“It’s unbelievable,” Barry said afterward. “Right now, it’s hard to process exactly what happened. I attacked early in the race because I was worried I wouldn’t be able to follow the better climbers on the climb. In the end, I managed to keep everyone behind me. It feels surreal.” 

The U23 road race at the World Championships got underway at nine o’clock Canadian time. After the start in Montréal, Barry was part of the early breakaway. Along with four others, he managed to establish a significant gap. Behind them, the peloton was gradually reduced on the climb of Voie Camillien-Houde. Despite several accelerations from the favorites, the gap to the five riders at the front remained around 45 seconds. 

With four local laps to go, Kristian Egholm accelerated in the breakaway. Only Barry was able to follow the Dane. With 30 kilometers to go, Barry dropped his breakaway companion. The American, who grew up in Canada, had already spent around 100 kilometers in the breakaway by then. Despite the pressure from the chasers, Barry maintained his solo lead. He eventually rode to the world title in his first season as a U23 rider. 

“I only really started to believe in it when we entered the final lap,” Barry said. “After the final climb, I still had a good lead, but I could hardly believe it. Every time I crossed the finish line, I saw the gap to the chasers. I kept expecting the gap to come down, but somehow I managed to hold on.” 

“It’s special to be able to share this moment with my friends and family. Seeing familiar faces along the roadside gave me an enormous amount of motivation. It was almost a home race for me. I even heard my dog barking along the course from time to time. I’m incredibly grateful for everyone’s support today,” a beaming Barry concluded.