The 2012 UCI Road World Championships took place in the southern part of the Dutch province of Limburg, also known as South Limburg, between September 15 and 23. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women and men under 23, and team time trials for elite men and women. It was the 79th Road World Championships. Castelfidardo near Loreto in Italy was also a candidate, but Italy had held the UCI Road World Championships in Varese in 2008. The Netherlands had last hosted the Road World Championships in 1998, in Valkenburg aan de Geul, and 2012 was the seventh time that the country hosted the championships.

The Cauberg is a hill in Valkenburg aan de Geul, a town in the South Limburg region of the Netherlands. The hill played an important role in the early development of tourism in Valkenburg. Today, several major tourist attractions are situated on or nearby Cauberg. The hill's fame is mainly due to the many cycling races and championships that were held here. The length of the climb is around 1,200 metres (0.7 mi), with a maximum grade of 12%.