Canadian handcyclist Maarten Duif secured his inaugural world-championship medal by clinching silver in the men’s H1 road race on Sunday in Huntsville, Alabama. Hailing from Carleton Place, Ontario, Duif was outperformed only by defending world title holder Fabrizio Cornegliani of Italy, who completed the 55.2-kilometer race in one hour and 59 minutes and 13 seconds, marking his 11th world medal. Czechia’s Patrik Jahoda secured bronze for the second consecutive year.
Expressing his thoughts in a press release, Duif mentioned, “I didn’t think I had it in the start and then it all just came together in that first lap. Very good competitors out here and I tried to make the most of it, and then at the end I claimed silver and it’s such an honor 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.”
The 2026 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships are nearing conclusion, with Canada’s third medal secured. Michael Sametz and Alexandre Hayward clinched silver and bronze, respectively, in the men’s C3 individual time trial on Saturday. Duif had previously attained the fifth position in the men’s H1 time trial on Friday.
Originally from Holland, Duif had an impressive performance in the recent World Cup, where he led Canada with four medals, including two silvers in the road race and two bronzes in the time trial across the stops in Gistel, Belgium, and Abruzzo, Italy. His journey in the sport commenced less than ten years ago when he acquired his first handcycle in 2018, starting competitive cycling the following year and gradually enhancing his strength and stamina through rigorous training on the roads.
