With Wout van Aert and Lotte Kopecky huge favourites to win at the cycling World Championships in Flanders this year, just how common is a home victor? The men’s road race has the longest history and there’s only been 12 home winners. The last of which was Alessandro Ballan back in 2008. That’s the only time it has happened in the last 40 years. You don’t have to go back as far for the men’s time trial, with Filippo Ganna winning in Imola just last year.
On the women’s side, there has been a home road race champion 7 times. Marianne Vos is the most recent in the 2012 world championships in Valkenburg. When it comes to the time trial, you have to go back to Hanka Kupfernagel’s 2007 win in Stuttgart.
History is on the side of a joint-Belgian victory too. The 1963 world championships in Ronse saw Benoni Beheyt and Yvonne Reynders both win on home roads. A feat repeated in Valkenburg in 1979 with Jan Raas and Petra de Bruijn for the Netherlands.
Men’s World Championship Road Race Winners
| Year | Host City | Winner | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | Rome | Alfredo Binda | Italian |
| 1933 | Montlhéry | Georges Specicher | French |
| 1935 | Floreffe | Jean Aerts | Belgian |
| 1946 | Zürich | Hans Knecht | Swiss |
| 1950 | Moorslede | Briek Schotte | Belgian |
| 1957 | Waregem | Rik van Steenbergen | Belgian |
| 1963 | Ronse | Benoni Beheyt | Belgian |
| 1966 | Nürburgring | Rudi Altig | German |
| 1968 | Imola | Vittorio Adorni | Italian |
| 1979 | Valkenburg | Jan Raas | Dutch |
| 1980 | Sallanches | Bernard Hinault | French |
| 2008 | Varese | Alessandro Ballan | Italian |
Men’s World Championship Time Trial Winners
| Year | Host City | Winner | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Lugano | Alex Zülle | Swiss |
| 2009 | Mendrisio | Fabian Cancellara | Swiss |
| 2020 | Imola | Filippo Ganna | Italian |
Women’s World Championship Road Race Winners
| Year | Host City | Winner | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Ronse | Yvonne Reynders | Belgian |
| 1972 | Gap | Geneviève Gambillon | French |
| 1979 | Valkenburg | Petra de Bruijn | Dutch |
| 1982 | Goodwood | Mandy Jones | British |
| 1989 | Chambéry | Jeannie Longo | French |
| 1996 | Lugano | Barbara Heeb | Swiss |
| 2012 | Valkenburg | Marianne Vos | Dutch |
Women’s World Championship Time Trial Winners
| Year | Host City | Winner | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Valkenburg | Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel | Dutch |
| 2007 | Stuttgart | Hanka Kupfernagel | German |
