Time trials for men and women will be held on the same day, course and distance for the first time at cycling's 2022 Road World Championships in Australia, officials said Friday.

Some 1,000 riders are expected at the event from September 18-25 in Wollongong, 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Sydney.

"This is a first in the history of the UCI Road World Championships and is in line with the UCI's priority of promoting gender equality," the sport's governing body said.

The elite time trials start on September 18 over an urban circuit, with road races on the weekend of September 24-25.

"After five years in Europe, the UCI dearly wanted to see its UCI Road World Championships organized on another continent," said UCI president David Lappartient.

"I am delighted that Wollongong was chosen to host for our leading annual event in 2022.

"This marks a return to Oceania, indeed to Australia, 12 years after the UCI Road World Championships in Melbourne and Geelong in 2010."