2025 World Cycling Championships: Australia defends mixed relay title after thriller in the women's relay
Sebastian Lindner
· 24.09.2025
Michael Matthews, Jay Vine and Luke Plapp had already sent the Australian women with Amanda Spratt, Brodie Chapman and Felicity Wilson-Haffenden into the race with a 33-second lead over France. However, the French with Bruno Armirail, Paul Seixas and Pavel Sivakov as well as Cédrine Kerbaol, Juliette Labous and Maeva Squiban moved closer and closer to the front as the race progressed.
Switzerland was in the women's section after the first measuring point. Stefan Küng, Jan Christen and Mauro Schmid had already left their women 34 seconds behind at the transition. But Marlen Reusser, Noemi Rüegg and Jasmin Liechti had quickly turned this into a three-second lead over Australia and a 20-second lead over France. But then Reusser had to let her two companions go after a defect. Although the world champion in the women's individual time trial came back for the final cobblestone climb, the gap was already too big.
Germany cannot fulfil its own expectations
The German team with Miguel Heidemann, Jonas Rutsch and U23 man Louis Leidert crossed the line 1:37 minutes behind Australia. Even then, all hopes of a medal were gone. Although Antonia Niedermaier, Franziska Koch and the U23 starter Justyna Czapla, who had been brought into the team at short notice to replace Liane Lippert, who was not 100 per cent fit, were able to make up some ground, the German relay team was still 1:34 minutes short of gold at the finish. Italy in fourth place with Mattia Cattaneo, Marco Frigo, Matteo Sobrero, Soraya Paladin, Monica Trinca Colonel and Federica Venturelli was ten seconds faster.
"It's not often that we get the chance to ride with other Australians in an all-Australian team, so after our win last year we were fully focussed on this," said Matthews after the victory on behalf of his relay team. Spratt added from the women's perspective: "I knew going into the cobbles that it was going to be hell, just hang in there and keep going. Brodie was so strong in the last section that I knew I had to hang on and that it was going to be close. Matt White, our director, was shouting at us to sprint, sprint, sprint."
World Championship 2025 - Mixed Relay Results
- Australia 54:30 minutes
- France +0:05
- Switzerland +0:10
- Italy +1:14
- Germany +1:33
- Spain +1:55
- Belgium +3:49
- Ukraine +6:03
How the mixed relay went at the 2025 World Championships
15 teams, starting in three blocks, took on the course. For men and women, who all completed the same course, 20.9 kilometres each were on the programme. Benin kicked things off in the block with four African teams and China. It was the Chinese who set the fastest time in the first block with 1:01:08 hours.
The team from the UCI World Cycling Centre opened the second block, but was unable to keep up with the competition in either the men's or women's races. It was the Spaniards who dominated the second block. In the men's race, the Belgian team was still within reach with 23 seconds, but two and a half minutes behind the women.
The final block then repeatedly delivered new best times for the men. Firstly, the French men improved Spain's time by 28 seconds. And it was a good time. Italy was 13 seconds slower, Switzerland missed the French trio by just under a second. Germany didn't play a role, already a good minute behind at this point. And Australia wasn't there yet. The men from Down Under were another 33 seconds faster than France. This meant that Germany crossed the line with only the seventh-best time.
Reusser defect deprives Switzerland of gold
In the women's race, however, everything was turned upside down again. Australia had already squandered their lead at the first intermediate time. Switzerland had made up 37 seconds and taken the lead, while France was third, 20 seconds behind. Germany had improved to fifth place. But shortly after the measurement, Reusser had a defect and had to change bikes.
For the next intermediate time, this meant that Australia was back in the lead. 14 seconds ahead of the French, 29 ahead of Switzerland. Germany remained fifth, one and a half minutes behind Australia. Reusser was back with her team-mates for the cobblestone climb and took the lead. At the finish, this initially meant the new fastest time, well ahead of Spain. But then came the French. They were able to almost maintain their lead over the Swiss and took the lead by 13 seconds.
By the time Italy crossed the finish line, the team was in third place, one place ahead of the German women. The last team on the course was therefore to decide the medals. And it ended well for the Australians, who defended a five-second lead over France.
