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It's official! Haute-Savoie, France has secured the 2027 UCI World Championships
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The 'mega' UCI World's 2027 are coming to the French Alps
On a cold Saturday in February 2022, Bernard Hinault was back in my home village of Domancy to make the announcement that Haute-Savoie would be a candidate for the 'mega' Worlds - the 2027 UCI World Cycling Championships. An announcement that seemed to go relatively unnoticed by a lot of the cycling press. It didn't even warrant a mention on the GCN show. Fast forward to September 2022 and we are delighted to report that during the UCI Worlds in Australia, it was announced that Haute-Savoie France has secured the 2027 mega UCI Worlds.
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1980 UCI World Championships Sallanches
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The last time the UCI Men's world road race was held on our local roads was back in 1980. French hero Bernard Hinault took the win having completed 20 laps of the Sallanches Cote de Domancy course, climbing nearly 6000M. That event is still hailed as possibly one of the toughest UCI World's courses on record with only 14 finishers. If you visit the 14km 1980 World's circuit today you will be greeted by a statue of Bernard Hinault as you exit the autoroute from Geneva. Once on the actual course there is a sculpture of a cyclist at the foot of the Cote de Domancy in Domancy Village which is a fantastic photo opportunity with Mont Blanc in the background. To celebrate Hinaults win, when we had the Tour de France visit in 2016, the Cote de Domancy road was renamed the Route de Bernard Hinault and this coincided with the board in the photo above being repositioned to the foot of the climb. The board previously stood at the point where Hinault attacked on the last lap.
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What will the 2027 UCI World Championships look like? 19 Gold medals up for grabs
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Similar to the Glasgow UCI Worlds in 2023, the 2027 UCI Worlds will consist of all disciplines and has developed the phrase UCI Mega World's which going forward from 2023 will be held every 4 years. We will have a new velodrome in the region. At the announcement of the Haute-Savoie bid it was mentioned that the Cote de Domancy could feature in the 2027 UCI World's Road Race and this would be a fitting tribute to Hinault's win. The Cote de Domancy has become a Tour de France and Criterium du Dauphine regular both as an ascent and a descent on road stages. In addition, we had the 2016 and 2023 Time Trial stages of the Tour de France from Sallanches to Megeve and Passy to Combloux. Also in 2016 Chris Froome famously skidded off his bike descending in greasy conditions whilst holding the Yellow Jersey.
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​Journalists and Press Visits for the 2027 UCI World Championships Haute-Savoie, France
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I've recently met with journalists visiting the area for the first time and I'm always delighted to talk about cycling in our region. This interest in Haute-Savoie is set to increase with the bid's success. When cyclists think of the Alps it's understandable that the first destination that sis usually considered is Alpe d'Huez which continues to be a must-do ride for any cyclist. However our region has dramatically improved its cycling infrastructure over recent years and with regular visits from the Tour de France and Criterium du Dauphine, cycling visitors to the region continue to increase. From the roads of the 1980 World, the Tour de France finishes in St Gervais le Bettex, Megeve, Morzine and Les Grand Bornand, to the famous Cols of the Romme, Colombiere, Ramaz, and the mighty Joux Plane, it's an amazing region to visit.
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Planning your visit - press trips and journalists
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I'm delighted to help with your visit and can be contacted at mike@breathebike.com or +33 680 926 408 Whether pre-visit or meeting up during your trip please drop me a line. I'm within easy reach of Geneva Airport and happy to meet up within the region.
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Happy cycling
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Mike
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"I’m a freelance writer (and former newspaper reporter) … and an avid cyclist. Before my 2022 bike trip to cycle the Alps, I did, of course, do some web searching. I found Mike’s videos and they were great and gave me several ideas about where to make my bases (Annecy and Cluses) and which cols to climb. I don’t know how Mike rides up all those mountains with only one hand. I decided to email Mike and ask him a few questions about cols and traffic, and when and where to ride, and he provided a lot of great info. And then I figured, what the heck, let’s see if Mike wants to go for a ride with me … and we did, up the Col de la Colombiere. I interviewed Mike for my story for the AP, and also wrote another story for France Today. He was a great source of info."
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Steve Wartenberg
Freelance writer & cyclist
September 2022
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