A historic moment unfolded in the world of cycling as Poland secured the first-ever gold medal in the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships Team Relay. The mixed-team event, part of the championships since 2013, was officially recognized as a World Championship for the first time this year, awarding rainbow jerseys and UCI medals.
A team of four riders, including at least one male and one female, a rider over 40, and a rider over 50, competed in a short criterium city circuit. Each rider completed three laps before making the relay to their teammate.
Despite a strong attack from the Dutch team during the third relay, Poland, Belgium, Finland, and Canada remained in contention. It was Poland’s Wojciech Szczepanik who made a decisive move on the second-to-last lap, overtaking the Dutch team and ultimately securing a 15-second victory to a group of 7 sprinting for silver.
Poland’s winning strategy involved starting with their oldest male rider, followed by the female, a male over 40, and finishing with the younger male. This approach, combined with the strong performance of each rider, proved to be a successful formula.
Anna Witczak, Wojciech Szczepanik, Jakub Rucinski, and Maciej Rogulski became the inaugural world champions in the team relay event. Belgium, represented by Elke Timperman, Bjorn De Decker, Christophe Demits, and Kurt Leuntjens, claimed silver, while the Czech Republic, with Jitka Rakova, Petr Hampl, Jan Malir, and Karel Petera, secured bronze.
The winning team averaged an impressive speed of 44.67 km/h on the 2.2km city center circuit, which included two U-turns and two 90-degree turns.
