The roads of coastal Maine have shaped Clara Brown in ways she never anticipated. Growing up, she couldn’t wait to leave, heading as far away as possible for college in Washington State. “I just wanted to get out of the New England bubble and how small and insular it felt,” she recalls. But after several years away, something shifted. She realized all the great things this place had to offer and, more importantly, reconnected with the people who had made such an impact on her growing up. Those quiet coastal roads became her training ground, the place where she rebuilt not just her body, but her life.
It wasn’t until last summer in Ronse, Belgium, that everything came together: the training, the setbacks, the relentless pursuit of excellence, culminating in a World Championship title that crowned her career-best year.
Brown’s journey to becoming the 2025 UCI Para-cycling Road World Champion in the Women’s C3 Road Race reads like a masterclass in resilience. Just a year after claiming Paralympic bronze in Paris, the Falmouth native stood atop the podium in Belgium this past August, adding a rainbow jersey to her growing collection of accomplishments. The victory marked her third world championship title and solidified her place among elite para-cyclists worldwide.
“The journey since my ‘Why I ROAM‘ piece has been nothing short of transformational,” Brown reflects. That bronze medal in Paris, her first Paralympic podium, came during a dramatic finish where her neurological impairment nearly derailed her in the final 75 meters. Unable to properly control her bike as her right arm went limp, she held on for third place by a single second. The moment epitomized everything about Brown’s career: the unpredictability of racing with hemiplegia, the mental fortitude required to push through, and the sweet reward of success.
The Long Road Back
To understand Brown’s drive, you have to go back to that March day in 2008 when everything changed. At 12 years old, the competitive gymnast landed on her head during practice, crushing two vertebrae in her neck and damaging her spinal cord. She didn’t pass out, but she remembers the terrifying sensation of floating, unable to sense where her body was in space. No feeling of pressure, no proprioception. Though she was initially paralyzed from the neck down, there was hope for recovery.
The rehabilitation at Shepherd Center in Atlanta was grueling. Therapists put her in a harness with one person per leg, moving each limb through the motion of walking. “The whole theory was that if we get these movements to be happening, your body will kind of remember and relearn how to do it,” she explains. Movement as medicine, the age-old saying that proved true in ways she couldn’t have imagined.
She remembers vividly the first breakthrough: her left big toe. “It was one of the first things to return, and how promising that was, because it’s so far from my injury.” Each small victory, each muscle group that responded, became a reason to push harder. Today, Brown has no sense of touch on the left side of her body and limited motor control on the right, deriving 60-70% of her power from her left side. Yet she’s turned those limitations into a strength, building a training program specifically designed around her body’s unique capabilities.
Taking Flight
While most athletes might focus solely on their sport, Brown has been busy pursuing an entirely different passion between training sessions. Growing up with a father who was a pilot, she always had admiration and excitement around aviation. “But until I really saw another woman do it, I just didn’t see myself doing it,” she admits.
In July 2024, just weeks before the Paris Paralympics, she earned her private pilot license. Now, with call sign “Red,” she’s working toward her instrument, commercial, and multi-engine ratings: qualifications that will allow her to fly in challenging weather conditions and more complex aircraft. “It has been a blast!” she says. With a disability, the path is more challenging, requiring several extra steps to demonstrate she’s safe and competent to fly. But if there’s one thing Brown has proven, it’s that extra challenges don’t stop her.
The parallels between piloting and cycling run deeper than technique. “I’ve always loved the feeling of pushing myself and feeling limitless and free,” she says. She got that feeling in gymnastics, making her body do crazy things in the air. She gets it every day on the bike, feeling the wind in her face. “And then to actually go flying is just experiencing all of that and then some by controlling this vehicle in the sky.”
Evolving Training for 2025
Brown’s approach to training has matured significantly over the past year. With multiple Paralympic and World Championship medals now under her belt, she’s focused on addressing the nuances of her physical condition head-on.
“I’ve been lifting more frequently and focusing on more single-leg work,” she explains. “I’m trying to mitigate leg asymmetries to the best of my ability.” It’s this kind of thoughtful, targeted training that separates good athletes from great ones.
She’s learned firsthand that the body is incredibly resilient. “I know that the reality is I won’t get anything back, anything further from my spinal cord injury, but I’m not satisfied with the utilization of what I’ve got,” she says with characteristic determination. “I know that I want to keep pushing my body, and I know that there’s more to get out of it.”
Her tech setup has evolved too. Brown recently upgraded to Wahoo’s new TRACKR HEART RATE strap, and the difference is immediately noticeable. “It’s rechargeable and such a nice upgrade,” she notes. “No more keeping a stock of coin batteries on hand.” For an athlete who trains up to 30 hours per week, these small quality-of-life improvements add up to significant gains in convenience and consistency.
