The World Road Cycling Championships will take place in Montreal in 2026, the International Cycling Union (UCI) confirmed in a press release Thursday morning.
The competitions will take place in the metropolis from September 20 to 27, 2026, just one week after the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec and Montréal (GPCQM). The Worlds will also be piloted by the promoter of the GPCQM, with the support of the UCI and Cycling Canada.
For the president and general manager of the 2026 Montreal Worlds, Sébastien Arsenault, this result is the culmination of two years of sustained work.
“We are very grateful that the UCI has placed its trust in us to welcome representatives and players from world cycling in order to crown future UCI world champions. We will deliver an event worthy of its reputation and which will mark the sporting history of the metropolis,” declared Arsenault.
The Quebecer added that he had done his homework before presenting Montreal’s candidacy for obtaining the World Road Cycling Championships, and stressed that studies had been carried out for a year to know the extent of the necessary investments.
“The financial benefits are there, the risk is very low, because there will be no risk of cost overruns of $115 million, for example, to build a stadium or something like that, so for me it was meaning. And what better way to revive the post-pandemic economy than to hold an event like this (the Worlds)? Without forgetting that the bicycle is still the universal symbol of sustainable mobility, ”he added in a telephone interview with The Canadian Press.
It will be the first time since 1974 that the World Road Cycling Championships will be held in Montreal. At the time, this competition served as a rehearsal for the Summer Olympics in Montreal in 1976. It will also be the first time since 2003 in Hamilton, Ontario, that the Worlds will be held in Canada.
“The country and the province love cycling, and have demonstrated it every year for more than 10 years with the holding of the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec and Montréal (GPCQM), mentioned UCI President David Lappartient. I am convinced that the event […] will be a fantastic showcase for cycling in North America. »
No less than 11 titles will be at stake at the Montreal Worlds in 2026; there will be six time trial events, and five road events.
Around 1,000 athletes, male and female, from more than 75 countries will be divided into the Elite, Under 23 and Junior categories.
The 2022 Road Cycling World Championships are currently taking place in Wollongong, Australia.