The world championships hold a
special affinity. It is the one race during the year when trade team
allegiance takes an ever so slight back seat to national pride. As it is the
last (or nearly last) race of the season for many riders, there is a near
palatable energy level that can only equated to a child's last week in school
before the onset of summer vacation.
As you look at the worlds posters
over the next few pages, you will note that for many years the worlds were held
in August. Holding the world championships in October is a relatively recent
phenomenon. While October may "fit" into the calendar better, there is no
question the late timing of the race has impacted the level of competition.
Fortunately, it appears the world championships are now trending back toward an earlier race
date.
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The jersey of the world champion
is hands down my favorite. If I were to pick one item in my collection to grab
in the event of a fire, it would be the world champion's jersey Eddy Merckx was
wearing when he won Liege-Bastogne-Liege for a record 5th time in 1975.
Right along side the jerseys, I have always
enjoyed the original
race posters of the world championships. Because the venue changes from year to
year, the artwork of the posters has incredible variety. Someday, I hope to be
able to collect an original poster for each of the UCI professional/elite road world
championships held since 1927.
Everything on this site is
original, be it jerseys, posters, photographs, bicycles, etc. There are no
modern reproductions.
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