2026 UCI Road World Championships
Cycling world championships
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The 2026 UCI Road World Championships will be the 99th edition of the UCI Road World Championships, the annual world championships for road bicycle racing. It is scheduled to be held from 20 to 27 September 2026 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[1][2]
 | |
  Montreal Location within Canada | |
| Venue | Montreal, Quebec, Canada  |
|---|---|
| Date | 20–27 September 2026 |
| Coordinates | 45°30′32″N 73°33′15″W |
| Events | 13 |
The championships will mark the return of the UCI Road World Championships to Montreal 52 years after the city hosted the 1974 edition, which was the first time the event was held outside Europe.[2] It will be the third time Canada has hosted the event, after Montreal in 1974 and Hamilton in 2003.[3]
A total of thirteen events are scheduled, consisting of six road races, six individual time trials, and a team time trial mixed relay.[4] Approximately 1,000 athletes from around 75 countries are expected to compete.[2]
Background
The event was awarded to Montreal at the UCI Congress held during the 2022 UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia.[2] The event is being organized by the promoter of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec et de Montréal, with support from Cycling Canada.[2]
The Canadian federal government announced a CA$13-million investment to support the hosting of the championships, with CA$9.8 million from Sport Canada through the Hosting Program and CA$3.2 million from Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions.[5]
The event is expected to be the largest sporting event in Montreal since the 1976 Summer Olympics.[2] Admission to all events will be free of charge.[6]
Course
The routes were unveiled during the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda.[3]
Road races
The road races feature a final circuit of 13.4 kilometres (8.3 mi) around Mount Royal in downtown Montreal, with 269 metres (883 ft) of elevation gain per lap.[4] The circuit includes the Voie Camillien-Houde climb (2.3 kilometres (1.4 mi) at 6.2% average gradient), the Chemin de la Polytechnique with sections exceeding 11% gradient, and a false flat rising along Avenue du Parc, which serves as the finish line for all thirteen events.[4] The circuit is similar to that used by the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, as well as previous cycling events in Montréal such as the 1974 UCI Road World Championships and 1976 Summer Olympics.
The elite men's road race covers 273.4 kilometres (169.9 mi) with 3,803 metres (12,477 ft) of total elevation gain,[7] while the elite women's road race spans 180.1 kilometres (111.9 mi) with 2,570 metres (8,430 ft) of elevation gain.[8] Both elite road races start in Brossard, in the Montérégie region, before passing through several municipalities and crossing the Samuel De Champlain Bridge to reach the Mount Royal circuit in downtown Montréal.[4][3]
Time trials
The elite time trials follow a 39.2-kilometre (24.4-mile) route through Montreal, racing along the Saint Lawrence River, crossing the Samuel De Champlain Bridge, passing through the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, and returning via the Concorde Bridge.[3]
Virtual route
Online indoor exercise platform and host of the 2026 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, MyWhoosh, has a virtual route replicating the Mont Royal final circuit of the road races.[4]
Schedule
All events will start and finish in Montreal, with the exception of the elite road races, which start at Quartier DIX30 in Brossard. Avenue du Parc serves as the finish line for all events.[4]
All times listed below are for the local time – Eastern Daylight Time or UTC−04:00.
Individual time trials
| Date | Timings[9] | Event | Location (start) |
Location (finish) |
Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 September | 09:00 | 11:20 | Elite women | Montreal | 39.2 km (24.4 mi)[10][11] | |
| 12:45 | 15:15 | Elite men | ||||
| 21 September | 09:00 | 10:40 | Under-23 women | 20.3 km (12.6 mi)[12] | ||
| 12:00 | 14:25 | Under-23 men | 31.3 km (19.4 mi)[12] | |||
| 22 September | 12:15 | 14:25 | Junior men | 20.3 km (12.6 mi)[13] | ||
| 15:15 | 16:45 | Junior women | 10.7 km (6.6 mi)[13] | |||
Mixed event
Road races
| Date | Timings[9] | Event | Location (start) |
Location (finish) |
Distance | Laps[b] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 September | 09:00 | 12:45 | Under-23 women | Montreal | Montreal | 134 km (83 mi)[17][18] | 10[17][18] |
| 13:30 | 17:00 | Junior men | |||||
| 25 September | 09:00 | 13:20 | Under-23 men | 174.2 km (108.2 mi)[19][20] | 13[19][20] | ||
| 14:15 | 16:35 | Junior women | 80.4 km (50.0 mi)[20] | 6[20] | |||
| 26 September | 09:00 | 14:10 | Elite women | Brossard | 180.1 km (111.9 mi)[21] | 8[21] | |
| 27 September | 09:00 | 15:40 | Elite men | 273.4 km (169.9 mi)[22] | 12[22] | ||