The bigger upgrade came in the form of Wahoo’s new ELEMNT ACE bike computer. “I’m loving the bigger screen, navigation capabilities, and the convenience of the touchscreen,” Brown says. The ACE has become her constant companion on Maine’s winding coastal roads and the punchy climbs that define her training routes. When you’re putting in the volume Brown does, often 200-250 miles per week, having reliable navigation and clear data display isn’t just nice to have; it’s essential.
The Gravel Adventure Awaits
With her World Championship victory secured this August, Brown is now turning her attention to an entirely new challenge: gravel racing. In an exciting development, she’s joined Velocio Exploro, an elite women’s gravel team known for fostering supportive, competitive environments. She’ll race a full calendar of six marquee gravel events: Rule of 3, UNBOUND, SBT GRVL, Last Best Ride, Gravel Nationals, and Big Sugar.
“Joining Velocio Exploro and having a supportive team of women to lean on as I get my footing in the gravel discipline is huge for me,” Brown explains. After years of singular focus on road racing, she’s ready to embrace the adventure and unpredictability that gravel racing offers.
The transition represents more than just trying a new discipline. “I can’t wait to race events that have been on my radar for years, but I’ve been too singularly focused on my road career to attend,” she says. “I’m really excited by the possibility and adventure of it all. Since everything is new, I’m hoping to make progress throughout the season and learn from the wealth of experience of other riders on my team.”
Brown plans to race in a mix of both Para and elite fields throughout the season, a decision that speaks to her competitive spirit and desire to push boundaries. “I’m grateful for those who have championed the Para categories at gravel events, but I also take pride in not being limited by my impairment,” she says. “I’m curious to see where I stack up against the able-bodied elite women.”
It’s this philosophy that defines her approach to life: “No matter how you do it or what it looks like, you’re still doing it.” She wants to encourage others to push themselves, to experience new things, to ride different routes and meet people or see sights they wouldn’t otherwise have seen.
The Foundation of Success
While Brown’s accomplishments on race day capture headlines, she’s quick to credit her training environment for making it all possible. “My competitive goals throughout the season on road or gravel would not be feasible if it weren’t for my entire indoor setup,” she emphasizes.
Maine winters can be brutal. New England doesn’t offer much mercy to outdoor training plans from November through March. That’s where her dedicated indoor space becomes crucial. The combination of her Wahoo KICKR smart trainer, HEADWIND fan, KICKR DESK, and training mat creates a seamless ecosystem that keeps her motivated through the darkest, coldest months.
“I feel like I get the most out of every session because of how seamlessly integrated everything is,” Brown explains. “The road-like feel of the KICKR, the adjustability of the KICKR DESK to comfortably interact with my laptop and nutrition, the ease of controlling the HEADWIND fan via Bluetooth: it’s all phenomenal.”
For Brown, who must manage her energy and recovery carefully due to her neurological condition, the quality of each training session matters immensely. “I can’t imagine training without any of these products,” she says. The KICKR’s realistic road feel helps her maintain the specific bike handling skills she needs, while the KICKR DESK allows her to fuel properly and monitor her metrics without breaking position. The HEADWIND fan, which she controls via Bluetooth, provides targeted cooling exactly when she needs it most: crucial for someone putting out big watts in interval sessions.
Looking Forward
From Paralympic podiums to World Championship titles, from cockpit pre-flight checks to gravel starting lines, Clara Brown continues to redefine what’s possible. Her story isn’t just about overcoming a spinal cord injury sustained at age 12, though that’s certainly part of it. It’s about an athlete who refuses to be defined by limitations, who seeks out new challenges even as she dominates her current discipline.
“There are all of these things that I still want to do, and I’m not satisfied with sitting on the couch and being sedentary,” she says. “I want to be moving and exploring and living to the fullest with what I have.”
With Wahoo’s complete indoor training ecosystem keeping her strong through Maine’s harsh winters and the ELMTN ACE computer guiding her through summer’s biggest gravel events, Brown has the tools she needs to chase her ambitious goals. Whether she’s discovering what she’s capable of in the chaos of UNBOUND or flying cross-country to her next race, one thing is certain: Clara Brown is just getting started.
When asked why she roams, her answer is simple but profound: “For the freedom and the ability to explore and experience new things and take joy in the little things. And just be excited with what lies ahead.”
The quiet roads of coastal Maine will continue to shape her, the cockpit will call to her between training blocks, and the world’s best gravel events will soon learn what Paralympic and World Championship fields already know: Clara Brown is a force to be reckoned with.
