In May 2026, the Cycle Messenger World Championships, known as “CMWC,” were held in Milan, Italy.
CMWC brings messengers together from all over the world to compete with the skills they've honed in their daily work. At the same time, it's a place for sharing what it means to ride in the city, to carry things by bike, and the job and culture of the messenger itself.
One of those who took part from Japan this time was Shitacchi, otherwise known as Mr. Shitanishi.
Shitacchi took the cargo bike category title in fine style at CMWC Yokohama, held in Japan in 2023, and has taken part in many CMWCs over the years. We asked about the messengers and cargo bikes seen in Milan this time, and about OMNIUM.
Cargo bikes ride the same race
One of the things that stood out at this year's CMWC Milano was that cargo bikes and regular bikes rode the same race.
At past editions such as CMWC 2023 Yokohama and CMWC 2024 Zürich, cargo bikes were in a separate category from road and track bikes. In Milan this time, the race was run on basically the same route with the same manifest, regardless of the type of bike.
Not the idea that a cargo bike means a separate event, but that it's one of the options for a bike to carry loads with.
Talking with Shitacchi during the interview, it struck me that this race format is the messenger's job itself.
Seen as a messenger's work, what matters is delivering the packages you're handed accurately, according to the order, and fast. What bike you use is one of the judgment calls you make to that end.
A track bike, a road bike, a mountain bike or a cargo bike, any of them will do.
You choose the bike suited to the job, according to the size and amount of the load and the distance and route you'll ride.
The real work of a messenger is reflected directly in the CMWC race.
More cargo bikes at CMWC
By Shitacchi's reckoning, around 10 to 20 percent of this year's participants were on cargo bikes.
All sorts of cargo bikes were indeed out on the course: besides the OMNIUM Cargo and Mini-Max, there were also plenty of the BULLITT cargo bikes used by Milan's messengers.
One factor behind this is a change in the very “packages” that messengers carry.
Messengers' work used to center on delivering relatively small items such as documents and manuscripts quickly. Riding through the city on a track or road bike with a big messenger bag on your back was a style that symbolized messenger culture.
But as documents and much other information came to be exchanged digitally, what messengers carry has changed as well.
Today it's not only packages that fit in a bag; there's also more and more work carrying larger loads around the city.
And the tool that has come to be chosen for that is the cargo bike.
You can load large items onto the bike to carry them, and reduce the strain on your body. When what you carry in your actual work changes, the bike you use changes to match.
In Amsterdam and Copenhagen, cargo bikes are out on the streets as an everyday means of getting around and carrying things: the school run, shopping, parcel deliveries and more.
It's less that people are riding a special vehicle called a “cargo bike” than that when what you carry changes, the bike you use changes.
The sight of so many cargo bikes racing at this year's CMWC seemed to be a direct expression of that change in the messenger's work.
Milano × Copenhagen
And one more thing that was emblematic of this year's CMWC Milano was this bike.
The OMNIUM × Cinelli Supercargo.
It was announced just as messengers from around the world gathered in Milan, Cinelli's hometown, and the bike presented to the winner of the race was this very Supercargo.
Milano and Copenhagen.
Cinelli and OMNIUM.
Racing bikes and cargo bikes.
Born where different cycling cultures meet: the OMNIUM × Cinelli Supercargo, limited to 120 units worldwide.
Circles has received one each in sizes S / M / L.
OMNIUM × Cinelli Supercargo lottery sale
It's a special model limited to 120 units worldwide, but like every OMNIUM before it, it remains a cargo bike made for carrying loads and riding in the city.
Just as cargo bikes rode the same race alongside track and road bikes at CMWC Milano, a cargo bike is one more tool for riding in the city.
You choose a bike to suit what you carry and how you use it. I think it would be interesting if cargo bikes came to sit more naturally among those options.
I'm looking forward to seeing the Supercargo, born where these cultures meet, out on the streets of Japan.
About sales of the OMNIUM × Cinelli Supercargo in Japan
We will be selling complete bikes of this special-edition OMNIUM × Cinelli Supercargo by lottery, exclusively at Circles: one each in sizes S / M / L.
OMNIUM × Cinelli Supercargo Complete Bike
Price: ¥712,800 (tax incl.)
Sizes: S / M / L
For the full specifications and geometry of the complete bike, please see the product page below.
[OMNIUM × Cinelli Supercargo product details]
⚫︎Lottery entries: Friday, September 11, 2026 – Wednesday, September 23 (public holiday)[Autumnal Equinox Day]
⚫︎Winners notified: Thursday, September 24, 2026
If you would like to purchase one, please select your preferred size and apply using the entry form below.
Bikes can be collected in store only, at Circles Nagoya or Circles Tokyo. For collection at Circles Tokyo, an additional shipping fee of ¥9,900 applies.
*Entries are limited to one per person.
*The preferred size cannot be changed after entry.
*Winners will be sent purchase and payment instructions by email.
*If payment is not completed by the specified deadline, the right to purchase may be offered to the next person.
Special Thanks
Interview：Satoshi Shitanishi
Photos：kao
