The 2006 edition of the men's UCI Road World Championships Road Race took place on September 24, 2006, in the Austrian city of Salzburg. Reigning Olympic champion and Italian Paolo Bettini captured the gold medal and the rainbow jersey as the 2006 World Cycling Champion. The 36-year-old German sprinter Erik Zabel took the silver medal and UCI ProTour winner Alejandro Valverde of Spain captured third place for the bronze medal. A total of 136 cyclists actually finished the race, with Slovakia's Roman BroniÃ
¡ in last place (+ 13'38").
Final classification
Selected riders
Based on the results of the riders in the UCI ProTour and UCI Continental Circuits in 2006, all nations have received a number of riders they can send to the championships. The number of allowed riders is different for each continent:
- Qualified Nations by the UCI Protour: Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Spain and Switzerland get 9 starters. Canada, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania and Luxembourg get 1 starter.
- Qualified Nations by the UCI Africa Tour: South Africa gets 6 starters. Burkina Faso gets 3 starters.
- Qualified Nations by the UCI America Tour: Brazil and Colombia get 6 starters. Argentina, Mexico and Venezuela get 3 starters. Costa Rica and Cuba get 1 starter.
- Qualified Nations by the UCI Asia Tour: Iran gets 6 starters. Kazakhstan and Japan get 3 starters.
- Qualified Nations by the UCI European Tour: Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Ukraine get 6 starters. Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Great Britain, Ireland, Latvia and Norway get 3 starters. Sweden gets 1 starter. Note: Because Austria is the host nation, they are given 3 extra starters to give them 6 riders in total.
- Qualified Nations by the UCI Oceania Tour: New Zealand gets 3 starters.
All nations are allowed to select reserves too, 5 reserves for nations with 9 riders, 3 reserves for nations with 6 riders, 2 reserves for nations with 3 riders and 1 reserve for nations with 1 rider.
Nations allowed nine riders
Australia
On September 14, the selection was released:
Belgium
National Coach: Carlo Bomans
On September 11, the selection was released:
- Serge Baguet,
- Tom Boonen,
- Stijn Devolder,
- Philippe Gilbert,
- Leif Hoste,
- Kevin Hulsmans,
- Nick Nuyens,
- Jurgen Van Goolen,
- <s>Johan Vansummeren, </s> Vansummeren was replaced by Thierry Marichal from , because he severely injured his shoulder in a crash on training just days before the event.
Also 5 reserves were appointed:
France
Selection released on September 12:
Germany
On September 11, the first selection was released, but since then many things have changed. Matthias Kessler and Jens Voigt have refused their selection as they claim to be "too tired after a long tiring season". Andreas Klöden has declared he only wants to ride in the Time Trial World Championships 2006.
Current Selection:
Italy
National coach Franco Ballerini selected the following riders:
Netherlands
National coach Egon van Kessel selected the following riders:
Russia
Spain
Switzerland
Selection released on September 14:
United States
Nations allowed six riders
Austria
The home nation was represented by:
Brazil
Colombia
Czech Republic
Poland
Portugal
Slovenia
Slovakia
South Africa
Ukraine
Nations allowed three riders
Argentina
Belarus
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Croatia
Denmark
Estonia
Great Britain
Ireland
Japan
Kazakhstan
Latvia
New Zealand
New Zealand chose not to send riders to the Road World Championships 2006, as their most important riders are injured and thus unavailable.
Norway
Venezuela
Nations allowed one rider
Canada
Finland
Hungary
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Sweden
References
External links