The first race of the eight-day 2026 UCI Road World Championships will be the Women Elite Individual Time Trial, and that is where the athletes from the United States have had the most success.
The action in Montreal will get underway Sept. 20 at 9 a.m. Eastern, live on FloBikes and the FloSports app, with the Elite men taking the spotlight at 12:45 p.m. EDT.
By strategy, the week will open and close with the Elite riders showcasing their skills on the famous streets of the City of Saints.
There will be 13 total events at the 2026 UCI Road Worlds, and the festivities will run from Sept. 20-27.
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With the Road World Championships just a couple days away, the list of expected participants has ballooned to more than 1,700, hailing from 100 nations.
The opening day of competition will see 53 riders line up for the women’s ITT, followed by 67 of the fastest men in the world, though those numbers could change before the start of the race.
Most countries will send two riders down the ramp in the time trials, and they’ll all face the same 39.2-kilometer trek around the city, which includes 220 meters of climbing.
The individual time trial is one of the easier formats to understand. The riders descend the ramp one at a time, and the fastest time wins. And, the margin of victory could be so slim, that every movement, hesitation, gust of wind, etc., could be the difference between a medal and disappointment.
The defending champion in the women’s time trial is Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser, who beat Anna van der Breggen of the Netherlands by almost 52 seconds last year in Kigali, Rwanda.
On the men’s side, Belgian star Remco Evenepoel will be aiming for his fourth consecutive time trial world championship. Last year in Kigali, he bested Australia’s Jay Vine by 1 minute, 14 seconds. The two years prior, Italy’s Filippo Ganna took the silver medal.
The women’s time trial debuted at the Road World Championships in 1994, with Karen Kurreck of the United States winning the gold medal. France’s Jeannie Longo won the following three editions and added a fourth victory in 2001.
The American women have excelled in the ITT and claimed the coveted rainbow jersey eight times overall – 1994, 2000, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2019 and 2023.
This year’s Team USA representatives will 2024 Olympic Road Race champion Kristen Faulkner and accomplished triathlete Taylor Knibb.
The U23 time trials will be contested Sept. 21, and Sept. 22 will feature the Junior individual time trials and the Mixed Relay Team Time Trial.
Women’s Elite ITT Gold Medals For USA
First held in 1994
- 1994 – Karen Kurreck
- 2000 – Mari Holden
- 2006 – Kristin Armstrong
- 2008 – Amber Neben
- 2009 – Kristin Armstrong
- 2016 – Amber Neben
- 2019 – Chloe Dygert
- 2023 – Chloe Dygert
15 total medals – Silver: Kristin Armstrong (2007); Evelyn Stevens (2012); Bronze: Kristin Armstrong (2005); Christine Thorburn (2006); Carmen Small (2013); Evelyn Stevens (2014); Chloe Dygert (2024).
Now, here’s a look at who will be competing for each country in the Women Elite Time Trial at the 2026 UCI Road World Championships:
Women Elite Time Trial Entries
- AIN – Kristina Novikova
- Australia – Lauretta Hanson
- Austria – Christina Schweinberger
- Belgium – Lotte Claes
- Belgium – Lotte Kopecky
- Bulgaria – Gergana Stoyanova
- Canada – Olivia Baril
- Canada – Nadia Gontova
- Cayman Islands – Alyssa Burgess
- China – Xin Tang
- China – Shimeng Zhu
- Colombia – Diana Carolina Peñuela Martinez
- Spain – Mireia Benito Pellicer
- Spain – Paula Blasi Cairol
- Estonia – Ann-Christine Allik
- Estonia – Janika Lõiv
- Finland – Anniina Ahtosalo
- France – Juliette Berthet
- France – Cedrine Kerbaol
- Great Britain – Zoe Backstedt
- Great Britain – Anna Morris
- Germany – Franziska Koch
- Germany – Antonia Niedermaier
- Indonesia – Magh Firotika Marenda
- Iran – Sajedeh Siyahian
- Italy – Vittoria Guazzini
- Italy – Elisa Longo Borghini
- Japan – Karin Abe
- Kazakhstan – Faina Potapova
- Kenya – Monica Kiplagat
- Kenya – Kendra Tabu
- Saudi Arabia – Mishael Alhazmi
- Mexico – Romina Hinojosa Cruz
- Mexico – Sara Hortencia Roel Lopez
- Mauritius – Lucie de Marigny - Lagesse
- Namibia – Vera Looser
- Netherlands – Lieke Nooijen
- Netherlands – Demi Vollering
- Norway – Katrine Aalerud
- New Zealand – Henrietta Christie
- New Zealand – Bronwyn MacGregor
- Poland – Dominika Wlodarczyk
- Rwanda – Diane Ingabire
- Rwanda – Xaveline Nirere
- Slovenia – Nika Bobnar
- Switzerland – Jasmin Liechti
- Switzerland – Marlen Reusser
- Trinidad and Tobago – Teniel Campbell
- Ukraine – Valeriia Kononenko
- United States – Kristen Faulkner
- United States – Taylor Knibb
- Zimbabwe – Skye Davidson
- Zimbabwe – Rongina Ngandu
All of the time trials will begin on Montreal’s Avenue du Parc and run through the city to the Parc Jeanne Mance, though the total distance and level of difficulty vary between categories.
Montreal and the surrounding areas certainly are familiar with top-tier bike racing and sporting events, including the recent one-day Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal on Sept. 13.
