Sunday 20 September 2026: World Championships ME ITT  – Montreal – Montreal (39.2 km)

At the 2026 UCI Road World Championships in Montreal, the elite men's time trial will be raced over a course of 39.2 kilometres, with around 220 metres of climbing. It is the 33rd edition of this world championship since the first edition in 1994. The course is predominantly flat, apart from a short climb just before the finish.

The riders start on Avenue du Parc and descend slightly towards the bank of the Saint Lawrence River. Via dead-straight roads along the water, they reach the first time check after 10.7 kilometres, shortly before the Samuel De Champlain Bridge. Instead of crossing the bridge entirely, the riders turn off onto the Lawrence Seaway Dike, a dike that leads northwards across the water to Île Notre-Dame. On that island, known for the Gilles Villeneuve Formula 1 circuit, the second time check is located after 21.9 kilometres. The riders complete one and a half laps of the circuit before heading back to the city via the Pont de la Concorde.

Back in Montreal follows a long straight stretch of 3.3 kilometres along the harbour, followed by a U-turn and an equally long straight return of 2.3 kilometres. The third time check is located after 29.8 kilometres. From there the route leaves the riverbank and heads back to the start zone, over the stretch that was descended at the start. False flat dominates, but the final 560 metres run over a steeper section of around 4 percent up to the finish line on Avenue du Parc.

The time trial world championship has existed since 1994, with Britain's Chris Boardman as the first winner. In modern history, a handful of riders have dominated the discipline: Australian Michael Rogers won three times in a row from 2003 to 2005, Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara claimed four world titles between 2006 and 2010, and German Tony Martin added three consecutive titles (2011-2013) and a fourth in 2016. Since then, Remco Evenepoel has set the standard: the Belgian won the time trial three times in a row from 2023 to 2025, just like Rogers did back then. With his Olympic title from Paris 2024, his tally stands at four major titles against the clock, although Cancellara, with four world titles and two Olympic titles, remains the most decorated time trialist ever. Evenepoel was, in 2024, the first rider to be world and Olympic time trial champion simultaneously.

On paper, Evenepoel and Filippo Ganna are the two biggest contenders for the rainbow jersey. The Belgian is the three-time defending champion and finished on top last year in Kigali, while the Italian was world champion twice (2020 and 2021) and finished second behind Evenepoel in both 2023 and 2024. In the dress rehearsal on the road, the GP de Montreal on the same course, Evenepoel finished fifth. Among the outsiders, Brandon McNulty and Stefan Küng are mentioned, and Frenchman Paul Seixas is also on the start list, although he is regarded more as a climber and puncheur than a pure time trial specialist. Representing the Low Countries are Daan Hoole, the only Dutch participant, and Belgian time trial champion Alec Segaert. Two previous medal contenders are absent: Jay Vine withdrew ill after the Vuelta, and Joshua Tarling pulled out following the death of his younger brother.

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