The Netherlands has its first Under-23 men’s time trial world champion in 19 years. Ryan Gal sprang the surprise of the Montréal Worlds with a superbly paced ride, beating Italy’s Nicolas Milesi and Spanish favourite Héctor Álvarez to the rainbow jersey.
The battle for the Under-23 men’s time trial title always looked like one of the most unpredictable events of the 2026 UCI Road World Championships.
There was no Remco Evenepoel-sized favourite towering over the start list. Instead, at least eight or nine riders appeared capable of winning on Montréal’s fast 32.1-kilometre course.
Spain’s Héctor Álvarez and Belgium’s Matisse Van Kerckhove were perhaps the most frequently mentioned names before the start, but Kristian Egholm, Mads Landbo, Nicolas Milesi, Cameron Rogers and Dutch duo Ryan Gal and Michiel Mouris were all serious threats.
In the end, it was Gal who judged his effort best—and delivered the ride of his young career.
Rogers’ World Championship Ends in Frustration
The lesser-known riders opened proceedings, with Colombia’s Robert Andres Plazas setting an early time of 39:59. Bulgaria’s Nicholas Van der Merwe soon went faster before Estonia’s Romet Pajur established another new benchmark.
But attention quickly turned to Cameron Rogers.
The 21-year-old Australian arrived in Montréal with a genuine chance of winning a medal. Time trialling runs in the family: Rogers is the nephew of three-time elite world champion Michael Rogers, and he had already demonstrated his ability against the clock by winning the prologue of the 2025 Tour of Holland.
Unfortunately, his World Championship challenge unravelled through no fault of his own.
A mechanical problem forced Rogers to stop, costing him a huge amount of time. He eventually got moving again, only to be forced off the bike for a second time. The furious Australian made his feelings abundantly—and colourfully—clear as his medal hopes disappeared on the side of the road.
By the time Rogers was finally underway again, the race had passed him by.
Gal Throws Down the Gauntlet
Ryan Gal had no such problems.
The 21-year-old Metec-SOLARWATT rider and reigning Dutch U23 time trial champion started quickly and then somehow found even more speed during the second half of the course.
Gal crossed the finish line in 37:26, becoming the first rider to average more than 50 kilometres per hour. It was a serious performance—and a time that forced every remaining favourite to take notice.
He was 40 seconds faster than the leading Danish rider, while Louis Leidert and Jasper Schoofs conceded around a minute and a half.
Gal climbed into the hot seat, but with the biggest names still on the course, winning the world title remained a distant possibility.
Or so it seemed.
Álvarez Comes Out Blazing
At the first intermediate checkpoint, several riders were ahead of the Dutchman.
Danish contenders Kristian Egholm and Mads Landbo were 0.3 and almost four seconds faster respectively, while Italy’s Nicolas Milesi had also started more quickly.
Gal’s Dutch teammate Michiel Mouris was only fractionally slower and remained firmly in contention for a place on the podium.
But they were all overshadowed by Héctor Álvarez.
The highly rated Lidl-Trek rider exploded out of the start house and reached the opening checkpoint eight seconds faster than Landbo. The Spaniard had been widely tipped to take the rainbow jersey, and his opening kilometres suggested the predictions were on target.
The race was far from over, however—and Gal’s strength was still to come.
The Favourites Fade as Gal Flies
Gal’s ride became increasingly impressive with every new intermediate time.
Egholm, Landbo and Milesi had all started faster, but by the third checkpoint, the situation had completely reversed. Each had fallen behind the Dutch rider after Gal produced a phenomenal second half.
Álvarez was also beginning to lose ground.
The Spaniard’s nine-second advantage over Gal disappeared, but the margins remained painfully small. With Milesi just two seconds behind and Álvarez only three seconds down at the final checkpoint, the Dutchman could do nothing but watch the clock from the hot seat.
It was proper nail-biting stuff.
Milesi came first, crossing the line seven seconds slower than Gal.
Then came Álvarez.
The Spaniard drove hard towards the finish, but he had also run out of road. His time was 11 seconds slower than Gal’s remarkable 37:26.
The surprise was complete: Ryan Gal was the new Under-23 world time trial champion.
Gal Follows Lars Boom
Gal’s victory ended a 19-year wait for the Netherlands in this event.
He becomes only the second Dutch rider to win the Under-23 men’s time trial world championship, following Lars Boom’s victory at the 2007 Worlds in Stuttgart.
Gal may not have started the day as the biggest name or the outstanding favourite, but that’s the thing about a race against the clock: reputation doesn’t stop the clock—speed does.
On this day in Montréal, nobody was faster than Ryan Gal.
World Championships 2026 Men’s U-23 Time Trial Results
See all the PEZ World Championships coverage here
The post Ryan Gal Stuns the Favourites to Win U23 World Time Trial Title appeared first on PezCycling News.
