Introduced in 1994 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world's governing body of cycling, the event consists of a time trial covering a distance of approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) over flat or rolling terrain.

Tour de France winner Miguel Induráin won the event the following year, beating fellow Spaniard Abraham Olano by forty-nine seconds.

[6] Alex Zülle, the 1996 Vuelta a España winner, won the rainbow jersey in his home country, ahead of Boardman and fellow Swiss cyclist Tony Rominger.

[8] Germany's Jan Ullrich won the event in 1999, beating Swedish rider Michael Andersson by fourteen seconds around the 50.8 kilometres (31.6 mi) course in Treviso.

[11] Ullrich again decided against defending his title in 2002, leaving Santiago Botero to become the first Colombian to win a World Championship gold medal, as he beat Rich by eight seconds.

[16] Rogers's run came to an end the following year, as Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara secured the victory in Salzburg, one minute and eighteen seconds ahead of American rider David Zabriskie.

[18] Germany's Bert Grabsch succeeded Cancellara, who was absent from the 2008 event in Varese, winning the title ahead of Canada's Svein Tuft and Zabriskie.