World Championships 2026 men’s road race: favorites, route, and the Montréal test

UCI Road World Championships 2026

Last updated: September 17, 2026

The road race closes the 2026 UCI Road World Championships in Montréal on Sunday, September 27. It is a long day on a circuit that keeps asking the same question: who can still climb and accelerate after the race has been pulled apart?

Favorites

Remco Evenepoel arrives with the best recent form and the strongest team around him. He won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, while Belgium has named him and Wout van Aert as its two leaders for the World Championships. If the race breaks open before the final lap, Evenepoel has the engine to turn it into a solo race.

Isaac del Toro gave the clearest answer in Montréal. He won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal on September 13, attacking Paul Seixas with 300 meters left on the uphill finish. The race used the same streets and a circuit designed to resemble the Worlds route, so his win carries real weight.

Paul Seixas made his own case in second place. He stayed with Del Toro until the final kick and still had the speed to fight for the line. France has now named him its leader for Montréal.

Tom Pidcock has called the course “incredibly attritional.” Great Britain has named him as its leader, with Adam Yates and Oscar Onley giving the team more climbing depth when the race starts to split.

Van Aert arrives after two Vuelta stage wins, the points jersey, and the supercombativity prize. Belgium will use him beside Evenepoel, with the option to race hard early or keep him for a reduced finish.

Primož Roglič will lead Slovenia in Pogačar’s absence. He gives the race another rider who can turn a hard final circuit into a climbing contest.

The route

The official program sends the race off from Brossard at 09:00 Eastern Time. The route covers 273.7 km and 3,803 meters of climbing. After an opening loop through seven South Shore municipalities, the riders cross the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge and head for Montréal.

The final circuit is 13.4 km, with 269 meters of climbing, and the men race it 12 times. Each lap includes the 2.3 km Camillien-Houde climb at 6.2%, Chemin de la Polytechnique with ramps above 11%, and the rising run along Avenue du Parc to the finish. That is why a late attack can stick, and why the race should be down to a small group long before the line.

A longer Montréal test

The organizers did not build a second Grand Prix de Montréal. The World Championships use the same decisive Mount Royal terrain but add nearly 60 km, a South Shore opening, and national-team tactics. The Grand Prix showed who could finish on these climbs. Worlds will test who can still do it after six hours of racing.

Belgium’s team

Belgium has named Evenepoel, Van Aert, Tiesj Benoot, Quinten Hermans, Thibau Nys, Alec Segaert, Maxim Van Gils, and Gianni Vermeersch. It is a group built to control a hard race, cover moves, and still give its leaders options late in the day.

Other teams to watch

The United States will line up Matteo Jorgenson, Brandon McNulty, Neilson Powless, Sean Quinn, Artem Shmidt, Quinn Simmons, Kevin Vermaerke, and Larry Warbasse. They have enough climbers and attackers to make the race difficult before the final circuits.

Start time and how to watch

The elite men’s road race starts on Sunday, September 27 at 09:00 ET. That is 06:00 PT, 14:00 in the United Kingdom, and 15:00 in Central Europe. FloBikes will carry the race in the United States and Canada. Viewers elsewhere should check the country-specific watch guide before race day.

Race-day storylines

Belgium’s tactics will shape the first half of the race. The bigger question is whether Del Toro can reproduce his Montréal finish after a much longer afternoon, or whether Evenepoel can use Belgium’s depth to get away before the final climb. Seixas and Pidcock are the riders most likely to make both plans uncomfortable.