After two days of time trials on 4-5 September, the 2026 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Huntsville, Alabama (USA), will continue with the road races and the mixed team relay on 6-7 September.
In this second of two previews, we focus on the last two days of racing.
Click here for our time trial preview.
Multi-lap road races
The road races will unfold on a fast, rolling 13.8km circuit with (76m of elevation gain) around Cummings Research Park. Riders will complete between two and eight laps of the circuit – for a total distance of 27.6km to 110.4km – depending on their sport class.
We look at some of the favourites.
Federico Andreoli (ITA), MB
Can Italian Federico Andreoli and his pilot Francesco Di Felice retain the title they won so impressively in Belgium last year? In Ronse, they delivered a tactical masterclass, using their opponents slipstreams during climbs before launching a race-winning attack. Tristan Bangma and Patrick Bos (NED), three-time UCI World Champions in the road race, gave chase but could only finish fifth. Andreoli and Di Felice currently top the UCI rankings, buoyed by victory in round one of this year's UCI Para cycling Road World Cup in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Sophie Unwin (GBR), WB
Great Britain's Sophie Unwin and pilot Jenny Holl finished third in the road race at the 2025 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, behind winner Katie-George Dunlevy (and pilot Linda Kelly) and runner-up Patrycja Kuter (and pilot Karolina Kolkowicz). However, their 2026 form is impressive, with road race victories at both the Gistel (Belgium) and Abruzzo (Italy) rounds of the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup. The pair - already crowned UCI World Champions in 2021 -, start as favourites but Dunlevy and Kelly are sure to push them hard.
Tim Celen (BEL), MT2
Belgium's Tim Celen is reigning MT2 UCI World Champion in both the road race and time trial. Last year was not the first time that he had completed the double, having also done so in 2022, building on his road race title in 2021. The 28-year-old seems unstoppable, having added the 2026 UEC European titles in both specialities to his collection at Maniago (Italy) in June. He will, however, face strong competition from Great Britain's Calum O'Neill, who arrives at the UCI World Championships with two UCI World Cup victories in the road race this year.
Quan Shiqi (CHN), WT1
Quan Shiqi is looking strong in the WT1 sport class. She has been virtually untouchable in the 2026 UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup, winning four of her six races (three road races and one time trial). At just 18, her UCI World Championships résumé is understandably limited, but she looks the most likely to challenge current UCI World Champion Marieke van Soest of the Netherlands.
Florian Jouanny (FRA), MH2
Florian Jouanny is one of this generation's finest handcyclists and arrives in Huntsville as the MH2 sport class’s favourite. The 34-year-old Frenchman is a two-time road race Paralympic Champion, having won gold at both Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. He is also a multiple UCI World Champion, taking the road race title at three of the last four UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, most recently last year. He has carried that form into 2026, winning both the road race and time trial at the Gistel and Abruzzo rounds of the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup.
Chantal Haenen (NED), WH5
Chantal Haenen will be the one to beat in the women’s H5 road race. The 29-year-old Dutch rider is the reigning UCI World Champion, having won both the road race and the time trial at Ronse in 2025. She also took the road race title in 2021 and 2024. Her 2026 form is strong, with a road race win in Gistel, second place in Abruzzo, and the UEC European title.
Xiaomei Wang (CHN), WC3
China's Xiaomei Wang has nine UCI World Championship titles in the WC3 sport class to her name, including two in the road race (2019 and 2023). She has dominated the road races at the 2026 UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup, winning all three rounds. Her main challengers are likely to be France's Tifany Huot-Marchand and Japan's 55-year-old Keiko Sugiura, whose form shows no sign of fading. Sugiura's palmares includes multiple UCI world titles on the road and track, as well as Paralympic gold medals, including in Paris 2024.
Finlay Graham (GBR), MC3
On paper, the competition in the MC3 sport class looks set to be one of the most hotly contested events at this year’s UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships. France's Louis Hubert currently tops the UCI World Cup rankings after victories in Chiang Mai and Abruzzo. Behind the 19-year-old is compatriot Thomas Peyroton-Dartet, who won in Gistel. Then there's Britain's 2020 Paralympic gold medallist Benjamin Watson. All of them, however, will have their work cut out to beat Finlay Graham. Although he just lost out to Hubert at June's UEC Para-cycling Road European Championships, he is the reigning MC3 road race UCI World Champion and has shown he can perform when the pressure is on.
Mixed Team Relay
On Monday evening, the mixed Men and Women H1-5 team relay will close competition on a mostly-flat 2.1km out-and-back course. All nations will have their eyes on France, who have won the title for the last three years.
Para cycling sport divisions
C – Cycle: conventional bike with adaptations if necessary
T – Tricycle: three-wheeled bike
H – Handcycle
B – Tandem: for visually impaired athletes with sighted pilot
The first three divisions are divided into different sport classes – C (1-5), T (1-2) and H (1-5) –, with the lower the number indicating a higher level of impairment.