Norway to Host 2017 Cycling Road World Championship

September 26, 2014

The International Cycling Union (ICU) have awarded Bergen in Norway as the host of the 2017 Cycling Road World Championship, it was announced on Thursday.

Bergen was chosen as host city in three year’s time, beating off rival bids from Bogotá, Innsbruck and Melbourne.

Bergen’s bid was four years in the making. President of Norges Cykleforbund (Norwegian Cycling Federation), Harald Tiedemann Hansen, said to NTB: “The idea really took off when Thor Hushovd won the world champion title in Australia in 2010. We have worked on it since and I’m grateful that we once again get the opportunity to join in.”
The Norwegian city successfully hosted a cycling championship in 2012 and build its reputation as a solid organizer of such events. Norges Cykleforbund again chose Bergen from among several other Norwegian cities to bid for the 2017 championship.
The organising committee behind Bergen’s bid were in high spirits when the news came from Spain.
Hansen added: “Surprised? Not really. We had a good feeling because we had a good presentation, but you never know.
“This is a big day for Norwegian cycling sports. We are proud and humble that UCI has shown us such trust and it will be very uplifting for cycling sports in Norway. We are very happy about what we have achieved.”
The cycling world championship is the third largest sports arrangement in the world, measured by the number of television viewers.
Oslo held the Cycling World Championship in 1993, but the organisers went bankrupt after the event with debt of millions of kroner.
The cost to put on the world championship in 2017 is 156 million kroner ($25 million). The Norwegian Ministry of Culture will contribute 30 million kroner ($4.7 million) to the organizers.
On Bergen’s financial plan for the cost of the championship, Hansen said: “We feel that we have a sustainable budget. We have also got support from UCI.”
Bergen has plans to build a cycling track that will pass through both Sotra and Askøy in addition to a cross-country cycling track inside the city.
The dates of the 2017 championship are September 17th to 24th.