Top Ten Finishes for McGowan and MacSorley as Irish Campaign Opens in Alabama
Steven McGowan made an impressive World Championship debut in Huntsville on Friday, finishing seventh in the Men’s H3 individual time trial as Ireland’s campaign got under way at the 2026 UCI Para Cycling Road World Championships.
McGowan completed the 29.2 km course in 43:16.52. He reached the halfway point in eighth place with a time of 21:06.01 before gaining a position on the second lap to finish seventh in a field of 20 riders.
McGowan said: “I’m absolutely delighted. I said from the start that if I could get into the top 12 or top 10 I’d be happy, so to finish seventh, my best result of the year so far, is brilliant. The heat made a huge difference. By the second lap my body was overheating, so they were very difficult racing conditions.”
Belgium’s Marvin Odent claimed the world title in 40:54.12, with Micha Wäfler of Switzerland second and Germany’s Daniel Ulmann third. This was McGowan’s first World Championships, following his World Cup and European Championship debuts earlier this season. He was also crowned Irish national time trial champion in June.
Allister MacSorley also recorded a top ten finish for Ireland, placing ninth in the Men’s H4 individual time trial. His time of 42:51.31 over the same 29.2 km course moved him from 10th place at halfway into ninth on the final standings.
MacSorley said: “I’m happy with that result. The aim was to get into the top 10, so to finish ninth is pretty cool. The conditions were brutal, with the heat and humidity and two laps of a long, rolling course. I tried to pace myself as much as possible on the first lap, but the second lap was just pain. In the final three kilometres, I could taste blood at the back of my throat.”
Austria’s Thomas Frühwirth won the Men’s H4 title in 39:11.50. MacSorley was competing at the World Championships for the first time since 2023 and arrived in Alabama following mixed handcycle team relay silver at the UCI World Cup in Gistel, fifth place in the European time trial and an Irish national road race title this season.
Day Two will see six Irish entries take to the time trial course. Richael Timothy and Heather Jameson open Saturday’s programme in the Women’s C3 and C2 events, followed by Ireland’s two men’s and two women’s tandem pairings.
Day One Results
Friday, 4 September
| Irish Athlete | Event | Place | Time |
| Steven McGowan | Men’s H3 individual time trial | 7th | 43:16.52 |
| Allister MacSorley | Men’s H4 individual time trial | 9th | 42:51.31 |
Day Two Schedule
Saturday, 5 September. Times below are each rider’s official start time. Ireland is six hours ahead of Huntsville.
| IRL | US | Irish Athlete | Event |
| 5:04PM | 11:04AM | Richael Timothy | Women’s C3 time trial 14.6 km |
| 5:16PM | 11:16AM | Heather Jameson | Women’s C2 time trial 14.6 km |
| 8:10PM | 2:10PM | Ciarán O’Toole / Con Scully (Pilot) | Men’s B time trial 29.2 km |
| 8:12PM | 2:12PM | Damien Vereker / Mitchell McLaughlin (Pilot) | Men’s B time trial 29.2 km |
| 9:23PM | 3:23PM | Sinead Greenan / Alice Sharpe (Pilot) | Women’s B time trial 29.2 km |
| 9:27PM | 3:27PM | Katie-George Dunlevy / Linda Kelly (Pilot) | Women’s B time trial 29.2 km |
