Canadian cyclist Magdeleine Vallieres emerged victorious in the women’s elite road race at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships held in Kigali, Rwanda. Representing the U.S.-based EF Education-Oatly team, the 24-year-old from Sherbrooke, Quebec, made a decisive breakaway on the final ascent of the Kigali circuit to secure a historic win, becoming the first Canadian to clinch an elite road race world title.
Expressing her elation, Vallieres shared, “It was my dream to win it, and it’s true now. It’s crazy,” as she celebrated her triumph on the podium alongside teammate Alison Jackson. Covering the 164.6-kilometer course in a time of four hours 34 minutes 48 seconds, Vallieres outpaced New Zealand’s Niamh Fisher-Black, who finished 23 seconds behind in second place, with Spain’s Mavi Garcia securing the third spot, trailing by an additional four seconds.
Reflecting on her strategy, Vallieres credited her team’s support, stating, “The girls believed in me, so I believed in myself and I really committed to going for it. I prepared well. I knew I was on good form, so I just told myself I didn’t want to have any regrets.” Vallieres’ success was commemorated with a tweet from the UCI praising her historic achievement.
Having trained at a pre-race altitude camp with her teammates, Vallieres strategically joined a late-race breakaway and set a relentless pace within the group. Seizing the opportunity at the base of the final climb, Vallieres executed her winning move, acknowledging the strong competition from Fisher-Black but ultimately triumphing through her decisive push.
“I saw that she was fading a little bit, so I told myself I just have to go all in now and try and it worked out in the end. I don’t believe it yet, for sure not. It is great to do it here and with the worlds next year in Montreal, it’s perfect. I’ve been dreaming about this for a while now,” Vallieres expressed, looking forward to future challenges in her cycling career.
