The 24-year-old EF Education-Oatly rider from Sherbrooke, Québec attacked out of the breakaway on the final climb of the Kigali circuit and soloed to the finish to win her rainbow stripes.

“It was my dream to win it, and it's true now! It's crazy!” Mags said, through tears of joy after the finish.

Mags rode the perfect tactical race, joining a late race move and keeping its momentum going by pushing on the front, as the pre-race favorites in the peloton looked at each other. Mags knew she was flying after the pre-race altitude camp that she did with our team. Her Canadian teammates, including EF Education-Oatly’s Alison Jackson, backed her and rode for her from the start. Mags knew that if she believed in herself and gave it her all, her rainbow dream could come true.

“The girls believed in me, so I believed in myself and I really committed to going for it. I prepared well. I knew I was on good form, so I just told myself I didn't want to have any regrets,” Mags said.

She kept pushing the pace and urged the beak to keep going when their speed faltered. When she got to the bottom of the final climb, all that was left to do was go flat out to the top.

“I knew I probably wouldn't win in a sprint against Niamh, because she's so strong,” Mags said. “We were both really committed to the break, working really hard. I saw that she was fading a little bit, so I told myself I just have to go all in now and try and it worked out in the end. I don't believe it yet, for sure not. It is great to do it here and with the worlds next year in Montréal, it’s perfect. I've been dreaming about this for a while now!”

Mags, you are our world champion! Thank you for showing us that dreams can come true!