The Cycle Messenger World Championships (CMWC) is an annual urban cycling event gathering both professional bike messengers who mostly rides a fixie and cycling enthusiasts from around the globe. The participants compete in a variety of events which test riders’ skills, stamina and determination using fixed gear bicycles or other similar kinds. The culminating point of the event is the Main Race, which mimics the everyday tasks faced by cycle messengers. It is a weekend of racing, partying and a celebration of global messenger culture.
The idea was first born in the minds of Achim Beier and Stefan Klessman – both Berlin-based fixie-riding messengers. After an enormous amount of planning and overcoming many obstacles, the first Cycle Messenger World Championships, or Cycle Messenger Championships as it was then called, took place in 1993 in Berlin, Germany. It gathered approximately 500 participants and was declared a success. Since then, the CMWC has been taking place annually in different parts of the world.
The CMWC is overseen by the International Federation of Bike Messengers Association (IFBMA). The IFBMA fosters a spirit of cooperation among single speed fixie bicycle messengers worldwide, promotes the use of pedal power for commercial purposes and ensures the successful realisation of an annual Cycle Messenger World Championships, which so far took place in the following cities:
1993 Berlin, DE
1994 London, UK
1995 Toronto, CA
1996 San Francisco, US
1997 Barcelona, ES
1998 Washington D.C., US
1999 Zurich, CH
2000 Philadelphia, US
2001 Budapest, HU
2002 Copenhagen, DK
2003 Seattle, US
2004 Edmonton, CA
2005 New York City, US
2006 Sydney, AU
2007 Dublin, IE
2008 Toronto, CA
2009 Tokyo, JP
2010 Panajachel, GT
2011 Warzaw, PL
2012 Chicago, US
2013 Lausanne, CH
2014 Mexico City, MX
2015 Melbourne, AU
2016 Paris, FR
2017 Montreal, CA
2018 Riga, LV
2019 Jakarta, ID
2020 –
2021 –
2022 New York City, US