The world championship in road cycling in 1978 was held on the Nürburgring in the Nürburg region, Germany .
Medalists
| Cycle race | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
| Men | ||||||
| Professionals | Gerry Knetemann Netherlands | 7h32'04 " | Francesco Moser Italy | Jörgen marcussen Denmark | ||
| Lovers | Gilbert Glaus Switzerland | Krzysztof Suika Poland | Stefan Mutter Switzerland | |||
| Teams | Netherlands Gustaf Bearings Bert Osterbosch Bart van est Jan van Hauvingingen | the USSR Aavo Pikkuus Vladimir Kaminsky Algimantus Gushavichus Vladimir Kuznetsov | Switzerland Gilbert Glaus Stefan Mutte Richard Trinkler Kurt Erenshperger | |||
| Women | ||||||
| Beate Khubets Germany | Cornelia van Osten-Hage Netherlands | Emmanuela Lorenzo Italy | ||||