Canada's Maarten Duif races to silver at Para road cycling world championships

Canadian handcyclist Maarten Duif captured his first career world-championship medal with silver in the men's H1 road race on Sunday in Huntsville, Ala.

The Carleton Place, Ont., native was only bested by defending world champion Fabrizio Cornegliani of Italy, who won the 55.2-kilometre race in one hour 59:13 minutes for his 11th career world medal. Czechia's Patrik Jahoda earned bronze for the second straight year.

“I didn’t think I had it in the start and then it all just came together in that first lap,” Duif said in a press release. “Very good competitors out here and I tried to make the most it, and then at the end I claimed silver and it’s such an honour to have the Canadian jersey on.

"Set my goals ambitious for this, and it’s such a reality shock to come out with silver. It hasn’t hit yet but it’s coming.”

It's Canada's third medal at the 2026 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, which conclude Monday. Michael Sametz and Alexandre Hayward claimed silver and bronze, respectively, in the men's C3 individual time trial on Saturday.

Duif was fifth in the men's H1 time trial on Friday.

Canada's Sametz earns silver, Hayward bronze in men's C3 time trial at Para road cycling worlds

Duif, who was born in Holland, was coming off a standout World Cup campaign that saw him lead Canada with four medals across the two stops in Gistel, Belgium and Abruzzo, Italy, with a pair of silvers in the road race and two bronzes in the time trial.

Duif's journey in the sport began less than a decade ago. He purchased his first handcycle in 2018 and began competing the following year, steadily developing strength and endurance through long hours of training on the roads.