UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships: double win at home for Celen

Road race gold after time trial win

The first of two days devoted to road races at the 2025 UCI Para-cycling Road World Champions saw local crowds celebrate their double UCI World Champion Tim Celen.

Two days after his victory in the individual time trial (ITT), the Belgian Tim Celen again rode to victory in Ronse, this time in the road race. After a four-way sprint at the end of the MT2 three-lap 35km course, he punched the air in victory. He has won the host nation’s only gold medals so far in this 14th edition of the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships.

It was a less fortunate affair for 2024 UCI World Champion Dennis Connors (USA), who crashed while leading the peloton in the early part of the race and was unable to finish. A core group of four settled with a fast pace, who would ultimately fight for the three podium places. Austria’s Wolfgang Steinbichler, Great Britain’s Felix Barrow and Germany’s Maximilian Jäger went with Celen. Living up to the gold bar tape on his Merckx bike, Celen raced masterfully, playing a tactical race with his breakaway partners.

Heading back into Ronse for the last time, the 27-year-old made a mighty attack with less than 1km remaining, triggering a chase by the remaining three in his group. Barrow reacted quickest to go after him, but Steinbichler responded well, going through to take the silver medal 3 seconds behind Celen.

Celen’s third rainbow jersey meant that he became one of the day’s celebrated double 2025 UCI World Champions, repeating his feat from 2022 in Baie-Comeau, Canada.

“Yeah I think it is incredible,” said Tim Celen. “It’s two times that I won here this weekend, and I can’t describe it. It was my biggest goal to finish here as time trial UCI World Champion. It was also my goal here in the road race, but a little bit less. But it is beautiful, really beautiful.”

Handbike highlights

Early in the day France’s Florian Jouanny became a first time UCI World Champion in the MH2 road race. Having won the H2 ITT title for the third time earlier in the week, 33-year-old Jouanny is, for the first time, a double UCI World Champion.

It was a similar story in the 23.3km WT2 race. Switzerland’s Celine van Till has won ITT gold three years running, including this year in Belgium, but never achieved road race gold until now: “There were some attacks and when I had the opportunity to make a big attack I pushed so hard and knew I could not go on like that. But I had to ride my time trial to the end, 6 or 7km. It’s a big, big, big surprise for my team.”

Another athlete to add his first road race UCI world title to several victories against the clock, was Italy’s Fabrizio Cornegliani (MH1). He won his fourth ITT rainbow jersey and his first in the road race (after four silver medals).

Spain’s Manuela Vos van den Bouwhuijsen followed suit in the WH1. After her ITT gold and road race silver at the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road Worlds in Zurich, Switzerland, she took her first ITT – road race double this week in Ronse.

In the WH4 competition, Switzerland’s Sandra Fuhrer claimed her first UCI World Champion rainbow jersey, upgrading from the bronze medal in Zurich: “I can’t believe it yet, it’s amazing. [The course] was harder, because of the climbing, but I knew I had a good chance… It was great.”

There was also a new WH3 road race UCI World Champion in Australia’s Lauren Parker, who had previously won ITT rainbow stripes: “I’m so relieved, my arms are absolutely dead. As soon as I got a gap I thought I’d just go for it like I did in Paris [she won gold in the H1-4 road race at the Paris 2024 Paralympics].”

Another para-cyclist taking his first road title was Italy’s tricycle rider, Giorgio Farroni. He held on to riders in the T2 category for as long as possible, breaking away early from his fellow T1 competitors. Having taken silver in both races in 2024, the 48-year-old made it double gold in 2025: “After I won this race I am super happy. It’s the result of very hard work in the rest of this year.”

The final day of competition of the 2025 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships tomorrow will be devoted to the road races for the men’s and women’s B and C sport classes, followed by the mixed handbike team relay.

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.