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2026 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships Team Relay Results: Poland Takes Gold After Three-Way Dead Heat

The Team Relay at the 2026 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships produced one of the most dramatic finishes of the entire week, with Poland 1, France 1, and Canada 3 all stopping the clock at 32m:32s on the fast 22.8 km circuit in Kutchan, Japan.

2026 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships Team Relay Results: Poland Takes Gold After Three-Way Dead Heat

The Team Relay at the 2026 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships delivered exciting racing on a fast 1.9 km circuit, with 25 teams battling for the rainbow jerseys.

After an early attack by Germany 1 and several relay exchanges, a select group featuring Slovenia, the Netherlands, Poland 1, Italy, Canada 3 and France 1 broke clear. The race remained closely contested all the way to the final relay, where no team could make the decisive move. 

A standout performance came from Wojtek Szczepanik, who recorded the fastest relay of the day at an impressive 45.7 km/h average speed.

Despite identical finishing times, Poland 1 emerged as the champions after commissaires applied the tie-breaking protocol. The Polish quartet — Wojtek Szczepanik, Jakub Rucinski Maciej Rogulski and Alina Mylka  — delivered a perfectly balanced performance across their three-lap turns. Szczepanik sealed the victory with the quickest final segment of the evening.
 
France 1, featuring Damien Degot, Gwenaëlle Legendre, Gaël Poisson and John Thomas, secured the silver, while Bruce Bird, Michelle Gagnon, Dominic Chalifoux and Chris Caruana brought Canada 3 to the bronze position — all within the same finishing second.
 
UCI officials carried out extensive post-race inspections, a handful of minor infractions were recorded:
 
Maciej Rogulski (Poland 1) was issued a 100 CHF penalty for non-compliant podium attire.
Simone Donghi (Italy) and Wojtek Szczepanik (Poland 1) received 50 CHF fines for incorrect number placement.
 
None of these sanctions altered the final standings.

Top Nations and Major Incidents

Behind the medal-winning trio, Slovenia finished just one second off the winning time, with the Netherlands a further two seconds back to complete the top five. The event also saw an unusually high number of disqualifications. Seven teams were removed from the results:
 
Japan 2
Australia
Poland 4
France 2
New Zealand
Great Britain 2
Hong Kong
 
The commissaires did not publish the specific reasons for these DSQs.
 
Two squads failed to complete the full distance:
 
Canada 2
Germany 3
 
Both were classified as DNF after being pulled at 11 laps.
 
The 2026 Team Relay will be remembered for its razor-thin margins, a standout closing ride from Szczepanik, and a podium decided not by time gaps but by commissaire judgement. Poland 1 leaves Kutchan with the rainbow jerseys, while France and Canada complete a podium separated only by regulation.
 
2026 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships
TEAM RELAY — FULL RESULTS (Including DNF & DSQ)
 
Pl.1  Poland 1          Finish   0:32:32   +0:00
Pl.2  France 1          Finish   0:32:32   +0:00
Pl.3  Canada 3          Finish   0:32:32   +0:00
Pl.4  Slovenia          Finish   0:32:33   +0:01
Pl.5  Netherlands       Finish   0:32:35   +0:03
Pl.6  Poland 5          Finish   0:33:02   +0:30
Pl.7  Italy             Finish   0:33:06   +0:34
Pl.8  Canada 1          Finish   0:33:18   +0:46
Pl.9  Latvia            Finish   0:33:22   +0:50
Pl.10 Japan 4           Finish   0:33:25   +0:53
Pl.11 Germany 1         Finish   0:33:48   +1:16
Pl.12 Poland 2          Finish   0:34:01   +1:29
Pl.13 Great Britain 1   Finish   0:34:16   +1:44
Pl.14 Japan 3           Finish   0:34:16   +1:44
Pl.15 Germany 2         Finish   0:35:36   +3:04
Pl.16 Japan 1           Finish   0:36:08   +3:36
Pl.17 China             Finish   0:39:01   +6:29
 
DNF   Canada 2          11 Laps  0:33:21   -1 Lap
DNF   Germany 3         11 Laps  0:35:08   -1 Lap
 
DSQ   Japan 2           Finish   0:32:32   +0:00
DSQ   Australia         Finish   0:32:33   +0:01
DSQ   Poland 4          Finish   0:33:51   +1:19
DSQ   France 2          Finish   0:34:52   +2:20
DSQ   New Zealand       Finish   0:36:42   +4:10
DSQ   Great Britain 2   Finish   0:37:39   +5:07
DSQ   Hong Kong         Finish   0:37:48   +5:16
 
Results: https://matrix-sports.jp/lap/26ugfwcs_tttr/result.php?evt=26ugfwcs_tttr
 
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