The start order has been confirmed for the women’s under-23 individual time trial at the 2026 UCI Road World Championships in Montréal, with 52 riders from 31 nations racing for the rainbow jersey on Monday 21 September.
Georgette Vignonfodo of Benin will be the first rider down the ramp at 08:58:30 local time, with 90-second intervals separating the field. Slovakia’s Viktória Chladoňová, silver medallist at the 2025 World Championships, starts last at 10:15.
The closing part of the order contains most of the riders expected to establish the fastest times. Australian champion Felicity Wilson-Haffenden starts at 10:13:30, immediately before Chladoňová, with Justyna Czapla, Tabea Huys, Ava Holmgren, Megan Arens and Paula Ostiz all appearing during the preceding eight minutes.
A new champion is guaranteed. Zoe Bäckstedt won the inaugural standalone women’s U23 time trial in Kigali last year but has chosen to race in the elite category in Montréal rather than defend her title.
ProCyclingUK covered Bäckstedt’s dominant 2025 victory in the women’s U23 World Championships time trial, where Chladoňová finished second and Wilson-Haffenden fourth.
Women’s U23 World Championships time trial 2026 race details
Date: Monday 21 September 2026
Start: Avenue du Parc, Montréal
Finish: Parc Jeanne-Mance, Montréal
Distance: 20.3km
Elevation gain: 145 metres
First rider: 08:58:30 local / 13:58:30 BST
Final rider: 10:15 local / 15:15 BST
Start interval: 90 seconds
Defending champion: Zoe Bäckstedt, not defending after moving into the elite event
The 20.3km course is considerably shorter than the 39.2km route used for both elite time trials on Sunday, putting more emphasis on maintaining speed from the opening kilometres rather than managing a near-hour-long effort.
The full programme and route information for Montréal can be found in ProCyclingUK’s 2026 UCI Road World Championships course guide.
UK viewers can watch the race live on TNT Sports and HBO Max, with coverage scheduled to begin at 13:50 BST. The wider broadcast schedule is available in the 2026 World Championships TV and streaming guide.
Full women’s U23 World Championships time trial 2026 start list
Times below are shown in Montréal local time and BST.
| Order | Bib | Rider | Nation | Local time | BST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 54 | Georgette Vignonfodo | Benin | 08:58:30 | 13:58:30 |
| 2 | 53 | Jazmin Puac | Guatemala | 09:00:00 | 14:00:00 |
| 3 | 52 | Camille Chasteau de Balyon | Mauritius | 09:01:30 | 14:01:30 |
| 4 | 51 | Haixin Dong | China | 09:03:00 | 14:03:00 |
| 5 | 50 | Shafa Al Zahra | Indonesia | 09:04:30 | 14:04:30 |
| 6 | 49 | Rena Tanaka | Japan | 09:06:00 | 14:06:00 |
| 7 | 48 | Mieraf Aregawi | Ethiopia | 09:07:30 | 14:07:30 |
| 8 | 47 | Mariate Byukusenge | Rwanda | 09:09:00 | 14:09:00 |
| 9 | 46 | Florencia Monsalvez | Chile | 09:10:30 | 14:10:30 |
| 10 | 44 | Celia Torres Arias | Spain | 09:12:00 | 14:12:00 |
| 11 | 43 | Sidney Swierenga | Canada | 09:13:30 | 14:13:30 |
| 12 | 42 | Nadia Hartman | Poland | 09:15:00 | 14:15:00 |
