The men's peloton advances on Sunday towards a 273.7 km course in Montreal, with a final hilly circuit taken 12 times.
In the absence of Tadej Pogacar, all dreams are allowed. Double title holder but withdrawn since his fall in the Vuelta, the Slovenian leaves the field open in the world cycling championships, Sunday September 27, in Montreal. With a tiring course of more than 270 km, including 12 laps of the final circuit with three listed difficulties, the expected profile of the future world champion is that of a puncher-climber, capable of swallowing the difficulties of the day, like Demi Vollering during the women's race on Saturday, which ended with the same podium as that of the last Tour de France.
Remco Evenepoel is aiming for an unprecedented double. Now a quadruple time trial world champion, Remco Evenepoel could become the first rider in history to win the time trial and the road race in the same edition of the Worlds. Second last year in Kigali, the Belgian, 2022 world champion, is the big favorite and dreams of imitating Eddy Merckx, winner in Montreal of his third and last world champion title, fifty-two years ago. His teammate Wout Van Aert, with whom cohabitation has not always been easy, however, has the same ambition.
Paul Seixas doesn't talk about age. Five years after Julian Alaphilippe's second world title, another Frenchman is a declared candidate for the rainbow jersey: Paul Seixas. At barely 20 years old, the fourth in the last Tour de France is one of the main candidates for the iridescent jersey. In the event of victory, the tricolor prodigy would quite simply be the youngest world champion in history. To do this, he will be surrounded by a French team totally dedicated to his cause.
Watch out for the flying Mexican. If collectives like the Netherlands, Italy or the United States will be worth watching, single men can shine, like the Briton Tom Pidcock, but especially the Mexican Isaac Del Toro. Winner of the Montreal GP ahead of Seixas two weeks ago, he arrives at the head of a very modest Mexican selection. A free electron, he was designated by Evenepoel as his main opponent.
The Côte Camillien-Houde (1.6 km at 7.5% average) will be the main difficulty of the day for the runners. But the circuit will include another steep slope: Chemin de la Polytechnique, with passages at 11%. All on a 13.4 km loop around Mount Royal, taken 12 times. 3,803 meters of positive altitude difference await the runners, which brings this edition closer to a Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and which explains why the grand tour runners are favorites.
The forecast program: 5:10 p.m., entry into Montreal; 5:22 p.m., entry onto the final circuit; 5:35 p.m., first passage on the line; 9:21 p.m., twelfth and final passage on the line; 9:42 p.m., estimated arrival.
After an hour of racing at nearly 47 km/h, the breakaway has a lead of 5 minutes and 40 seconds. The British are at the head of the pack. This is the third edition of the road cycling world championships in Canada, after Montreal in 1974 and Hamilton in 2003.
The World Cup is an old-fashioned race, with the national selection, and, since 2018, without the instructions of the sports directors in the earpieces. Which leaves more freedom to the runners and their racing sense, but also requires a little adaptation from the staff. If we usually communicate on slates, or via the road captain who goes back to the car, the Belgians have innovated this year by scribbling instructions on the runners' bottles.
