Mags Owns Worlds

The Elite World Championships in Kigali demanded more with every lap. Heat pressed off the cobbles. Climbs stacked sharp and steep. The circuit cut the field down until only those with enough staying resilience remained. 

Magdeleine Vallieres rode with patience. She matched the tempo on the climbs, kept her speed through the descents, and held firm as the race shed riders. When the decisive break pushed clear, she closed the gap herself. From there the front tightened to ten, and Vallieres absorbed every attack. On the penultimate climb she worked with García and Fisher-Black to pull clear of the rest, setting the stage for the final fight.

As the final ascent kicked, Vallieres attacked. Her effort was clean, sharp, decisive. García and Fisher-Black couldn’t hold her wheel. Mags crested alone and held her effort to the line.

The gap held firm. The finish drew near, and with it, history. Vallieres crossed alone. Canada’s first Elite World Championship. The second professional win of her career—and the greatest to date.

When the rainbow jersey draped across her shoulders, it carried more than a victory. It carried a nation into cycling’s record, a rider into legend, and Cannondale into another page of history.