2026 Time Trial World Championships: route, schedule, free links to watch and favourites for this Sunday in Montréal

The 2026 Road Cycling World Championship will kick off this Sunday, September 20, in Montreal, directly featuring two of its major titles at stake. The Elite men's and women's time trials will open a week of world-class competition that will extend until Sunday, September 27, and both will take place on exactly the same course: 39.2 kilometers, 220 meters of positive elevation gain, and a route designed primarily to maintain very high speeds.

In the men's category, Remco Evenepoel arrives with the possibility of achieving something unprecedented. The Belgian has won the last three editions, and a fourth consecutive victory would allow him to match Fabian Cancellara and Tony Martin, both with four titles, as the all-time greatest winner of the World Time Trial Championship. In the women's category, Marlen Reusser will defend the rainbow jersey she won last year in Kigali, and she will do so on a course that seems particularly favorable for her characteristics.

2026 Time Trial World Championship: a pure speed course in Montreal

Montreal will be the start and finish of both Elite time trials. Men and women will have to complete the same 39.2 kilometers and 220 meters of positive elevation gain, figures that clearly contrast with the very tough course of the 2025 World Championship in Kigali.

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The start will be located on Avenue du Parc, and from there, the cyclists will head towards the St. Lawrence River. Much of the first half encourages adopting an aerodynamic position as soon as possible and maintaining power, although the urban course introduces enough changes in direction to ensure it is not simply a test of watts.

One of the most recognizable points will come at Île Notre-Dame. The race will enter the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, the venue for the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula 1, to complete part of the circuit before returning to downtown Montreal.

The first intermediate point will be approximately at km 10.5, before reaching the circuit; the second will come around km 21.5, and the third, on the way back to the city center, around km 29.5.

It will be a time trial where aerodynamics, the ability to maintain power during prolonged effort, and the choice of lines will carry significant weight. But there is one last particularity that requires conserving some energy.

The finish line is again located next to Avenue du Parc, and the last few hundred meters clearly rise. The final stretch reaches approximately a 6% gradient in its last 400 meters, enough to punish anyone who arrives completely empty after nearly 40 kilometers at maximum intensity.

Key data of the course

• Date: Sunday, September 20, 2026
• Location: Montreal, Canada
• Distance: 39.2 km
• Positive elevation gain: 220 m
• Start: Avenue du Parc
• Finish: Parc Jeanne-Mance
• Same course for men and women
• Predominantly flat profile
• Pass through Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve
• Ascending finish

2026 Time Trial World Championship schedule and where to watch

The women's time trial will officially kick off the World Championship. The organization has set its start at 09:00 hours in Montreal, 15:00 in mainland Spain, while the men's will begin at 12:45 local time, 18:45 in Spain.

Eurosport will start its broadcast a few minutes before the starts and will offer both events in full. The Montreal World Championships can be followed in Spain through Eurosport 1 and HBO Max, and they can also be followed for free through RTVE.

• Elite women's time trial: Sunday, September 20, from 15:00  WATCH FOR FREE ON RTVE
• Elite men's time trial: Sunday, September 20, from 18:45 WATCH FOR FREE ON RTVE

Remco Evenepoel can make history in Montreal

There are few titles in current cycling with such a clear dominator as the men's time trial World Championship. Remco Evenepoel has won the last three editions, Glasgow 2023, Zurich 2024, and Kigali 2025, and in Montreal, he can extend that streak to four.  This would mean equaling the four rainbow jerseys of Fabian Cancellara and Tony Martin, the current references in the historical palmarès, but with one difference: none managed to link four consecutive victories.

And Evenepoel does not arrive solely relying on his history. He has won the three time trials he has contested this season and lands in Canada after demonstrating his form with a victory in the GP of Quebec. 

The profile of Montreal also suits him. It is long enough for aerodynamic and power differences to appear, but the changes in direction and the slight final ascent introduce elements where the Belgian can also take advantage.

Filippo Ganna finds a World Championship for specialists again

If there is a course that allows thinking of Filippo Ganna as the main alternative to Evenepoel, it is probably this one. The Italian was world champion in 2020 and 2021 and has since had to coexist with Evenepoel's emergence as the great reference of the specialty. In Montreal, he will find almost the opposite of the Kigali 2025 course, where he did not participate.

Almost 40 kilometers, little elevation, and long sections where to maintain very high speeds make the Canadian event a much more suitable stage to exploit the enormous power of the Italian.

Stefan Küng arrives after winning the time trial at La Vuelta

The other great specialist arriving in Montreal with a very recent reference is Stefan Küng. The Swiss won the 32.1-kilometer time trial in Jerez in stage 18 of La Vuelta, surpassing Callum Thornley by less than three seconds. The next day, he withdrew from the race to focus precisely on his recovery and preparation for the World Championship.  Küng was already second in the 2022 World Championship, and the Canadian course gathers many of the characteristics that best suit him.

