The second day of the 2025 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships saw some very close racing in the individual time trials (ITT) in Ronse, Belgium, and a highly successful day for Australia.
Impressively, the number of first-time UCI World Champions matched those who defended or re-claimed titles. Three female and three male para-athletes received ITT rainbow jerseys for the first time: in the Men’s B, C5 and C3 classifications, and the Women’s C5, C4 and C1 – with all three of the women being Australian!
French first-timers in tandem
Friday began with the men’s 34.8km tandem race. Paris 2024 Paralympic silver medalists Elie de Carvalho and his pilot Mickaël Guichard set the fastest time on lap 1 of 3, but it was a touch-and-go affair between them and the Netherlands’ Tristan Bangma and pilot Patrick Bos who had beaten the Frenchmen by just 2 seconds in Paris. But this year the three-time ITT UCI World Champion Bangma had to settle for silver, 7 seconds adrift, with another Dutch pair, Vincent ter Schure and Timo Fransen in third.
“In parts you need to be strong, so we tried to be strong,” said pilot Mickaël Guichard, straight after their victory had been confirmed. “We stayed very good in the last lap. I think we did a good TT!”
Austria’s Lässer took “everything to the limit”
The 23.2km MC5 event has a new UCI World Champion in Austria’s Franz-Joseph Lässer. Already a medalist at the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships, the 24-year-old was competing at the UCI Para-cycling Road Worlds for the first time, and he went straight for gold. Five-time UCI World Champion Abraham Gebru (NED) was circulating fourth fastest when he suffered a mechanical, and France’s Dorian Foulon was fastest at the first time check with Elouan Gardon (USA) second. But Lässer’s strong style and negative split gave him a 15-sec win over Foulon, who had to settle for silver for a third time.
“Honestly it’s incredible… Everything went well, taking everything to the limit and pushing so hard… like never before,” said Lässer. “I had one corner where I almost crashed out, and then I had to stay super focussed, just not overdoing it.”
Canada’s super-motivated Hayward wins MC3
Taking on a strong French contingent in the MC3 ITT, Canada’s Alexandre Hayward swapped the first position throughout the race with France’s Louis Hubert who bravely pushed traction to the limit on Ronse’s roads. Hayward brought it home for the gold with an 8.5-second advantage over Hubert with Britain’s Finlay Graham third.
“It’s hard to put into words. I made a lot of changes and I wasn’t sure how this year was going to go,” said Alexandre Hayward. “The only thing that was keeping me motivated was the idea of doing this interview after becoming UCI World Champion. “I think anyone who comes to the World Champs wants to be UCI World Champion and it’s nice to tick that box!”
Australia’s Forster: “I’m humbled”
After a lunchtime downpour, Ronse’s spectators saw Alana Forster become Australia’s newest UCI World Champion at the age of 39. After ITT medals at the Paris Paralympics and 2023 World Championships, and a road race medal at the UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships last year, Forster claimed her first rainbow jersey. She finished the WC5 ITT almost two minutes faster than Great Britain’s Morgan Newberry and New Zealand’s Nicole Murray.
“It’s been a long time coming, it’s something I’ve worked hard towards,” said Alana Forster. “With such great competitors I’m humbled to be competing at this level. Cycling is truly a global sport so I’m over the moon.”
Australia’s Neyland from start to finish
The women’s C4 time trial saw another Australian victory as Tara Neyland put together a dominant performance in the 23.2km race, hitting the fastest time at every checkpoint, and leaving nothing to chance.
Neyland – a multi-disciplinary cyclist in her first UCI World Championships – had to fend off a resurgent Grace Norman (USA), while another Australian, Meg Lemon, held on to third place despite a similarly close battle with another American rider, the highly decorated Samantha Bosco.
Australia’s Clayton-Goodie brings it home!
The final event of the second day in Ronse, the Women’s 11.6km C1 time trial, saw another spirited performance from another irrepressible Aussie. Tahlia Clayton-Goodie was on a high after winning gold medals in both the ITT and the road race in Ostend and Bruges last time she visited Belgium, for the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup.
“It’s something that I always wanted but I never really thought it would happen, so it’s kinda cool!” said Tahlia Clayton-Goodie. “The rain made it exciting, I had a bit of an off, I got back up. I worried about the cobbles in the wet but forgot about the rest of the course in the wet. It was great to have so many people around the course!”
Speed. Power. Glory. ⚡
— UCI Para-Cycling (@UCI_paracycling) August 29, 2025
Day 2️⃣ at #Ronse2025 delivered non-stop thrills as riders from the 12 classes battled the clock in the Time Trials.
Every pedal stroke counted, every second mattered! ⏱️#ParaCycling #Ronse2025 pic.twitter.com/6is8F0BntC
Action in Ronse continues Saturday and Sunday with the road races.
Full results and race analyses
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.