UCI awards 2032 cycling world championships to India and 2034 edition to Netherlands

India awarded 2032 world championships

The International Cycling Union (UCI) awarded the 2032 Road World Championships to Pune during its annual congress in Montreal on Wednesday. The decision makes India the first South Asian host and the fourth Asian nation to stage the event, following Utsunomiya in Japan in 1990, Doha in Qatar in 2016, and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates in 2028. Pune previously staged the four-stage Pune Grand Tour in January across 437 kilometres, a race classified at UCI 2.2 level. That event featured around 170 riders from 35 countries, including 12 local cyclists, and was won by New Zealander Luke Mudgway.

For the first time ever, we will be in India, the country in the world with the most important population. We know how strong cycling is now in Pune.

Netherlands secures 2034 edition

The UCI management committee resolved the competing bid from the Netherlands by assigning the 2034 Road and Para-cycling World Championships to Groningen and the Drenthe region. Organisers secured 20 million euros from the Nij Begun earthquake recovery fund, which was established using state money to compensate the region for extraction damage. Groningen mayor Roelien Kamminga welcomed the hosting rights as a way to generate local pride following years of earthquake-related difficulties. The race route is designed to pass through every municipality across both northern provinces, with local officials anticipating up to 1 million roadside spectators. The award marks the ninth time the Netherlands will host the competition, following earlier editions in Apeldoorn in 1925, Valkenburg between 1938 and 2012, Zandvoort in 1959, and Heerlen in 1967.

A World Championship has probably never been awarded so far in advance, but sometimes you have to make an exception. We know that the Netherlands works with a long-term vision to restore confidence and pride in the regions. We want to cooperate in that.

Olympic ambitions and upcoming calendar

The assignment of the 2032 championships supports India's sports administration push ahead of its bid for the 2036 Summer Olympics in Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad is considered a frontrunner alongside Doha for the 2036 Games, while Turkey and South Africa have also prepared prospective bids for the IOC vote scheduled in mid-2029. Cycling Federation of India secretary general Maninder Pal Singh stated that high-profile events help establish technical capability before the Olympic ballot.

We must go into every international event with the mindset that we are showcasing to the world what we are capable of, and every little block is leading up to the bidding for the '36 Olympics.

The global road racing schedule is now settled for most of the coming decade, following Rwanda's hosting in Kigali in 2025 and Montreal in 2026. Upcoming destinations include Haute-Savoie in France in 2027, Abu Dhabi in 2028, Denmark in 2029, Brussels in 2030, and Trentino in Italy in 2031, leaving 2033 as the only unassigned year before 2034.

Additional congress decisions

Alongside the road cycling allocations, the UCI Congress in Montreal distributed 19 separate world championships across 11 countries covering 2027 to 2034. The governing body also announced that it will finalize guidelines before the end of the year regarding one-time genetic testing. The requirement will apply exclusively to competitions overseen by the International Olympic Committee. This regulatory step follows an IOC mandate adopted in late March regarding sex testing in female sport categories.