| Venue: | Bern, Switzerland  |
| Date: | 2 and 3 September 1961 |
| Previous: | Sachsenring 1960 |
| Next: | Salo 1962 |
| Pushpin Map: | Switzerland |
| Pushpin Label: | Bern |
| Coordinates: | 46.9481°N 7.4475°W |
The 1961 UCI Road World Championships was the 34rd edition of the UCI Road World Championships.[1]
It took place on 2 and 3 September 1961 in Bern, Switzerland. It was the second time the championships were organized in Bern, after the 1936 UCI Road World Championships.[2]
The women's race took place on 10 August on the Isle of Man. Belgian Yvonne Reynders won her second of four world titles on the road.[3]
The amateurs rode 181.5 kilometers on Saturday, September 2, 1961. It was a triumph for the French amateurs, who won gold, silver and bronze. The three Frenchmen escaped together on a climb after about 145 kilometers. In the final lap, Jean Jourden defeated his two compatriots.[4]
The professional cyclists rode on Sunday, September 3, 1961, over a distance of 285.252 kilometers. Belgian Rik Van Looy extended his world title; he narrowly defeated the Italian Nino Defilippis in a sprint. Frenchman Raymond Poulidor came third.
In the same period, the 1961 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was organized in the Oerlikon Velodrome in Zürich, Switzerland.
| Race: | Gold: | Time | Silver: | Time | Bronze : | Time | |
| Men | |||||||
| Men's road race | Rik Van Looy | 7 h 46 min 35s | Nino Defilippis | m.t. | Raymond Poulidor | m.t. | |
| Amateurs' road race | Jean Jourden | - | Henri Belena | - | Jacques Gestraut | - | |
| Women | |||||||
| Women's road race | Yvonne Reynders | - | Beryl Burton | - | Elsy Jacobs | - | |