On 16 April 2017, the UCI awarded the rights to host the 2018 UCI Track World Championships to the Dutch city of Apeldoorn.

The city of Apeldoorn, and the Netherlands as a whole, is experienced at hosting UCI events of such magnitude; Apeldoorn previously hosted the UCI Track World Championships in 2011 and recently hosted a stage of the 2016-17 UCI Track .

UCI Track World Championships

The UCI Track World Championships is an annual mixed-gender event governed by the Union Cycliste Internationale.

The five-day event features athletes competing across a diverse range of disciplines composed of and endurance events for both individuals and teams.

Dating back to 1893, the Track World Championships is cycling’s oldest international event. The discipline of track cycling has featured at all but one modern and is currently one of four Olympic cycling disciplines.

The 2017 UCI Track World Championships in Hong Kong attracted 22 broadcast partners and was viewed in over 100 territories worldwide. The Track World Championships is typically a sell-out event, with the 2016 UCI Track World Championships in London recording a modern-era high with 52,293 spectators attending over the five days.

More information on the UCI Track World Championships can be found here.

2017 UCI Track World Championships

The 2017 edition of the World Championships registered its highest participation in a post -Olympic Games year.

A total of 344 athletes competed at the 2017 UCI Track World Championships. The championships featured 203 male competitors and 141 female competitors.

Athlet e participation at UCI Track World Championships 2014-2017

Although only 41 per cent of participants were female, the introduction of the women’s at the 2017 Track World Championships brought gender parity between disciplines for the first time at a Track World Championships, bringing the total number of disciplines at the event up to 20.

Forty one nations across five continents were represented at the 2017 Track World Championships. European nations dominated the continental composition of the championships. In total, there were 24 nations from Europe, with Asia providing the second highest number of nations (eight).

Nations represented from each continent at 2017 UCI Track World Championships

Hostin g the Track World Championships

The UCI’s decision-making body, the UCI Management Committee, typically awards the rights to host the Track World Championships one year before the competition.

Bids submitted by prospective organisers must be accompanied by the CHF12,000 ($12,065) bid fee, with the successful bidder required to pay CHF700,000 ($703,800) if it hosts the championships in either the first or second year after an Olympic Games, or CHF800,000 ($804,300) if it hosts the championships in either the year before or the year of the Olympic Games.

The UCI Track Cycling World Championships have predominantly been hosted in Europe, although this trend is changing, with three of the last seven editions having been hosted outside Europe.

UCI Track World Championships hosting timeline

This year’s UCI Track World Championships was the second time that the event has been hosted in Asia, the city of Maebashi in Japan being the only other host from the continent back in 1990.

The 2020 UCI Track World Championships have been awarded to Berlin, Germany; however the 2019 edition is yet to be awarded.

Netherlands hosting focus

Apeldoorn, the selected host of the 2018 championships, has been a frequent host of UCI events since its opened in 2008.

The city previously hosted the Track World Championships in 2011, the UCI para-track cycling World Championships 2015 and a stage of the Track World Cup 2016-2017.

It’s not just the city of Apeldoorn that has successfully bid to host UCI events in the country; in the past 10 years, seven cities across the Netherlands have hosted a championship or a stage of a UCI event.

UCI World Championships or stages hosted in the Netherlands 2008-2017

Ranked 15th in the Global Sports Nation Index, the Netherlands will be hosting a varied mixture of sports other than cycling over the next three years, including world

championships in triathlon, speed skating, archery and 3x3 basketball.

This article is driven by the Sportcal Events bidding intelligence service. For more information on how to access the Sportcal Events service, please contact [email protected]

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