The United States will not lack the men to be protagonists in the road race at the World Championships in Montreal. In Canada, indeed, the American team will be represented by Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost), Artem Shmidt (Netcompany-Ineos), Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Larry Warbasse (Tudor), Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) and, above all, Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike).

The latter two in particular, given their pedigree and the characteristics of the world championship course, absolutely have the credentials to play a leading role on Sunday, September 27th, a day when, in all likelihood, Riley Sheehan will be forced to admire the efforts of his compatriots from home.

The NSN rider hoped to be selected for the rainbow jersey competition in Canadian territory but, unfortunately for him, the choices of selector Tanner Putt fell on other profiles with the result that the twenty-six-year-old from Boulder was ultimately excluded from what could have been his second World Championship after Zurich two years ago.

Well, once he learned of his absence from the list of convocations, the winner of the last Circuit de Wallonie did not hide his disappointment at the decision made by his technical commissioner and, through his social media channels, vented all his regret.

"We don't choose those who won the races..." Sheehan wrote on X, highlighting how neither he (author of two victories this season) nor teammates even more prolific this 2026 like AJ August (five wins) and Matthew Riccitello (three wins) were taken into consideration for the Canadian Worlds.

All of this, setting aside the controversy that has arisen in recent hours, reveals the abundance of alternatives in the USA where it is hoped that the form of the men called upon for the late September race and the nearby home advantage will be sufficient to push the North American selection toward that rainbow jersey that has been missing since the distant 1993 when Lance Armstrong won the elite men's race in Oslo.