Viktória Chladoňová won the Women Under-23 road race at the world championships in Montréal after a contest that demanded more than a fast finish. Over ten laps and 134 kilometres, the repeated climb on Mont-Royal shaped the race. As the field split late on, Canada’s Isabella Holmgren, Slovakia’s Chladoňová and Belgium’s Fleur Moors remained together. Moors lost contact in the final kilometres, while Holmgren made two more attempts to break clear.
Chladoňová stayed with her rival and won the long finishing sprint; Holmgren took silver and Moors bronze. The result stands out in the context of the Slovak rider’s earlier work. In 2025 she finished second in both the Under-23 road race and individual time trial. In 2024 she became Junior Mountain Bike Cross-country World Champion and also earned junior road medals. Her record includes medals at cyclo-cross world championships too.
That mix of disciplines helps explain the demands of the Montréal course: the climbs called for repeated changes of pace, while the outcome came down to a sprint after a long effort. Success in one discipline does not automatically carry over to another, but Chladoňová used her range of skills in the race she faced. The Montréal gold adds an Under-23 road title to the junior mountain bike world title already on her record.