But the history goes back even further.
In the 1970s, Montreal was a hotspot for elite athletic competition, including the 1974 UCI Road World Championships, which marked the first time the event had been held outside of Europe.
The world’s best road cyclists returned to Canada (Hamilton, Ontario) in 2003 for the Road World Championships, and this year’s visit to Montreal will include celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the Montreal Summer Olympics in 1976.
How To Watch The 2026 UCI Road World Championships
For viewers in the United States, the 2026 UCI Road World Championships will be streaming on FloBikes and the FloSports app.
Highlights, race replays and breaking news will be available on both platforms.
Stage highlights, replays and more breaking news, including recaps and rider interviews, will be on both platforms.
2026 UCI Road World Championships Schedule
Date, event, (start – finish), start time
*All Times Eastern
- Sept. 20 – Women’s Elite Individual Time Trial (Avenue du Parc – Parc Jeanne Mance), 9 a.m.
- Sept. 20 – Men’s Elite Individual Time Trial (Avenue du Parc – Parc Jeanne Mance), 12:45 p.m.
- Sept. 21 – Women’s U23 Individual Time (Avenue du Parc – Parc Jeanne Mance), 9 a.m.
- Sept. 21 – Men’s U23 Individual Time Trial (Avenue du Parc – Parc Jeanne Mance), noon
- Sept. 22 – Team Time Trial Mixed Relay (Avenue du Parc – Parc Jeanne Mance), 8:30 a.m.
- Sept. 22 – Men’s Junior Individual Time Trial (Avenue du Parc – Parc Jeanne Mance), 12:15 p.m.
- Sept. 22 – Women’s Junior Individual Time Trial (Avenue du Parc – Parc Jeanne Mance), 3:15 p.m.
- Sept. 24 – Women’s U23 Road Race (Parc Jeanne Mance), 9 a.m.
- Sept. 24 – Men’s Junior Road Race (Parc Jeanne Mance), 1:30 p.m.
- Sept. 25 – Men’s U23 Road Race (Parc Jeanne Mance), 9 a.m.
- Sept. 25 – Women’s Junior Road Race (Parc Jeanne Mance), 2:15 p.m.
- Sept. 26 – Women’s Elite Road Race (Quartier Dix30 – Parc Jeanne Mance), 9 a.m.
- Sept. 27 – Men’s Elite Road Race (Quartier Dix30 – Parc Jeanne Mance), 9 a.m.
The time in Montreal matches Eastern Daylight Time.
Who Were The Winners At The 2025 UCI Road World Championships?
Elite Events
- Men’s Road Race – Tadej Pogačar, Slovenia
- Men’s Time Trial – Remco Evenepoel, Belgium
- Women’s Road Race – Magdeleine Vallieres Mill, Canada
- Women’s Time Trial – Marlen Reusser, Switzerland
- Mixed Relay – Australia
Under-23 Events
- Men’s U23 Road Race – Lorenzo Finn, Italy
- Men’s U23 Time Trial – Jakob Soderqvist, Sweden
- Women’s U23 Road Race – Celia Gery, France
- Women’s U23 Time Trial – Zoe Backstedt, Great Britain
Junior Events
- Men’s Junior Road Race – Henry Hudson, Great Britain
- Men’s Junior Time Trial – Michiel Mouris, Netherlands
- Women’s Junior Road Race – Paula Ostiz, Spain
- Women’s Junior Time Trial – Megan Arens, Netherlands
About The UCI Road World Championships
The UCI Road World Championships boasts more than a century of history and tradition, though it took a gradual evolution to become the spectacle it is today.
The amateur-only debut of the event came in 1921, followed by the inclusion of professional in 1927. The addition of a women’s category came in 1958, and youth categories were added to the menu in 1975.
The weeklong UCI Road World Championships also now includes a team time trial mixed relay (2019) and a U23 women’s title (2022), which was earned in a standalone women’s event for the first time in 2025.
In 2026, the schedule includes 13 separate events over the eight days of competition.
The winners are considered the world champions and get to wear the rainbow jersey during all competitions of the same discipline during the following season.
In 2025, the UCI Road World Championships was held Kigali, Rwanda, in Southeast Africa, marking the first time in race history the action took place on the continent of Africa. All of the news, notes and results from last year can be found here.
For those who are ready to see what happens in Montreal in 2026, the complete schedule is listed below.
One top contender, also the two-time reigning champion and easily the early favorite in the road race, won’t be there. That’s Slovenian superstar Tadej Pogačar, who crashed out of the recent Vuelta a España and chose to end his season prematurely to focus on his recovery.
The five-time Tour de France winner, including 2024, 2025 and 2026, wrecked during Stage 8 of the 21-stage Vuelta, which was held Aug. 22 through Sept. 13. He was leading the race by nearly four minutes, but he left in an ambulance with a fractured collarbone that ultimately required season-ending surgery.
Paul Seixas Faces His Biggest Test Yet In The 2026 UCI Road World Championships
Paul Seixas leads Team France into the 2026 UCI Road World Championships Elite men’s road race in Montreal with a real chance to fight for the rainbow jersey.
After debuting last year in Kigali, the young French star arrives with far more weight on his shoulders.
In this preview, we break down France’s team, the Montreal course and why Seixas has become one of the biggest names to watch. His fourth overall at the Tour de France showed he can handle pressure, distance and the world’s best riders.
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FloBikes Archived Footage
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