One course. Three rainbow jerseys.
Published: September 30, 2026
The Montréal World Championships were never going to be decided by a single effort.
The demanding circuits asked riders to repeat the same climbs again and again, each one adding another layer of fatigue, pressure and uncertainty to the race. Every acceleration had a cost. Every pedal stroke had to count.
Across three races, three riders found what they needed to go one step further: Brandon McNulty, Ashlin Barry and Viktória Chladoňová.
Trusting the spark
For Brandon McNulty, the road to the rainbow jersey was built on patience, endurance, and unwavering belief. Across 273.2 kilometers of relentless racing, the American rider stayed in the fight, absorbing every brutal climb and rhythm change before making his move when it mattered most. On a course where the final laps demanded repeated accelerations and sharp positioning, McNulty transformed hours of grit into one decisive, historic moment.
As he crossed the line to become World Champion, he reminded us of the sport’s quiet, mystical core, declaring that you have to believe in miracles. It was a tribute to that spiritual spark that lives inside every rider, a quiet force fed purely by instinct and the courage to dare.
A new name in the rainbows jersey
The same roads forged another world champion.
In the U23 race, Ashlin Barry stepped onto the relentless Montréal circuit, a grueling, unforgiving arena where the repetition of the climbs chipped away at the resolve of the peloton lap after lap. It was a race of attrition, where composure was just as vital as raw power. The young American rode with calculated poise, absorbing every acceleration, conserving every watt, and waiting patiently as the course wore the field down to its absolute limits.
When the moment finally arrived in the agonizing closing kilometers, Barry launched the performance of his career, a masterclass in timing and sheer grit that sealed the U23 World Championship title.
Different race. Different story. The exact same relentless pursuit of perfection.
From silver to rainbow
A year after winning silver in Kigali, Viktória Chladoňová returned to the U23 World Championships with unfinished business. The Slovak rider brought with her the resilience of a climber, the experience of a season spent testing herself at the highest level, and the confidence built through success in both mountain biking and cyclocross.
On Montréal’s challenging course, Chladoňová was one of the riders willing to make the race. Her repeated attacks on the climbs gradually reduced the field until only Fleur Moors and home favourite Isabella Holmgren could follow. From there, the race became a battle of patience, positioning and timing, with every acceleration testing the limits of the three riders at the front.
When Holmgren attacked in the closing kilometres, Chladoňová remained composed. The race came down to a two-rider sprint, and as the road rose towards the finish, she timed her effort perfectly to turn last year’s silver into a rainbow jersey.
The connection that remains
Over the course of hundreds of kilometers and countless changes in rhythm, even the smallest details become part of the performance.
We’ve designed the Ultimate Exceed Pro Edition with this idea in mind. Its monocoque carbon chassis provides a rigid, direct connection between the rider and the pedals, while the BOA® Li2 closure system enables precise micro-adjustments throughout the ride. Lightweight, race-ready, and responsive, it is engineered to make that connection feel as direct as possible.
When every pedal stroke matters, nothing should come between the rider and the road.
Three riders. Three rainbow jerseys. One demanding course.
The same climbs, repeated again and again.
Thousands of pedal strokes, leading to two unforgettable moments.
