A season packed with world-class performances came to a close this weekend in Abruzzo, Italy, as the 2026 UCI Para Cycling Road World Cup reached its finale. From experienced para cyclists to emerging talent making their mark in the Elite ranks, the three-round series - which also visited Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Gistel, Belgium - delivered highlights throughout.
Hubert dominates MC3 category
The Breton region of France is a para cycling performance factory: Dorian Foulon, Gatien Le Rousseau, Alexandre Léauté, Katell Alençon… and now Louis Hubert. The 19-year-old, who races in the Men C3 category, won both the time trial and road race in Italy to round off an astonishing season that saw him win five of the six events he entered over the three rounds. The only blemish on his record came in Belgium when he finished third in the road race behind fellow Frenchman Thomas Peyroton-Dartet and Great Britain's Finlay Graham.
Hubert first showed his immense potential at the 2025 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Ronse, Belgium, where he won silver in the time trial behind Canada's Alexandre Hayward. Few, however, could have predicted the dominance that would follow. With just over two years until the Summer Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, USA, Hubert is increasingly establishing himself as a medal contender.
While Hubert's tally of 344 out of 360 points was near perfect, China's Qian Wangwei produced zero-fault performances in the Women C1 category, winning all six of her events for a perfect score of 360. The 31-year-old, who won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics in the women's C1-3 500m time trial and silver in the same event at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, looked unstoppable as she added the UCI World Cup crown to her multiple UCI World Championship titles.
Wangwei’s countrywoman Quan Shiqi also dominated her sport class, this time in the Women T1 category. Shiqi’s 344 points included four victories and two second places (in both the Thailand and Belgium time trials) and was over 150 clear of Czechia’s Pavlina Vejvodová.
Bosco blows the competition away
Thirty-nine-year-old Samantha Bosco is one of the strongest American para cyclists of the past decade, known for her versatility across both road and track events in the Women C4 classification. In this year's UCI World Cup, she won both the time trial and road race in Thailand and Italy.
In Belgium, she finished second in the road race and fourth in the time trial, where she reflected on the experience with characteristic humour:
The three-time Paralympic medallist, including gold at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, is renowned for her mental resilience and will be targeting a second gold medal at her home Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
Dutch-born Spanish para cyclist Manuela Vos van den Bouwhuijsen continued to show that age is just a number, winning all four Women H1 races she entered in Belgium and Italy at the age of 57. The overall title, however, went to Uzbekistan's Pokiza Akhmadbekova, whose 328 points were built on two victories in Thailand and four second places.
In the Women H2 category, the USA’s Katerina Brim won four races across Thailand and Italy, but it was Thailand's Patcharapha Seesen who took the overall title. Seesen's 312 points - earned through two victories in Belgium, two second places in Thailand and two third places in Italy - comfortably outpaced Brim's tally of 240.
Former water skier Patrik Jahoda backed up his fourth place at the 2024 Paralympics with a dominant 336-point campaign. Competing in the Men H1category, the 32-year-old Czech won the first four events of the 2026 UCI Para Cycling Road World Cup before rounding things off in Italy with second and third in the time trial and road race respectively.
France's Florian Jouanny also deserves recognition for winning the overall crown in the Men H2 category. The 34-year-old, a three-time Paralympic gold medallist and holder of multiple UCI World Championship titles, was dominant in the four events he raced in Belgium and Italy, winning all of them.
America rules the relay
The mixed handcycle team relay title went to the USA, who topped the overall standings with 156 points after winning in Thailand and finishing second in Italy. France, victorious in both Belgium and Italy, finished second overall with 120 points, ahead of Thailand in third with 104.
With the 2026 UCI Para Cycling Road World Championships taking place on the 4 to 7 September in Huntsville, Alabama (United States), attention turns to whether the season's UCI World Cup winners can carry their form into the sport's most prestigious event.
Para cycling sport classes
C – Cycle: conventional bike with adaptations if necessary
T – Tricycle: three-wheeled bike
B – Tandem: for visually impaired athletes with sighted pilot
H – Handcycle
Groups C (1-5), T (1-2) and H (1-5) are divided into different sport classes, with the lower the number indicating a higher level of impairment.