Glasgow 2023: First look at the World Championship road courses

They’ve kept it pretty quiet, but if you’ve been paying close attention you’ll know that last month, the UCI released the road race and time trial routes for the 2023 World Championships in Glasgow.

After a technical and selective urban course in Wollongong last year, it’s interesting to see what the UCI conjures up for the most prestigious one-day race of the year: the race for the rainbow jersey of world champion.

Here are our first impressions of this year’s World Championship courses.

1. The ‘Wollongong formula’ returns

For the road races, the UCI has stuck with the formula we saw in Wollongong: a remote start, a transition to the host city, and multiple laps of an urban circuit.

It’s a good format for spectators, who’ll get to see the peloton pass by many times without having to move.

The Elite Men will start from the Scottish capital of Edinburgh and take a 120-kilometre route to the circuit in Glasgow.

The Elite Women will make their approach from Loch Lomond, traversing 60km before they reach Glasgow.

The men will tackle 10 laps of the finishing circuit (271km total race distance) while the women will race six laps (154km).

Above: the Women Elite Road Race course with a remote start and six laps of Glasgow.

2. An early climb, but it’s not important

Like Mount Keira in Wollongong, the road race’s biggest climb will come early in the piece, before the finishing circuits.

At Glasgow 2023, that’ll be the climb of Crow Road, from the less-popular northern side.

We couldn’t find a Strava segment for the full climb, but it’s about 5.5km long with an average gradient of 4.1%. (Aussie Michael Storer holds the KOM for the closest segment).

Being a steady climb, and 120km from the finish (180km for the men) it shouldn’t make a difference to the result – besides offering great views from the top.

Above: The climb of Crow Road.

3. A punchy circuit with no respite

You may remember the Wollongong circuit was brutal, featuring the decisive wall-like ascent of Mount Pleasant.

While Glasgow’s circuit lacks any one standout climb, it certainly won’t be easy.

Each 14.3-kilometre lap features 140 metres of elevation gain, but the climbing is dispersed throughout with constant ups and downs; there’s hardly a metre of flat road.

The UCI has singled out Montrose Street as a categorised climb, although it’s only a short pinch of 200 metres at 7.7%. That’s steep, but in isolation it’s short enough that sprinters could cling on.

The problem is, it doesn’t come in isolation: there are four or five similar pinches per lap, and over so many circuits, each little hill will start to feel like a mountain.

For comparison, the circuit shares some of the same streets as the 2014 Commonwealth Games (won solo in horrible weather by Geraint Thomas and Lizzie Deignan) and 2018 European Championship courses (won in reduced sprints).

On paper this looks like a tough, selective course that will see the strongest riders come to the fore.

A group of cyclists from various nations, including two Australians, climb Montrose Street in Glasgow during the 2014 Commonwealth Games women's cycling road race

The steep climb of Montrose St featured in the 2014 Commonwealth Games. (Photo: Andy Jones)

4. A nervous, technical finale

Although it’s not inherently hard, what makes Montrose Street important is its proximity to the finish.

From the top, there are just 1.4km to the line via a technical downhill run-in with seven corners to negotiate. It’s a cliché, but positioning will be crucial.

Many of the streets are narrow, including a tight chicane with 650m to go, where you’ll want to be among the first few riders if you want to stay in contention.

Indeed, much of the circuit feels like an inner-city criterium.

From the last corner, the final 400 metres are dead straight. Expect to hear a tunnel of noise as the crowds pack the sidewalk and hang out of upstairs windows to see the new champions crowned.

Above: The finishing straight in central Glasgow.

5. Castle on a hill: steep time trial finish

Finally, a brief look at the time trial course, which will take place outside in the nearby city of Stirling.

The elite women will race 36.4km while the elite men’s time trial returns to a traditional longer distance of 48.1km.

The courses consist of straight, flat A-roads interspersed with a few lumps and nothing particularly technical.

It's a power course for the specialists, but they’ll have to keep something in reserve: the last 700 metres rise up to historic Stirling Castle on steep, cobbled streets averaging 7% gradient. It’ll be a beautiful finish, but a tough one!

Above: the Men Elite Time Trial course finishing at Stirling Castle.

About the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships

The UCI Road World Championships will take place in Glasgow as part of the first all-discipline UCI Cycling World Championships.

In a break from tradition, the Elite Men’s Road Race will headline the first weekend of competition on August 6. The time trials will fall mid-week before the Elite Women close off the program on August 13.

The Australian Cycling Team will be in action across road, track, BMX racing, BMX freestyle, mountain bike, trials and para-cycling, with exclusive coverage from AusCycling.