Callum Thornley, the revelation coming from La Vuelta

Callum Thornley will be one of the most interesting names in this edition. The 23-year-old Brit finished fourth in the short opening time trial of La Vuelta in Monaco and confirmed that it was no fluke by finishing second in Jerez, less than three seconds behind Küng. Just a year ago, he was fifth in the U23 World Championship. Now he will face his first Elite World Championship time trial as one of the alternatives to the great specialists.

The United Kingdom will also have Ethan Hayter, second in the opening time trial of La Vuelta, while Josh Tarling will not be in Montreal.

Seixas, McNulty, Del Toro, and other names to watch

The course may not be the one that best suits Paul Seixas, but the Frenchman has shown throughout 2026 that his time trial performance is already at the level of the best. He won a time trial in Itzulia and was fourth in one of the time trials of the Tour de France.

Brandon McNulty is another regular reference in the specialty and arrives after being third in the GP of Montreal last Sunday. Isaac del Toro, the winner of that race, will also compete in the time trial, although the Mexican finds the road race a scenario closer to his best characteristics.

Names like the 2022 world champion Tobias Foss, Daan Hoole, Jakob Söderqvist, Mikkel Bjerg, Kasper Asgreen, Matteo Sobrero, or Stefan Bissegger should also not be overlooked.

Iván Romeo and Pablo Castrillo will be Spain's hopes

Spain will have Iván Romeo and Pablo Castrillo in the men's time trial.  Romeo returns to a World Championship after coming very close to the Top 10 in Kigali 2025. The Valladolid native finished 11th in that time trial, held on a much more mountainous course, and returns now with another year of experience in the Elite category.

Castrillo completes the Spanish representation and arrives as the current Spanish time trial champion. Both will face a course where the ability to ride closely at high speed for practically the entire effort will be much more decisive than a year ago in Rwanda.

Marlen Reusser returns as the reference in the women's time trial

If Evenepoel draws much of the attention in the men's race, Marlen Reusser occupies a similar position among women.

The Swiss cyclist won the world title she had been chasing for years in Kigali 2025, after having been second in 2020 and 2021 and third in 2022. Now she arrives in Montreal with the rainbow jersey and with recent results that support her status as a reference.

Reusser won this year the 23.7-kilometer time trial of the Tour de Suisse and again triumphed in August in the 21-kilometer time trial of the Tour de France Femmes. In the latter, she beat Lieke Nooijen by four seconds, Demi Vollering by 18, and Zoe Bäckstedt by 20.

The main difference compared to Kigali will be the terrain. There, she won the title on a course with much more elevation; Montreal offers a much faster and more aerodynamic effort, but that should not be strange for a rider with her characteristics.

Zoe Bäckstedt wants to take another step

At just 21 years old, Zoe Bäckstedt is already among the top specialists in the world. The British rider was second behind Reusser in the time trial of the Tour de Suisse, 11 seconds back, and fourth in the Tour de France Femmes time trial, 20 seconds behind.

Her power and ability to maintain high speeds make a course like Montreal's particularly suitable for her.

Vollering and Nooijen strengthen Dutch options

The Netherlands will have two very different but equally dangerous options. Demi Vollering, world bronze medalist last year in Kigali, finished third in the time trial of the Tour de France Femmes, 18 seconds behind Reusser. Although the Canadian profile does not offer significant climbs to exploit her climbing ability, she has more than proven that she can compete in a time trial of this nature.

Lieke Nooijen arrives even more supported by her specific time trial results. She was second in the Tour, just four seconds behind Reusser, and will approach the World Championship with the possibility of fully focusing on this specialty.

Antonia Niedermaier, Elisa Longo Borghini, Kristen Faulkner, Lotte Kopecky, Taylor Knibb, Anna Morris, and Vittoria Guazzini are part of the large second group of riders capable of approaching podium positions.

Mireia Benito and Paula Blasi will represent Spain

The women's time trial will feature Mireia Benito and Paula Blasi as Spanish representatives.  Benito arrives with a particularly valuable World Championship reference. In Kigali 2025, she finished 10th Elite, entering the world Top 10 for the first time after completing a great performance despite experiencing communication issues via radio during the race.

For Paula Blasi, it will be a different World Championship. The Spaniard was U23 bronze in the road race in Kigali and this year will face the Elite races. In the time trial, she finished 11th in the recent time trial of the Tour de France Femmes, 1:04 behind Reusser, a result that confirms her progression in this discipline as well.