At the 2026 UCI Road World Championships in Montreal, Spanish cyclists Héctor Álvarez and Alejandra Neira delivered standout performances, capturing a silver medal in the under-23 road race and a gold medal in the junior women’s road race respectively.
A Brutal 140-Kilometer Test in Montreal
The under-23 men’s road race proved to be an attritional test across 140 kilometers on the Montreal course. Ashlin Barry, riding for the Visma development squad, secured the gold medal on his 19th birthday. Barry launched a decisive breakaway during the third lap alongside French rider Rémi Arsac, Belgian competitor Matteo Vanhuffel, Danish racer Kristian Egholm, and British cyclist Matthew Dodd.
Álvarez Sprints to Silver in the Chase Group
As the breakaway group splintered, Barry maintained his lead against a chase group featuring Spain’s Héctor Álvarez, Italy’s Matteo Scalco, Belgium’s Niels Driesen, France’s Aubin Sparfel, and Norway’s Jesper Stiansen. Álvarez secured the silver medal in a sprint finish 53 seconds behind the winner, edging out Stiansen, Sparfel, Driesen, and Scalco, who contested the remaining podium positions.
Building an International Palmarès
For Álvarez, a native of Benidorm, the silver adds to a bronze medal won earlier in the week during the under-23 time trial in Montreal. His international championship palmarès also includes a bronze medal in the road race at the 2025 European Championships in France. Domestically, Álvarez finished sixth in both disciplines at the Spanish national championships.
Transitioning to the Lidl-Trek WorldTeam
Looking ahead to the professional ranks, Álvarez signed an agreement at age 18 with Lidl-Trek, competing currently with their development arm, Lidl-Trek Future Racing. He is scheduled to step up to the UCI WorldTeam main squad in 2027 after turning 20 in December 2026.
Neira Claims Junior Gold for Spain
Later in the program, the Spanish delegation added a junior title when Alejandra Neira triumphed in the junior women’s road race. The Galician cyclist managed a dynamic race scenario before joining a decisive late breakaway alongside Italian rider Matilde Rossignoli and Swiss competitor Anja Grossmann. Neira sprinted to victory at the finish line ahead of Rossignoli and Grossmann, with all three recording identical finishing times as Poland’s Maria Okruciska placed fourth.
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