- Six men have successfully defended their title: Georges Ronsse (Belgium, 1928–29); Rik Van Steenbergen (Belgium, 1956– 57); Rik van Looy (Belgium, 1960–61); Gianni Bugno (Italy, 1991–92); Paolo Bettini (Italy, 2006–07) ; Peter Sagan (Slovakia, 2015-17). Five women have defended their title: Marianna Vos (Netherlands 2012-2013), Giorgia Bronzini (Italy, 2010 – 2011), Susanne Ljungskog (Sweden, 2002-2003), Jeannie Longo (France, 1985 -1990), Anna Konkina (RUS, 1970-1971)
- Spaniard Alejandro Valverde has the most total medals by any one individual with six: 2 silver in 2003 and 2005, and 4 bronze in 2006, 2012, 2013 and 2014. He completed his collection in 2018 claiming the rainbow jersey in Innsbruck
- Switzerland has hosted the Championships 10 times. Aigle will host in 2020 as well
- Italy is the most successful country with 141 medals won. Australia ranks 15th with 23 medals
- Jeannie Longo (France) has the most Championships of any athlete with 5
- The countries with the most Elite Women titles are France (10 titles), the Netherlands (9 titles), and Belgium (6 titles)
Follow the link for more about the history of the UCI Road World Championships.
