Jonathan Milan wins individual pursuit gold in Shanghai, Ganna takes bronze

Milan sets a new world record in qualifying

Jonathan Milan, a 26-year-old from Buja in Friuli, set a world record of 3'58"850 in individual pursuit qualifying on the morning of 16 October, cutting 303 thousandths of a second off his own mark. The previous record of 3'59"153 dated from October 2024, and La Repubblica said Milan became the first cyclist under the 3'59 mark over 4,000 metres. The same paper described him as the favourite for the gold after that time. Fanpage reported that Milan had been under the new record for the first two of the four kilometres in his later final.

Milan beats Madsen for gold

In the final, Milan beat Denmark's Frederik Madsen by almost five seconds, Fanpage reported, finishing in 4'00"769 according to ANSA. It was his second world title in the event, after 2024, and his tenth world medal on the track, ANSA added. The gold was also Italy's first of the championships in China. Milan spoke after the race and described the result in these words:

Saying I am very happy is an understatement.

Milan called the win a goal for the season, a return to the track in this form, and he pointed to the team pursuit silver as a useful result ahead of the Los Angeles Olympics.

Ganna returns to the podium

Filippo Ganna had qualified in 4'00"976 but did not reach the individual pursuit final. In the third-place race he beat Rasmus Pedersen of Denmark in 4'02"275, his first world podium in the event in three years and his eighth world medal in the pursuit, ANSA reported. He summed up the trip for the squad:

We did everything possible to honour this trip in the best way. Now you deserve holidays for everyone.

ANSA also noted that Ganna and Milan are set to ride together on the road next season for the German team Lidl-Trek, which had officially announced Ganna's signing.

Team pursuit silver

Earlier in the championships, the Italian team pursuit quartet of Ganna, Milan, Alessio Magagnotti and Francesco Lamon lost the final to Denmark, which clocked 3'40"865 against Italy's 3'45"596, La Stampa reported. Italy had posted the third-best qualifying time, 3'47"272, and then beat Great Britain in the semifinal in 3'45"332. The silver was a useful step in the qualification process for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, the paper said. La Stampa added that the Danish riders still had a clear extra edge at the finish.