The 2026 UCI Road World Championships will begin this weekend in Montreal (Canada) with the Elite individual time trial (ITT) events opening on Sunday, September 20. The competition will continue until Sunday, September 27 in the city of Quebec, which is hosting the UCI Road World Championships for the second time, half a century after the historic first edition in 1974.

Almost 1100 riders from 100 nations will compete in the various races on the program. In total, 13 UCI World Champion titles will be awarded, starting with seven time trial events from Sunday through Tuesday. The Elite women's and men's individual time trials will be followed by both Under-23 categories on Monday. Tuesday will showcase the strength and depth of national time trial squads with the mixed team relay in the morning. Junior individual races will follow in the afternoon.

Road races will take place from Thursday through Sunday: Women Under-23, followed by Men Junior on Thursday, Men Under-23 and Women Junior on Friday, Elite Women on Saturday, and Elite Men on Sunday.

ITT: UCI Elite World Champions Return to the Stage

All time trial events start on Avenue du Parc, one of the main streets in downtown Montreal, and return for a scenic and challenging finish at Jeanne-Mance Park. The Elite women and men will cover the same 39.2 km route with 220 meters of elevation gain. They will cross the St. Lawrence River to visit the Gilles-Villeneuve Circuit, home of the Formula 1 Grand Prix, before returning to Old Montreal and heading toward the uphill finish.

Riders competing in other events will follow similar but shortened routes: 31.2 km for men Under-23; 20.2 km for women Under-23, men Junior, and the mixed team time relay (the three men from each team first cover 20.2 km and then pass the relay to their three female teammates); 10.7 km for the women Junior race.

On a mostly flat and technical course, the reigning UCI Elite World Champions, Remco Evenepoel (BEL) and Marlen Reusser (SUI), are preparing to defend their rainbow jerseys. Will Italy's Filippo Ganna or Switzerland's Stefan Küng be able to stop the Belgian from winning a fourth consecutive title, a record to be broken? Will Reusser repeat the feat of holding off Dutch power in the women's race?

From Sweden's Jakob Söderqvist to the Netherlands' Megan Arens, the respective entry lists published on the UCI website are dotted with powerful contenders intent on proving their worth on the UCI Road World Championships stage.

Road Races: Puncheurs Will Tame the Voie Camillien-Houde

The road races will be primarily centered around the Mont-Royal circuit: 13.4 km with 269 meters of elevation gain. Lap after lap, it will drain energy and offer offensively-minded riders many opportunities to test their rivals' legs, particularly on the Voie Camillien-Houde climb (1.67 km at 7.4%, with a maximum gradient of 10%). This is the main road climbing challenge that most recently saw Mexico's Isaac del Toro win the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal ahead of France's Paul Seixas.

"A cycling race is a test of endurance and strategy but, above all, a test of attrition," says Sébastien Arsenault, President of the Local Organizing Committee. "I immediately understood that with Camillien-Houde I had found the main character of my film."

The youth category races will take place entirely on the circuit. The Elite events will start outside Montreal before returning to Mont-Royal, where the women will face the final circuit eight times (total race distance: 180.4 km with 2570 meters of elevation gain) and the men twelve times (273.7 km, 3803 meters).

These challenges will bring resilient and determined cyclists to the fore. Both del Toro and Seixas dream of a historically young conquest. Evenepoel, UCI World Champion in the road race in 2022 and in the time trial for the last three years, is also the favorite and cannot be ruled out from achieving the ITT-road race double, as he did at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

In the Elite women's road race, all eyes will be on Demi Vollering (NED), who dominated the Ardennes in spring and claimed the Maillot Jaune of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift with powerful attacks on undulating terrain. Belgian Lotte Kopecky is determined to reclaim the rainbow jersey she won in 2023 and 2024. But the Canadian crowd will likely have a different vision: at home, will Madeleine Vallières Mill be able to stay at the top of the world?

At this link you can find the complete list of starters (not yet official) for all events