Spain tops the medal table for the first time at a World Championships: 5 medals and 3 golds in Montréal

Spain has concluded the 2026 Montreal Cycling World Championships with an unprecedented result. For the first time in its history, the Spanish National Team finishes a Road World Championship at the top of the medal table, after adding five medals, with three golds, one silver, and one bronze.

The Netherlands finished behind with two golds, one silver, and one bronze, while Italy and Belgium also reached five medals, but with only one world title each. In a championship that awarded 13 rainbow jerseys, the three Spanish golds made the difference.

Benjamín Noval signs a historic double for Spain

The main Spanish protagonist was Benjamín Noval. At just 17 years old, the Asturian arrived in Montreal as one of the names to watch in the junior category and left Canada with two rainbow jerseys.

First, he was crowned junior world time trial champion, after completing the 20.3 kilometers in 25:17.35 and surpassing Belgian Vic De Smet by 6.35 seconds.

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Two days later, he won again, this time in the road race. Noval attacked at the beginning of the last two laps and completed the final 26.8 kilometers solo, crossing the finish line with a 42-second lead over Frenchman Simon Defrance.

With this double, Noval achieved something that until now had only been accomplished by Remco Evenepoel in the junior category: winning both the time trial and the road race at the same World Championship.

Alejandra Neira completes the gold hat-trick

The third Spanish title came from Alejandra Neira. The 18-year-old Spanish cyclist was crowned junior world champion in road after winning a sprint in an 80.4-kilometer race on the demanding Mont-Royal circuit.

Neira triumphed over Italian Matilde Rossignoli and Swiss Anja Grossmann to add a third rainbow jersey to a week that was already exceptional for Spanish cycling.

The result also confirmed a particularly significant circumstance: all three Spanish world titles came from the junior category.

Héctor Álvarez adds silver and bronze in under-23

The medal tally was completed by Héctor Álvarez, who managed to step onto the podium twice in the under-23 category.

First, he took bronze in the time trial, finishing 11.88 seconds behind Dutchman Ryan Gal. Four days later, he returned to the podium with silver in the road race, only surpassed by American Ashlin Barry.

Álvarez finished 53 seconds behind Barry, who attacked just under 29 kilometers from the finish and managed to maintain his lead to become world champion.

Thus, only three cyclists were enough to build the five Spanish medals: two golds from Noval, one gold from Neira, and one silver and one bronze from Álvarez.

A historic World Championship built from the grassroots

The Royal Spanish Cycling Federation has emphasized the origin of these results. After the World Championship, the RFEC described the five medals as the result of collective work involving families, clubs, schools, coaches, and regional federations.

José Vicioso, president of the RFEC, also linked the result directly to that training work and pointed out that the junior performances were the ones that raised the highest expectations before traveling to Canada.

The five medals of Spain in Montreal 2026

• Gold – Benjamín Noval | Men's junior time trial
• Gold – Benjamín Noval | Men's junior road
• Gold – Alejandra Neira | Women's junior road
• Silver – Héctor Álvarez | Men's under-23 road
• Bronze – Héctor Álvarez | Men's under-23 time trial