The eighth edition of the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships will take place in Maniago, Italy, on August 2-5. This is the first World Championships within the qualifying period for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, so the stakes go beyond racing for medals: nations will begin to collect valuable ranking points for athlete quotas. While Maniago has hosted UCI Para-cycling Road World Cups before, including last year, this will be the first time the region has hosted the UCI World Championships. Located in the north-eastern corner of Italy, in the province of Pordenone, it is approximately 100 kilometres from Venice. The city is famous for its production of steel blades for knives, scissors and shears, which are exported around the world.
More than 400 athletes (including 100 women) from 46 nations will compete in Maniago.
Competition begins on Thursday, August 2nd, for two days of women's and men's time trials across the cycle (C1 - C5), handcycle (H1 - H5), tricycle (T1 - T2) and tandem (B) sport classes. The men's C3 - C5, men's H5 and tandems for women and men will each complete two laps of the 13.6km circuit, with all others racing one lap. The final two days of competition will be for the road race titles, with categories racing between two and eight laps of the same circuit. Competition will conclude with the mixed team relay for handcycles.
All but two of the reigning UCI World Champions are registered for Maniago, including 14 double title holders – of both the time trial and road race. Of special note is Canada's Shelley Gautier in the women's T1 category, who has an unbeaten record in both specialities going back to 2010.
Live streaming available: