The 1988 UCI Road World Championships

UCI Road World Championships

The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale...

took place in Ronse

Ronse

Ronse is a Belgian city and a municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality only comprises the city of Ronse proper.- Early settlements to 14th century :...

, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. Unlike the previous year, no women's road race, amateur men's road race or men's team time trial were held in these world championships. The men's road race was decided in a sprint involving three riders, Maurizio Fondriest

Maurizio Fondriest

Maurizio Fondriest is a retired Italian professional road racing cyclist.-Career:Born in Cles, Trentino, Fondriest turned professional in 1987 with the Ecoflam team. He subsequently rode for Alfa-Lum in 1988, winning the World Cycling Championships along with stages in the Tour de Suisse and...

, Claude Criquielion

Claude Criquielion

Claude Criquielion is a former Belgian professional road bicycle racer who raced between 1979 and 1990. In 1984, Criquielion became the world road race champion in Barcelona, Spain on a gruelling course. He had five top-ten finishes in the Tour de France.Criquielion was well placed to win a medal...

 and Steve Bauer

Steve Bauer

Steven Todd Bauer, MSM is a former professional road bicycle racer from Canada. He is an Olympic medallist and winner of several professional races.-Cycling career:...

. 200 meters from the uphill finish, Bauer began the sprint and Fondriest was unable to respond. However Criquielion accelerated to the right of Bauer, close to the barriers. Bauer saw him coming with a much greater speed and closed the gap unfairly, which resulted in pushing Criquielion into the barriers. Bauer was also hampered by his manoeuvre and lost a lot of speed, making it easy for Fondriest to ride past and claim the world title. Criquelion's bike was damaged too much to cycle again and he was passed by the pursuing group while walking to the finish line. Bauer finished second but was immediately disqualified after the race.

Events summary

Men's Events
Professional Road Race	Maurizio Fondriest Maurizio Fondriest Maurizio Fondriest is a retired Italian professional road racing cyclist.-Career:Born in Cles, Trentino, Fondriest turned professional in 1987 with the Ecoflam team. He subsequently rode for Alfa-Lum in 1988, winning the World Cycling Championships along with stages in the Tour de Suisse and...	7h 2' 11"	Martial Gayant Martial Gayant Martial Gayant is a former French cyclist, now a team captain of Française des Jeux. In 1988, Gayant came second in the World road Championships.- Major victories :Source:1981* GP des Nations, amateurs1984...	+ 27"	Juan Fernández	+ 41"
Women's Events
Team Time Trial		-		-		-