page_title: Cycle Messenger World Championships
section_title: Main Race
hierarchical_section_title: Cycle Messenger World Championships / Events / Main Race
caption_attribution_description: London bicycle courier, Oxford Street
context_page_description: The Cycle Messenger World Championships, or CMWCs, are an annual urban cycling competition whereby cycle messengers and cycling enthusiasts showcase their skills in an array of events, many of which simulate everyday tasks for a cycle messenger. Each year, the CMWCs are held in a different city around the world, with each host city designing its own unique course. The highlight of the CMWCs is the main race in which cyclists are given manifests and must pickup and deliver items to various locations around the host city as quickly and efficiently as possible. The total number of pickups and deliveries, or "drop offs" is unknown to the messengers before the race, but has been known to reach up to 100 stops and usually takes between 3–4 hours to complete. The cyclist who completes all of the assigned deliveries in the least amount of time wins the race. In addition to the main race there are also several side events which have become increasingly popular over the past few years. These events change yearly depending on the discretion of the host city but usually include backward circles, bike polo, bunnyhop, cargo race, longest skid, sprints, and trackstand.
context_section_description: The main race is designed to simulate the normal workday of a cycle messenger. At the start of the race, depending on what format  is used, each messenger is given a manifest or a number of packages with the location of pick-ups and drop-offs of packages throughout the closed course. The course is composed of numbered or named checkpoints spread throughout a closed course which has been anywhere from a few kilometers to 10 kilometers or more in total track distance. Participants usually must traverse the length & breadth of the course many times to complete the event. The messengers seek to quickly and efficiently plan their routes in order to pick up and deliver each package in a timely manner. Several different systems have been used, most of these involve manifests, some involve multiple manifests. The total number of manifests and deliveries is unknown to the messengers before the start of the race but has been known to reach as high as 100 pick-ups and drop-offs. The field of cyclists is narrowed down after each manifest in some forms of this event but in others no elimination process is used and results are tallied for the entire field. The event usually takes between 3 and 4 hours to complete.
caption: London cycle messenger
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