In her first full cycling season, 20-year-old Mara Winter (Switzerland) almost reached the podium in the UCI Road World Championships under-23 women's road race.
Winter was beaten by Fleur Moors (Belgium) in the sprint of a small group that decided the bronze medal, 33 seconds behind world champion Viktória Chladoňová (Slovakia) and runner-up Isabella Holmgren (Canada).
"I think I just missed the peak power. The sprint was too short; for me it's better if it's a bit longer. But I wasn't sure whether I could start the sprint or not, and I thought, I just have to hang on and hope that the rider in front of me can stay with the Belgian rider. I had to pass her, close the gap to the Belgian, and then I could not pass her anymore," Winter described the sprint.
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Although this left her off the podium, she was more than satisfied with her fourth place.
"At the moment, I cannot believe it. I'm really, really happy with the result. Of course, fourth place is the second loser … no, actually I'm really happy," said Winter with a big smile on her face.
This happiness is very understandable given that Winter only began competing in national-level races in 2025, winning Chur-Arosa, a 29.3km race with 1191 metres of elevation, climbing from the capital of Graubünden to the resort town of Arosa. Previous winners include Marlen Reusser, Clara Koppenburg, and Petra Stiasny, and this result brought Winter to the attention of Swiss Continental team Nexetis, who signed her for 2026.
In May, she made her stage race debut at the 2.2 Tour de Feminin in Czechia, an important step in her development. At the end of June, Winter became the Swiss U23 ITT champion and placed fourth in the elite road race championships.
"The Tour de Feminin was my first stage race and I really enjoyed it. The roads were really good, and it was a great opportunity to learn because you had four days in a row. It was so cool to race there."
The Nexetis team has sent several riders to the Women's WorldTour, with Jasmin Liechti signing for Canyon-SRAM and Ginia Caluori going to Movistar for 2027. Winter says that she still has some way to go before she feels ready for the biggest stage.
"I only started to really race last year, so I think I have to see, to learn, and then when I have learned a bit, it comes by itself. I don't know how my way is going, and what's going to happen.
"At the moment, I'm just enjoying it. I'm also competing in mountain biking, and I want to go on with that. I really hope that I can continue to do both because I really enjoy both, and I think I can learn from both disciplines," Winter said, adding that she wants to keep her options open.
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