Australia’s Felicity Wilson-Haffenden delivered on her pre-race favourite status with a commanding victory in the Under-23 women’s individual time trial at the 2026 UCI Road World Championships in Montréal. Dutch talent Nienke Vinke raced to an impressive silver medal, while Belgium’s Luca Vierstraete survived a nail-biting finish to claim bronze.
After the elite women and men had taken their turns against the Montréal clock, it was time for the Under-23 riders to chase the rainbow bands.
Canadian hope Ava Holmgren rode well to 6th place
The women faced a fast 20.2-kilometre course that was considerably less demanding than last year’s route. But it wasn’t completely flat, and the final 400 metres at 6% to the finish in Parc Jeanne-Mance promised a painful conclusion after nearly half an hour on the rivet.
The Dutch arrived with two genuine medal hopes in Nienke Vinke and Megan Arens. But the list of potential winners went much deeper, with Wilson-Haffenden, Viktória Chladoňová, Luca Vierstraete, Paula Ostiz and Mackenzie Coupland all capable of fighting for the podium.
Vinke Sets the Standard
Canada’s Sidney Swierenga (who PEZ profiled here) gave the home crowd something to cheer about among the earlier starters. Her time of 29:18 was good enough to put her briefly into the hot seat, although her stay at the top wouldn’t last long.
Canadian Sidney Swierenga took over the leader’s hot seat for a time
Belgium’s Febe Jooris was the first rider to make a significant impression. She stopped the clock at 28:48, slicing 30 seconds from Swierenga’s time and establishing the first serious benchmark of the afternoon.
Then Nienke Vinke came flying through.
The 22-year-old Dutch rider, who narrowly missed a medal at last year’s European Under-23 Championships, was already well ahead of Jooris at the opening time check. By the second split she had doubled her advantage, and there was no sign of a fade over the difficult final kilometres.
Vinke crossed the line 39 seconds faster than Jooris and settled into the hot seat with a time that looked capable of winning a medal—and perhaps even the rainbow jersey.
Wilson-Haffenden Turns Up the Power
One by one, the challengers came up short.
Mackenzie Coupland and Julia Kopecky were unable to match Vinke’s pace, while Finland’s Wilma Aintila saw her chances disappear after crashing on the course.
At the opening time check, nobody had managed to knock Vinke from the top of the standings. Even Wilson-Haffenden was fractionally behind, trailing the Dutch rider by only 0.19 seconds after six kilometres.
It was shaping up to be a proper battle.
Slovakia’s Viktória Chladoňová was also in contention, passing the first checkpoint just four seconds behind Vinke. With three of the favourites separated by almost nothing, the fight for the world title appeared wide open.
But Wilson-Haffenden was only getting started.
Once the Australian found her rhythm, the race changed very quickly. Her tiny deficit became an advantage of nearly 30 seconds at the next checkpoint, while Chladoňová began to lose time and slipped towards the edge of the medal positions.
Wilson-Haffenden continued to turn the screw through the final section. She powered up the finishing climb and stopped the clock at 27:41, almost half a minute faster than Vinke.
It was a superbly measured ride—and a decisive victory.
Vierstraete Wins a Battle of Inches for Bronze
Vinke’s performance was still more than enough to secure a thoroughly deserved silver medal, but the fight for bronze went right down to the final metres.
Chladoňová emptied the tank on the rising road to the finish, trying desperately to knock Vierstraete out of the medals. The Slovak came agonizingly close, missing the Belgian’s time by just 0.89 seconds.
That left Vierstraete holding on to third place and gave Belgium another medal at the Montréal Worlds.
But nobody came close to Wilson-Haffenden. The Australian arrived as the favourite, handled the pressure and rode away from a strong international field to claim the Under-23 world time trial title—and her first rainbow jersey.
Those medals taste mighty good
PEZ Take
Felicity Wilson-Haffenden didn’t win this world title by charging out of the start house and hoping to hang on. The Australian was fractionally behind Nienke Vinke at the first time check before taking control through the second half of the course.
That’s the mark of a beautifully paced time trial. Wilson-Haffenden kept something in reserve, wound up the engine and did her greatest damage when the road and the pressure began to bite. Vinke produced an excellent ride for silver, while less than one second separating Luca Vierstraete and Viktória Chladoňová made the bronze-medal fight every bit as dramatic.
World Championships 2026 U-23 Women’s Time Trial Results
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