| 13 | 41 | Febe Jooris | Belgium | 09:16:30 | 14:16:30 |
| 14 | 40 | Angie Londono | Colombia | 09:18:00 | 14:18:00 |
| 15 | 39 | Nihayatuzzain Asshofi | Indonesia | 09:19:30 | 14:19:30 |
| 16 | 38 | Magdalena Leis | Germany | 09:21:00 | 14:21:00 |
| 17 | 37 | Olympia Norrid-Mortensen | Denmark | 09:22:30 | 14:22:30 |
| 18 | 36 | Sofia Ungerova | Slovakia | 09:24:00 | 14:24:00 |
| 19 | 35 | Lidia Cusack | United States | 09:25:30 | 14:25:30 |
| 20 | 34 | Nienke Vinke | Netherlands | 09:27:00 | 14:27:00 |
| 21 | 33 | Eliška Kvasničkova | Czech Republic | 09:28:30 | 14:28:30 |
| 22 | 32 | Elisabeth Ebras | Estonia | 09:30:00 | 14:30:00 |
| 23 | 31 | Marlen Rojas | Chile | 09:31:30 | 14:31:30 |
| 24 | 30 | Liv Wenzel | Luxembourg | 09:33:00 | 14:33:00 |
| 25 | 29 | Wilma Aintila | Finland | 09:34:30 | 14:34:30 |
| 26 | 28 | Natalie Revelo | Ecuador | 09:36:00 | 14:36:00 |
| 27 | 27 | Tsige Kiros | Ethiopia | 09:37:30 | 14:37:30 |
| 28 | 26 | Ayana Mizutani | Japan | 09:39:00 | 14:39:00 |
| 29 | 25 | Jazilla Mwamikazi | Rwanda | 09:40:30 | 14:40:30 |
| 30 | 24 | Mackenzie Coupland | Australia | 09:42:00 | 14:42:00 |
| 31 | 23 | Qing Zhao | China | 09:43:30 | 14:43:30 |
| 32 | 22 | Delfina Dibella | Argentina | 09:45:00 | 14:45:00 |
| 33 | 21 | Kylee Hanel | United States | 09:46:30 | 14:46:30 |
| 34 | 20 | Maja Tracka | Poland | 09:48:00 | 14:48:00 |
| 35 | 19 | Milana Ushakova | Ukraine | 09:49:30 | 14:49:30 |
| 36 | 18 | Mara Winter | Switzerland | 09:51:00 | 14:51:00 |
| 37 | 17 | Silje Antvorskov | Denmark | 09:52:30 | 14:52:30 |
| 38 | 15 | Natalia Garzon | Colombia | 09:54:00 | 14:54:00 |
| 39 | 14 | Julia Kopecky | Czech Republic | 09:55:30 | 14:55:30 |
| 40 | 13 | Sophia Sammons | Australia | 09:57:00 | 14:57:00 |
| 41 | 12 | Laura Lizette Sander | Estonia | 09:58:30 | 14:58:30 |
| 42 | 11 | Luca Vierstraete | Belgium | 10:00:00 | 15:00:00 |
| 43 | 10 | Gwen Nothum | Luxembourg | 10:01:30 | 15:01:30 |
| 44 | 9 | Amandine Muller | France | 10:03:00 | 15:03:00 |
| 45 | 8 | Oda Aune Gissinger | Norway | 10:04:30 | 15:04:30 |
| 46 | 7 | Paula Ostiz | Spain | 10:06:00 | 15:06:00 |
| 47 | 6 | Megan Arens | Netherlands | 10:07:30 | 15:07:30 |
| 48 | 5 | Ava Holmgren | Canada | 10:09:00 | 15:09:00 |
| 49 | 4 | Tabea Huys | Austria | 10:10:30 | 15:10:30 |
| 50 | 3 | Justyna Czapla | Germany | 10:12:00 | 15:12:00 |
| 51 | 2 | Felicity Wilson-Haffenden | Australia | 10:13:30 | 15:13:30 |
| 52 | 1 | Viktória Chladoňová | Slovakia | 10:15:00 | 15:15:00 |
What time do the main contenders start?
The final seven riders contain several of the strongest candidates for the podium.
Paula Ostiz: 10:06 / 15:06 BST
Megan Arens: 10:07:30 / 15:07:30 BST
Ava Holmgren: 10:09 / 15:09 BST
Tabea Huys: 10:10:30 / 15:10:30 BST
Justyna Czapla: 10:12 / 15:12 BST
Felicity Wilson-Haffenden: 10:13:30 / 15:13:30 BST
Viktória Chladoňová: 10:15 / 15:15 BST
Chladoňová earns the final starting position after finishing second to Bäckstedt in Kigali last year. She was still only 18 when she took silver and has continued to build her road career during 2026 alongside a strong cyclocross programme.
