The 2006 edition of the men's UCI Road World Championships Road Race took place on September 24, 2006, in the Austrian city of Salzburg. Reigning Olympic champion and Italian Paolo Bettini captured the gold medal and the rainbow jersey as the 2006 World Cycling Champion. The 36-year-old German sprinter Erik Zabel took the silver medal and UCI ProTour winner Alejandro Valverde of Spain captured third place for the bronze medal. A total of 136 cyclists actually finished the race, with Slovakia's Roman Broniš in last place (+ 13'38").

Final classification Rank Rider Nation Time1 Paolo Bettini 6h 15' 36" (42.476 km/h)2 Erik Zabel + 0"3 Alejandro Valverde + 0"4 Samuel Sánchez + 2"5 Robbie McEwen + 2"6 Stuart O'Grady + 2"7 Uroš Murn + 2"8 Alexander Bocharov + 2"9 Tom Boonen + 2"10 Vladimir Gusev + 2"11 Bernhard Eisel + 2"12 Nicki Sørensen + 2"13 Kurt Asle Arvesen + 2"14 Martin Elmiger + 2"15 Freddie Rodriguez + 2"16 Karsten Kroon + 2"17 Marcus Ljungqvist + 2"18 René Haselbacher + 2"19 László Bodrogi + 2"20 Gerben Löwik + 2"21 Stefan Schumacher + 2"22 Steffen Wesemann + 2"23 Christophe Le Mével + 2"24 Anthony Geslin + 2"25 Andrey Kashechkin + 2"26 Alexandr Kolobnev + 2"27 Matija Kvasina + 2"28 Michael Boogerd + 2"29 Fränk Schleck + 2"30 Moisés Aldape Chávez + 2"31 Fabian Cancellara + 2"32 Gorazd Štangelj + 2"33 Nuno Ribeiro + 2"34 Danilo Di Luca + 2"35 David Millar + 2"36 Xavier Florencio + 2"37 Grégory Rast + 2"38 Luca Paolini + 2"39 David George + 2"40 Cadel Evans + 2"41 Rui Sousa + 2"42 Sérgio Paulinho + 2"43 Vladimir Karpets + 2"44 Alexander Arekeev + 2"45 Sylvain Chavanel + 2"46 Tadej Valjavec + 15"47 Christopher Horner + 15"48 Davide Rebellin + 15"49 Carlos Sastre + 15"50 Michael Rogers + 15"51 Filippo Pozzato + 15"52 Alexander Vinokourov + 15"53 Sergei Yakovlev + 34"54 Fabian Wegmann + 56"55 Marlon Pérez Arango + 1' 25"56 Kanstantsin Sivtsov + 1' 25"57 Raivis Belohvoščiks + 1' 53"58 José Carlos Rodrigues + 1' 53"59 Radoslav Rogina + 1' 53"60 Ján Valach + 1' 53"61 Alexandre Usau + 1' 53"62 Roger Hammond + 1' 53"63 Ruslan Pidgornyy + 1' 53"64 Dainius Kairelis + 1' 53"65 Georg Totschnig + 1' 53"66 Stijn Devolder + 1' 53"67 Max van Heeswijk + 1' 53"68 Christian Vande Velde + 1' 53"69 Aurélien Clerc + 1' 53"70 Cyril Dessel + 1' 53"71 Sébastien Joly + 1' 53"72 Joaquim Rodríguez + 1' 53"73 Michael Albasini + 1' 53"74 Lars Bak + 1' 53"75 Yaroslav Popovych + 1' 53"76 Nick Nuyens + 1' 53"77 Borut Božič + 2' 02"78 Erki Pütsep + 3' 33"79 Alexandre Bazhenov + 3' 43"80 Przemysław Niemiec + 3' 43"81 Daniel Petrov + 3' 43"82 Jurgen Van Goolen + 6' 19"83 Martin Riška + 6' 19"84 Kjell Carlström + 6' 19"85 Matej Mugerli + 6' 19"86 Nélson Vitorino + 6' 19"87 Roman Kreuziger + 6' 