Nearly 500 bicycle messengers from five continents will compete in the 15th annual Cycle Messenger World Championships in the capital this weekend.

"Hosting the World Championships is a great honour for Dublin bike messengers," said organiser Séan Ó Tuathail. "There will be people on bikes from all over the world throughout the city and the competition will utilise every cycling amenity Dublin has to offer."

The Phoenix Park will host the bulk of the competition on Saturday and Sunday, with speed, balance and backwards cycling among the skills to be tested.

A day of track racing will take place at the Sun Drive track at Éamonn Ceannt Park in Crumlin on Tuesday, and one male and one female rider will eventually be crowned world champion.

The competition, however, is something of an excuse for the World Championships' larger goal, which is a global gathering of bike messengers, the tight-knit, tattooed tribe who make a living dodging traffic and delivering urgent post.

"Bicycle messaging is very much a brotherhood and the weekend will be first and foremost a celebration of bike messenger culture, said Ó Tuathail.

Each day's events will culminate in a social function at a Dublin watering hole, made identifiable by the hundreds of bikes parked outside of it. Side events will include an exhibition of bicycle-inspired art and a bike messenger wedding.

Dublin hosted the 2002 European Championships, but this is the first time it has welcomed the World Championships.

"Most people don't think of Dublin as cycle-friendly because of the lack of bike paths, but messengers love to come here," Ó Tuathail said.

"The streets are flat, the traffic is relatively slow and there's banter with the people on the street."