1978 World Championships, Official Race Poster – Race Winner – Gerrie Knetemann

Championnats du Monde de Cyclisme – 1978
UCI Road World Championships
Rad-Weltmeisterschaften – München, Köln, Nürburgring

This bold and modernist original poster was produced for the 1978 UCI Road World Championships held across three iconic German venues: Munich, Cologne, and Nürburg. Designed by German graphic artist Feser, the poster embodies the sleek, minimalist aesthetic of 1970s European sports design, featuring a dynamic, blurred wheel image that symbolizes speed, motion, and endurance. Beneath it, vibrant stripes of the UCI rainbow bands arc forward in a sweeping motion.

The event took place over two weeks in August 1978 and featured both professional and amateur racers from around the world.

At the 1978 World Championships, Dutchman Gerrie Knetemann claimed the men’s elite professional road race title with a time of 7 hours, 32 minutes, 4 seconds over a distance of 274.8 km in Nürburg. Italian star Francesco Moser, fresh from his 1977 world championship victory, finished a close second. Completing the podium was Denmark’s Jørgen Marcussen, earning a well-deserved bronze.

The amateur men’s competition was won by Swiss rider Gilbert Glaus, with Poland’s Krzysztof Sujka taking silver and Switzerland’s Stefan Mutter earning bronze. In the women’s elite race, West Germany’s Beate Habetz emerged victorious.

This poster has been archivally and professionally linen-backed.

Virtually all original vintage posters of this era were viewed as temporary advertising and were printed on very thin paper. While expensive, linen backing is a conservation method used to mount, stabilize, preserve, and protect vintage posters, allowing them to be displayed or framed without compromising their value.