19"88 Alessandro Ballan + 6' 19"89 Simon Gerrans + 6' 19"90 Vladimir Efimkin + 6' 19"91 Bram Tankink + 6' 19"92 Philippe Gilbert + 6' 19"93 Thomas Voeckler + 6' 19"94 Sylvain Calzati + 6' 19"95 Alexander Efimkin + 6' 19"96 Robert Hunter + 6' 19"97 Beat Zberg + 6' 19"98 Alexei Markov + 6' 19"99 Christian Knees + 6' 19"100 Mathew Hayman + 6' 19"101 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano + 6' 19"102 Jonathan Patrick McCarty + 6' 19"103 Oliver Zaugg + 6' 19"104 Tomáš Bucháček + 6' 19"105 David Loosli + 6' 19"106 Patrik Sinkewitz + 6' 19"107 Guido Trenti + 6' 19"108 Janez Brajkovič + 6' 19"109 Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi + 6' 19"110 Luis Pérez Rodríguez + 6' 19"111 Volodymyr Zagorodniy + 6' 19"112 Andriy Hrivko + 6' 19"113 Gabriel Rasch + 6' 19"114 Thor Hushovd + 6' 19"115 Íñigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro + 6' 59"116 Ryan Cox + 6' 59"117 Christian Pfannberger + 6' 59"118 Danny Pate + 6' 59"119 Marzio Bruseghin + 6' 59"120 David McCann + 8' 45"121 Petr Benčík + 8' 45"122 Matej Jurčo + 8' 45"123 Tomasz Marczyński + 8' 45"124 Fumiyuki Beppu + 8' 45"125 Allan Johansen + 8' 45"126 Roman Broniš + 13' 38"DNF Félix Rafael Cardenas Ravalo DNF Matteo Tosatto DNF Rinaldo Nocentini DNF José Adrián Bonilla DNF Aliaksandr Kychinski DNF Serge Baguet DNF Tarmo Raudsepp DNF Russell Downing DNF Julio Alberto Pérez Cuapio DNF Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni DNF Krzysztof Szczawiński DNF Hidenori Nodera DNF Philip Deignan DNF Stephan Schreck DNF Danail Petrov DNF Leif Hoste DNF Kevin Hulsmans DNF Matthew White DNF Nicolas Roche DNF Nick Gates DNF Ronny Scholz DNF Marcel Sieberg DNF José Rujano Guillen DNF Tyler Farrar DNF Ian McLeod DNF Luis Felipe Laverde DNF Chris Baldwin DNF Bradley McGee DNF Hrvoje Miholjević DNF Aleksejs Saramotins DNF Shinichi Fukushima DNF Luciano André Pagliarini DNF Bram de Groot DNF Jan Boven DNF Maarten Tjallingii DNF Kyrylo Pospyeyev DNF Mauricio Soler DNF Ryder Hesjedal DNF Darren Lill DNF Sébastien Hinault DNF Martin Mareš DNF Peter Wrolich DNF Linus Gerdemann DNF Bruno Neves DNF Murilo Fischer DNF Mart Ojavee DNF Stanislav Kozubek DNF Marek Rutkiewicz DNF Tomasz Kiendyś DNF Martin Prázdnovský DNF Maroš Kováč DNF Volodymyr Starchyk DNF Gerardo Fernández DNF Svetoslav Tchanliev DNF Manuel Eduardo Medina Marino DNF Thierry Marichal DNF Jackson Stewart DNF Pedro Nicacio DNF Tiaan Kannemeyer DNF Samuel Dumoulin DNF Jorge Martín Montenegro DNF Joost Posthuma DNF Bernhard Kohl DNF František Raboň DNF Robert Radosz DNF Alex Cano Ardila DNF Márcio May DNF Soelito Gohr DNF Jose Antonio Ramos Querales DNF Abdul Wahab Sawadogo DNF Rabaki Jérémie Ouédraogo DNF Saïdou Rouamba

