will measure 31.7km per lap with an elevation change of 200m.
“It will be a very fast circuit,” said Cassani. “Apart from two small uphill sections in the last five kilometers before entering the Imola Autodrome, it will be ideal for the pure [time trial] specialists. We should see speed averages of over 50km/h.”
Due to travel restrictions due to health and safety concerns, no junior or under-23 events will be contested.
