The men's road race at the 1979 UCI Road World Championships was the 46th edition of the event. The race took place on Sunday 26 August 1979 in Valkenburg, the Netherlands. The race was won by Jan Raa

Knut Knudsen is a retired Norwegian road and track cyclist. As an amateur, he placed fifth in the 4000m individual pursuit at the 1968 Olympics before becoming Olympic champion in the same discipline