Wilson-Haffenden starts immediately ahead of her and arrives with particularly strong recent evidence against the clock. The 20-year-old won the Australian elite time trial championship in January despite still being eligible for the U23 category and was second to Marlen Reusser at the Chrono Féminin de Gatineau in the final week before Worlds.
Her 2026 Australian title is covered in ProCyclingUK’s Australian national time trial report.
Chladoňová, Wilson-Haffenden and Czapla return from the 2025 top 10
The absence of Bäckstedt and 2025 bronze medallist Federica Venturelli leaves several of last year’s leading riders with a much clearer route towards the rainbow jersey.
Chladoňová finished second in Kigali, 1:50 behind a dominant Bäckstedt, while Wilson-Haffenden was fourth after leading Chladoňová at the intermediate checkpoints before losing time late in the race.
Czapla was seventh, Huys ninth and Holmgren 10th.
That gives five of Monday’s final starters experience of finishing inside the top 10 at the first standalone women’s U23 time trial World Championship.
The terrain is very different this time. Kigali’s 22.6km course contained substantially more climbing, while Montréal offers a shorter and faster 20.3km test. The change should give the stronger specialists against the clock a better chance of maintaining speed throughout rather than having the result shaped as heavily by climbing ability.
Wilson-Haffenden leads a strong Australian trio
Australia have three starters and all appear in the second half of the order.
Mackenzie Coupland starts at 09:42 local / 14:42 BST, with Sophia Sammons at 09:57 / 14:57 BST and Wilson-Haffenden at 10:13:30 / 15:13:30 BST.
Wilson-Haffenden has the strongest recent time trial results of the three, but both Coupland and Sammons have good reasons to target a high finish.
Sammons won the Australian U23 time trial title at the start of the season, while Coupland finished fourth against a strong field at the Chrono Féminin de Gatineau on 16 September.
That race provided a particularly useful preview of Monday’s championship because several of the same U23 riders competed against elite opposition. ProCyclingUK’s Chrono Féminin de Gatineau preview looked at Wilson-Haffenden, Coupland, Holmgren and Huys as riders building specifically towards Montréal.
Megan Arens steps up after junior rainbow jersey
Megan Arens gives the Netherlands another strong time trial prospect at 10:07:30.
Arens won the junior individual time trial world title in 2025 before stepping into the Women’s WorldTour this season. Her first professional year has included a mid-season switch from Picnic PostNL to AG Insurance-Soudal, giving her a fresh environment during the second half of the year.
ProCyclingUK covered that move in Megan Arens makes immediate move from Picnic PostNL to AG Insurance-Soudal.
Montréal is her first chance to add a U23 time trial rainbow jersey immediately after winning the junior equivalent.
Ava Holmgren races on home roads
Ava Holmgren is one of Canada’s strongest opportunities in the race and starts at 10:09 local time.
The Lidl-Trek rider finished 10th in Kigali last year and has since continued to develop across road, cyclocross and mountain biking. She is also a former Canadian U23 time trial champion.
Her Ava Holmgren rider profile charts a career which has already taken her into the Women’s WorldTour while she remains eligible for age-group championships.
Sidney Swierenga is Canada’s other starter, beginning much earlier at 09:13:30.
Great Britain have no rider in the U23 time trial
There is no British rider among the 52 starters.
Bäckstedt remains eligible by age but has moved into the elite category for the 2026 World Championships, meaning she will not defend the title she won so decisively in Rwanda.
Her absence fundamentally changes the race.
Bäckstedt won by 1:50 last year, an extraordinary margin for a World Championship time trial of only 22.6km. Without her in the category, Monday’s contest looks considerably more open, particularly with Chladoňová, Wilson-Haffenden, Czapla, Huys and Holmgren all returning from last year’s top 10.
The sequence of strong riders at the end of the start order should make the final 15 minutes particularly important. Ostiz begins that closing run at 10:06, before Arens, Holmgren, Huys, Czapla and Wilson-Haffenden progressively set the benchmarks that Chladoňová will have to beat as the final rider on the course.
