Congrats to Ashlin Barry: World Champion!
A huge congratulations to Ashlin Barry, who won the U23 road race at the 2026 World Championship in Montréal yesterday—on his 19th birthday! On a course that favored smaller climbers on paper, Ashlin rode a smart race, got into the successful break, then dropped his companions to solo the last 30 km (!) to the finish. Well done!
This marks the first time that an American has won gold in the U23 race—Ashlin holds dual American and Canadian citizenships and raced for the U.S. in Montréal. Remarkably, it’s not the first time his family has won the worlds: Ashlin’s mother, Deidre ‘Dede’ Demet-Barry, won the Junior world championship in 1989! Ashlin’s father, Michael Barry Jr., raced in the Great Tours on the U.S. Postal, T-Mobile and Sky teams. And his grandfather, Michael Sr., founded Mariposa Bicycles in Toronto and pioneered cyclotouring bikes in the style of the French constructeurs in North America.
We all know Ashlin from his wins in mountain and gravel races on steel Mariposa bikes, rolling on Rene Herse tires. Sponsorship constraints mean that he’s not racing our tires on the road, but he’s still one of the family. In fact, our friendship goes back a long way: I visited Mike Sr. and Mariposa when I was a college student… and the shop continues to carry our products for customers in Toronto and all over Canada.
Let’s all celebrate Ashlin today!
More about Ashlin Barry:
Photo credits: Dede Barry (Photo 1); Jody Wilson (Photo 2)
