Jean Robic won the first official UCI Cyclo-cross World Championship in 1950.
The inaugural championship was held in Paris, and French rider Jean Robic took the elite men’s title. Robic was already a celebrated road racer and had won the 1947 Tour de France, but his cyclo-cross victory demonstrated his ability on muddy, technical courses as well.
Cyclo-cross combines short laps with grass, mud, sand, barriers and steep running sections. Riders may dismount and carry their bicycles, making the discipline different from ordinary road racing and from mountain-bike cross-country.
Earlier national and international cyclo-cross contests existed, but 1950 was the first edition recognized as the UCI World Championship. The event later became one of winter cycling’s most established championships.