Selected riders

Based on the results of the riders in the UCI ProTour and UCI Continental Circuits in 2006, all nations have received a number of riders they can send to the championships. The number of allowed riders is different for each continent: Qualified Nations by the UCI Protour: Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Spain and Switzerland get 9 starters. Canada, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania and Luxembourg get 1 starter. Qualified Nations by the UCI Africa Tour: South Africa gets 6 starters. Burkina Faso gets 3 starters. Qualified Nations by the UCI America Tour: Brazil and Colombia get 6 starters. Argentina, Mexico and Venezuela get 3 starters. Costa Rica and Cuba get 1 starter. Qualified Nations by the UCI Asia Tour: Iran gets 6 starters. Kazakhstan and Japan get 3 starters. Qualified Nations by the UCI European Tour: Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Ukraine get 6 starters. Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Great Britain, Ireland, Latvia and Norway get 3 starters. Sweden gets 1 starter. Note: Because Austria is the host nation, they are given 3 extra starters to give them 6 riders in total. Qualified Nations by the UCI Oceania Tour: New Zealand gets 3 starters.

All nations are allowed to select reserves too, 5 reserves for nations with 9 riders, 3 reserves for nations with 6 riders, 2 reserves for nations with 3 riders and 1 reserve for nations with 1 rider.

Nations allowed nine riders

Australia On September 14, the selection was released: Cadel Evans, Nick Gates, Simon Gerrans, Mathew Hayman, Robbie McEwen, Bradley McGee, Stuart O'Grady, Michael Rogers, Matthew White,

Belgium National Coach: Carlo Bomans

On September 11, the selection was released: Serge Baguet, Tom Boonen, Stijn Devolder, Philippe Gilbert, Leif Hoste, Kevin Hulsmans, Nick Nuyens, Jurgen Van Goolen, Johan Vansummeren, Vansummeren was replaced by Thierry Marichal from , because he severely injured his shoulder in a crash on training just days before the event.

Also 5 reserves were appointed: Björn Leukemans, Thierry Marichal, Kevin van Impe, Geert Verheyen, Frederik Willems,

France Selection released on September 12: Sylvain Calzati, Sylvain Chavanel, Cyril Dessel, Samuel Dumoulin, Anthony Geslin, Sébastien Hinault, Sébastien Joly, Christophe Le Mével, Thomas Voeckler,

Germany On September 11, the first selection was released, but since then many things have changed. Matthias Kessler and Jens Voigt have refused their selection as they claim to be "too tired after a long tiring season". Andreas Klöden has declared he only wants to ride in the Time Trial World Championships 2006.

Current Selection: Linus Gerdemann, Christian Knees, Ronny Scholz, Stephan Schreck, Stefan Schumacher, Marcel Sieberg, Team Wiesenhof Patrik Sinkewitz, Fabian Wegmann, Erik Zabel,

Italy National coach Franco Ballerini selected the following riders:

Alessandro Ballan, Paolo Bettini, Marzio Bruseghin, Danilo Di Luca, Rinaldo Nocentini, Luca Paolini, Filippo Pozzato, Davide Rebellin, Matteo Tosatto,

Netherlands National coach Egon van Kessel selected the following riders: Michael Boogerd, Jan Boven, Bram de Groot, Karsten Kroon, Gerben Löwik, Joost Posthuma, Bram Tankink, Maarten Tjallingii, Max van Heeswijk,

Russia Alexander Arekeev, Alexandre Bazhenov, Naturino–Sapore di Mare Alexander Bocharov, Alexander Efimkin, Vladimir Efimkin, Vladimir Gusev, Vladimir Karpets, Alexandr Kolobnev, Alexei Markov,

Spain Íñigo Cuesta, Juan Antonio Flecha, Xavier Florencio, Luis Pérez Rodríguez, Joaquim Rodríguez, Samuel Sánchez, Alejandro Valverde, Francisco Ventoso, Carlos Sastre,

