The races primarily started and finished in the capital city of
Doha, the home base for the
Tour of Qatar. The initial plans were to have a flat time trial circuit , with the men riding it four times, and a larger flat circuit of around for the road race. Despite this, in February 2014 Sheikh Khalid Bin Ali Al Thani, the president of the
Qatar Cycling Federation, said that the organisers would not create a purpose-built course for the World Championships due to a lack of time. The route for the Worlds road races was presented in February 2015, which was made up of a loop of through the desert and a finishing circuit in Doha city centre, including of
cobblestones. The finishing circuit of on
The Pearl Island was used for a stage of February's
Tour of Qatar: riders noted that the course was highly technical, going through 24
roundabouts, with stage winner
Alexander Kristoff comparing it to a
criterium. However it was also noted that the lack of long straight sections meant that the effect of the
crosswinds frequently occurring in Qatar would be significantly lessened, reducing the race's unpredictability. Subsequently, in August 2016 it was reported that the UCI had made changes to the course, increasing the amount of riding through the desert to and reducing the number of laps of the finishing circuit from eleven down to seven. The start of the men's race was also moved to the
Aspire Zone, with the riders heading out northwards towards
Al Khor and returning to Doha. The women started from the
Qatar Foundation in
Education City, and completed seven laps of the finishing circuit, with a total race distance of . ==Events summary==