Eurovision Sport and IMG give maximum visibility to the UCI Road World Championships to celebrate its centenary

The 2021 edition of the UCI Road World Championships, to be held in Flanders, will mark the centenary of this annual event and will remember the historical significance of this Belgian region for competitive cycling on the Old Continent. Thanks to the media distribution provided by Eurovision Sport in Europe and IMG in the rest of the world, these tournaments will be watched on television screens all over the world.

It will be broadcast by the following members of the European Broadcasting Union: ZDF (Germany); VRT and RTBF (Belgium); TV2 (Denmark); RTVE (Spain); France Télévisions (France); RAI (Italy); TV2 (Norway); NAS (Netherlands); TVP (Poland); CT (Czech Republic); BBC (UK); RTV (Slovakia); RTV (Slovenia); SVT (Sweden) and SRG (Switzerland).

As part of Eurovision Sport’s media distribution, coverage of EBU members will be supported by the Eurosport/Discovery platforms. Thus, Eurosport 1 will present the entire competition, while the Eurosport Player and the Global Cycling Network will ensure digital coverage throughout Europe. In Russia, it will be possible to follow the event on Match TV, thanks to the sub-licensing agreement that this channel has with Eurosport.

For its part, IMG will ensure wide media coverage of the 2021 UCI Road World Championships in the rest of the world. In the Americas, the images will be distributed by Flosports and ESPN. In Asia, the competition will be broadcast by Jsports (Japan), Zhibo TV (China), Truevision, Mono (Thailand), Astro (Malaysia) and Starhub (Singapore). It will also air on SBS, Fox Sport (Australia), Sky Sport (New Zealand), and Supersport (South Africa).

The 2021 Road Cycling World Championships, scheduled for September 19-26, will be held on 5 continents. A total of 11 titles will be awarded in the Elite, Junior and Under 23 categories. Time trials will take place in Bruges from September 19-22 and Leuven will host road races from September 24-26.

In total, nearly 400 hours of live TV coverage will be achieved in Europe, to which a very complete live broadcast on digital platforms will be added. The show events held this past weekend, with the first row of the Elite Women’s Road Race on September 25 and the Elite Men’s Race the following day, are expected to attract a large number of spectators.

VRT / Sporza will be the host broadcaster for the competition in collaboration with Eurovision Sport and UCI, ensuring that fans do not waste a single minute during the eight days of competition.

Frédéric Sanz, Head of Cycling at Eurovision Sport, said today:

“Our members and partner broadcasters are showing an unprecedented commitment to cycling. It was extremely important, on the occasion of the centenary of the Road World Championships, to provide such broad coverage across the world. Europe and reach a very large audience that is not limited to cycling enthusiasts. Through Improving the value of the World Championships for the benefit of the UCI, the Organizing Committee and many players, Eurovision Sport continues to make the sport available to as many as possible.”

About David LaPartient, President of the International Cycling Union,

“The UCI World Championships is of particular importance this year, because of the centenary of this important annual competition. Of course, our races attract an increasing number of spectators from year to year, but we were particularly interested in this exceptional anniversary, making sure that Fans from all over the world can fully participate in this event. Sport and IMG allow cycling enthusiasts from all over the world to follow the races that will take place on the roads of Flanders.”

Ed Malaburn, Senior Vice President and Head of Sports at IMG Media concluded:

“The wide distribution of the UCI World Road Championships outside Europe reflects the importance of this international competition. We are pleased to join our efforts with the UCI and Eurovision Sport in this prestigious event.”

In April 2016, the UCI entrusted the EBU with the responsibility of distributing European media rights for UCI competitions over the next eight years. Through a sub-licensing agreement with EBU, IMG manages the rights outside of Europe.

TVs with free access reach more than 800 million Europeans. According to a new report commissioned by EBU from Ampere Analysis (Sports on European Television: Maximizing Commercial Value), this comprehensive coverage translates into increased sporting appeal, a large cumulative audience and high profitability for sponsors.