2026 Cycling Worlds: Paul Seixas in search of a historic title in Montreal

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 Double title holder but withdrawn since his fall in the Vuelta, the Slovenian leaves the field open in the world cycling championships, Sunday September 27, in Montreal.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.

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.