Sunday 20 September 2026: World Championships Women's Time Trial – Montréal (Avenue du Parc) – Montréal (Parc Jeanne-Mance) (39.2 km)

The 2026 World Championships in Montréal open on Sunday with the individual time trial for the elite women. Over 39.2 kilometres and 220 metres of climbing, the first rainbow jersey of the tournament will be decided on a course that is mostly flat and technical, with long straight stretches along the water and a short but sharp final climb. The time trial course is identical to the men's course later that day.

The start is on Avenue du Parc, where the road races will also finish later in the week. From there the route descends towards the Saint Lawrence River, before running along billiard-flat roads beside the water. Near Pointe Saint-Charles and the Estacade du Pont Champlain, the riders cross the river towards the artificial island Île Notre-Dame, home to the Gilles-Villeneuve Formula 1 circuit. This section of the course has hardly any relief and is suited to a high and constant tempo.

In the finale a loop follows over the racing circuit, after which the route heads back via the Pont de la Concorde towards the port of Montréal and the historic Vieux-Montréal. The final kilometres climb gently uphill, and in the last 400 to 500 metres before the finish at Parc Jeanne-Mance the road rises to around 4 to 6 percent. After almost 40 kilometres against the clock, that difference can matter for riders who are less explosive.

Last year in Kigali the course for the women was considerably harder, with almost 700 metres of climbing. Even so, it was Marlen Reusser who held off the Dutch duo Anna van der Breggen and Demi Vollering to take her first world title against the clock. Reusser thus succeeded Grace Brown (2024) and Chloé Dygert (2023) as world champion. The Netherlands must now go back to Ellen van Dijk's title in 2022 for the last time the country stood on the highest step at the World Time Trial Championships.

Reusser arrives as the clear favourite in Montréal. This season the Swiss rider won, among others, the time trial in the Tour de France Femmes and the one in the Tour de Suisse, and was only beaten in the Giro time trial by the non-starting Van der Breggen. Behind her, Demi Vollering and the Dutch rider Lieke Nooijen — third and second respectively this season in the Tour de France Femmes time trial — are considered medal contenders. Britain's Zoe Backstedt rode solidly against the clock all year and profiles herself as an outsider for the podium. Notable is the absence of Van der Breggen, silver medallist last year, who was not selected by the Dutch national coach. For Belgium, Lotte Kopecky is back at the World Championships after a year's absence, although her time trials this season were inconsistent. The course in Montréal is one for the pure specialists against the clock, and based on her form this season Reusser seems to leave little room for the riders hoping to follow her.

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