Switzerland Selection released on September 14: Michael Albasini, Fabian Cancellara, Aurélien Clerc, Martin Elmiger, David Loosli, Grégory Rast, Steffen Wesemann, Oliver Zaugg, Beat Zberg,

United States Chris Baldwin, Tyler Farrar, Chris Horner, Jason McCartney, Danny Pate, Fred Rodriguez, Jackson Stewart, Kodakgallery.com–Sierra Nevada Pro Cycling Guido Trenti, Christian Vande Velde,

Nations allowed six riders

Austria The home nation was represented by: Bernhard Eisel, René Haselbacher, Bernhard Kohl, Christian Pfannberger, Georg Totschnig, Peter Wrolich,

Brazil Murilo Fischer, Naturino–Sapore di Mare Soelito Gohr, Scott–Marcondes Cesar–São José dos Campos Márcio May, Scott/Marcondes Pedro Nicacio, Scott–Marcondes Cesar–São José dos Campos Luciano Pagliarini,

Colombia Mauricio Ardila, Alex Caño, Unknown Félix Cárdenas, Luis Felipe Laverde, Ceramica Panaria–Navigare Marlon Pérez Arango, Team Tenax Salmilano Mauricio Soler,

Czech Republic Petr Benčík, Tomáš Bucháček, Stanislav Kozubek, Roman Kreuziger, Martin Mareš, Naturino–Sapore di Mare František Raboň,

Poland Tomasz Kiendyś, Knauf Team Tomasz Marczyński, Ceramica Flaminia Przemysław Niemiec, Miche Robert Radosz, DHL–Author Marek Rutkiewicz, Intel–Action Kristzof Szczawinski, Ceramica Flaminia

Portugal Bruno Neves, Madeinox–BRIC–AR Canelas Sérgio Paulinho, Nuno Ribeiro, LA Aluminios–Liberty Seguros José Rodrigues, Carvalhelhos–Boavista Rui Sousa, LA Aluminios–Liberty Seguros Nelson Victorino, Duja–Tavira

Slovenia Janez Brajkovič, Borut Božič, Perutnina Ptuj Matej Mugerli, Uroš Murn, Gorazd Štangelj, Tadej Valjavec,

Slovakia Roman Broniš, Dukla Trenčín Matej Jurčo, Maroš Kováč, Dukla Trenčín Martin Prázdnovský, Team Sparebanken Vest Martin Riška, Ján Valach, Aposport Krone Linz

South Africa Ryan Cox, David George, Relax Robert Hunter, Tiaan Kannemeyer, Darren Lill, Schwinn Ian McLeod,

Ukraine Andriy Hryvko, Ruslan Pidgornyy, Tenax Nobili Rubinetterie Yaroslav Popovych, Kyrylo Pospeyev, Volodymyr Starchyk, Mykolaiv Volodymyr Zagorodniy, S. C. Pagnoncelli-NGC-Perrel

Nations allowed three riders

Argentina Gerardo Fernández, Viña Magna–Cropu Jorge Martín Montenegro, Unknown

Belarus Aliaksandr Kuscynski, Ceramica Flaminia Kanstantsin Sivtsov, Alexander Usov,

Bulgaria Daniel Andonov Petrov, Maia Milaneza Daniel Petrov, Duja–Tavira Svetoslav Tchanliev, Unknown

Burkina Faso Rabaki Jérémie Ouédraogo, Unknown Abdul Wahab Sawadogo, Unknown Saïdou Rouamba, Unknown

Croatia Matija Kvasina, Perutnina Ptuj Hrvoje Miholjević, Perutnina Ptuj Radoslav Rogina, Perutnina Ptuj

Denmark Lars Bak, Jakob Piil, Nicki Sørensen,

Estonia Mart Ojavee, Kalev Chocolate Team Erki Pütsep, Tarmo Raudsepp, Union Cycliste Nantes Atlantique

Great Britain Russell Downing, DFL–Cyclingnews–Litespeed Roger Hammond, David Millar,

Ireland David McCann, Giant Asia Racing Team Nicolas Roche,