Cycling
Meet the contenders for the rainbow jersey at the Road World Championships
With one of the favourites ruled out through injury, Montreal is set for a fascinating battle as cycling’s biggest names go head-to-head in the men’s elite road race.
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With two-time champion Tadej Pogačar sidelined due to the injuries he sustained at La Vuelta a España, the men’s elite road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Montreal is set to provide one of the most open fights for the rainbow jersey in years.
Held on a 273.7km course with 3,803 metres of elevation, riders will first tackle a flat section before covering a 13.4km finishing circuit 12 times as they fight to become world champion and win the coveted rainbow jersey.
The circuit, which also includes multiple unclassified rollers on each and every lap, is a direct copy of the prestigious Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal and is suited to punchy, explosive, classics style riders that excel in races like the Tour of Flanders or Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
These are the riders who will arrive in Canada with plenty of reasons to believe the rainbow jersey is within reach.
01
Remco Evenepoel: The man to beat?
In Pogačar’s absence, Remco Evenepoel is seen as the favourite to win in Montreal. Known for his meticulous training and precise preparation, the Belgian will be lining up having left no stone unturned in the build-up to this prestigious race, having skipped the Vuelta in favour of focused, high-altitude training.
Remco Evenepoel warmed up for the world champs with victory at GP Quebec
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His pedigree in races like this is evident, having already finished on the podium of the Tour of Flanders this spring, and since coming back to racing after the Tour de France by winning the GP Quebec and finishing fifth at the GP Montreal on the Worlds Course. In this form, Evenepoel will prove a tough man to beat.
It’s not just in the road race either, as he is seen as the top contender to win the time trial. Speaking to journalists at CyclingNews, Evenepoel asked: “How often has a rider won both the time trial and the road race at the same World Championship? Never. That was my goal last year, and it is again this year. It is something I want to do in my career."
Evenepoel already boasts three individual time trial world championships and a road race title from 2022, as well as winning both gold medals in the road race and time trial in Paris in 2024. However, he has yet to win both the road and time trial rainbow jerseys in the same season.
The only question mark lingering over Evenepoel is how the Belgian national team will manage their talent on a roster boasting at least one other hot contender.
02
Isaac Del Toro: The young apprentice
Isaac Del Toro (right) took third place at the 2026 Tour de France
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Isaac Del Toro laid down his marker for a potential victory at the World Championships by winning the GP Cycliste de Montréal just two weeks before the elite men’s road race. Victory on the very circuit that will decide the winner of the rainbow jersey is as big a statement as any that the Mexican superstar is ready to fight.
Del Toro is another aggressive rider with a complete skill set at his disposal: climbing, descending, racecraft and his devastating sprint finish. This was shown in his Tour de France debut that saw the UAE Emirates-XRG prodigy win a stage and finish on the final podium in Paris.
Thanks almost entirely to Del Toro’s performances on the road over the last few seasons, Mexico have qualified with six riders in their national squad. That means he’ll have plenty of support at his disposal to protect him and keep him fuelled in the early part of the race so he’s ready to battle it out in the explosive finale.
A World Championships win would be career defining for any cyclist, and at just 22 years old, Del Toro would become the youngest world champion since none other than Evenepoel.
03
Wout van Aert: Experienced and versatile
Will Wout van Aert be celebrating in Montréal?
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Wout van Aert is a rider who can do almost anything on a bike. He can climb, pull off long-range attacks, and sprint. That versatility makes him one of the most dangerous riders in the race.
Van Aert’s performance at the recent Vuelta a España - where he won two stages, as well as helping his young teammate Matt Brennan to five of his own - answered the question on everyone’s lips just a few weeks ago: can he salvage the rest of his season after missing the Tour de France?
His form in Spain shows that he’s fully recovered from the elbow injury that sidelined him throughout July, and he appears well on his way back to the shape that won him Paris-Roubaix in the Spring.
The Belgian national team is one of the deepest in the race, and on their day, any one of their riders could finish on the top step of the podium. National coach, Serge Pauwels, confirmed to the press that Van Aert and Evenepoel will start the race as co-leaders, despite the tactical challenges this presents: “The tactics are becoming complex, but I want to see them very clearly. We don't have earpieces, and that makes a big difference. With two leaders who both want to win themselves, the tactics need to be very clear."
Van Aert arrives in red-hot form, but can he carry this condition on for another two weeks and be ready for a battle on the streets of Montreal?
04
Mathieu Van Der Poel: Looking for revenge
Mathieu Van Der Poel has enjoyed success across numerous disciplines
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To suggest that a rider who’s won two stages of the Tour de France is having an off season might sound outrageous, but Mathieu Van Der Poel holds himself to such high standards that anything other than victory is viewed as failure.
After a Spring Classics campaign that broke Van Der Poel’s record of achieving victory in at least two monuments a year, an extraordinary feat that he achieved in 2023, 2024 and 2025, the flying Dutchman headed to the Tour de France looking for redemption. He found it courtesy of winning stage nine and via his explosive performance on the final stage along the Champs-Élysées.
Following the Tour, Van Der Poel chased the rainbow off-road in a short mountain bike campaign of just two races: the World Cup round in Les Gets and the World Championships in Val di Sole. He got off to a strong start, overcoming a poor grid position to finish in second place behind Adrien Boichis in France, but his quest for the rainbow jersey came unstuck when his World Championships race ended with him in 30th place.
The 2023 road world champion could add an 11th elite rainbow jersey to his collection, with him having previously won the road title, a gravel world championship in 2024 and eight cyclocross titles. With his incredible explosiveness and never-say-die attitude that often sees him collapse to the ground with exhaustion after a race-winning effort, one thing is for sure: Van Der Poel will put on a show in Montreal.
05
Tom Pidcock: The off-road champion
The versatile Tom Pidcock has enjoyed plenty of success in 2026
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Despite having perhaps the most unconventional build-up of any contender, Tom Pidcock’s pathway to Montreal has been paved with success. He followed up his ninth-place finish at the Tour de France with another victory in the cross-country race at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and went on to win his first road race back at the nearly 200km GP Industria & Artigianato. At the recent Canadian one-day races in Quebec and Montreal, he raced aggressively and finished fourth and sixth, respectively.
The UCI Road World Championships are one of the only achievements missing from Pidcock’s palmares, and a victory in Montreal would firmly elevate his status to one of the most accomplished cyclists of all time across all disciplines.
If he were to secure an elite road rainbow jersey and then go on to race and win the 2027 Cyclocross World Championships, he would become only the second rider in history after Pauline Ferrand-Prévot to consecutively hold the cyclocross, cross-country mountain bike, and road elite world titles; a generational feat.
His biggest advantage may be his unpredictability. Pidcock can attack on a climb, descend faster than almost anyone, survive a long race, and sprint from a reduced group - giving him plenty of options to take the win.
06
How the UCI Road World Championships work
Belgian duo Van Aert and Evenepoel will be on the same team in Canada
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The 2026 UCI Road World Championships will take place over one week in and around the host city of Montreal. Throughout the week, the men and women in junior, under-23, and elite categories race mass start road race events as well as individual time trials and the mixed relay. They compete to win the coveted rainbow jersey, a prize they get to wear for the following year.
Riders compete for their national teams rather than the trade teams, leading to some unique combinations of team-mates who otherwise spend the rest of the year as rivals.
This year’s UCI Road World Championships kick-off on September 20 with the elite women’s time trial and conclude on September 27 with the elite men’s road race.
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