1988 World Championships, Official Race Poster, Winner – Maurizio Fondriest

1988 World Cycling Championships, Ghent & Ronse, Belgium

Wereldkampioenschappen Wielrennen – Championnats du Monde de Cyclisme –  Weltmeisterschaften Radrennen

Striking original poster from the 1988 UCI World Championships in Belgium, uniting the track events in Ghent and the road events in Ronse on a single design.

The layout is clean and vertical. At the top, the emblems of the Union Cycliste Internationale and the Royal Belgian Cycling League are set against black panels, with the familiar UCI logo in rainbow colors. Below, the event title appears in Dutch, French, and German, followed by the schedule: track racing in Gent, 21 to 25 August 1988, then road racing in Ronse, 27 and 28 August 1988.

The centerpiece is a bold graphic on a deep black rectangle. A white outline suggests a racing bicycle, while the rider is composed of staggered blocks of blue, red, yellow, green, and other colors that stream across the page, creating a feeling of acceleration and echoing the rainbow bands of a world champion jersey. At the bottom of the text block, an international cyclotourist gathering on 26 August is noted, and a final strip includes the logo of the Blaarmeersen velodrome in Ghent. The whole composition feels very late eighties in the best way, with clean typography and a graphic look that still feels modern.

In Ronse, the Road Championships were packed into two intense days. The men’s professional road race on the hilly Ronse circuit was won by Italian rider Maurizio Fondriest after a dramatic finale, earning him the right to wear the rainbow jersey. The women’s team time trial over 54 kilometers was also won by Italy, with Monica Bandini, Roberta Bonanomi, Maria Canins, and Francesca Galli riding to gold.

In Gent, the UCI Track World Championships crowned new stars and confirmed legends. Australian sprinter Stephen Pate took the professional sprint title, while fellow Australian Danny Clark won the motor-paced event. On the women’s side, French icon Jeannie Longo claimed gold in the individual pursuit and Britain’s Sally Hodge won the points race.

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 fragile, 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.

This poster is an original first printing, not a reproduction.

Year: 1988
Artist: N/A
Druk Kolv Mariakerke

Size: 57 x 86 cm ( 22 ½ x 33 ¾  inches)

Posters are sold unframed. Framed images are display ideas only.

This Poster does have fold lines, minor restoration, and scuffs. This is a one-of-a-kind item; please look at the photos carefully to determine the condition.

This item is listed on multiple platforms, and availability is subject to prior sale elsewhere.