Evenepoel targets history in Montreal as Pogacar sits out and Britain fields Pidcock and Onley
Remco Evenepoel is targeting history in Montreal at the world road championships' men’s elite road race on Sunday, with Tadej Pogacar absent and Britain represented by Tom Pidcock and Oscar Onley.
Pogacar is recovering after a heavy crash in the Vuelta a España, leaving a larger group of contenders to vie for the rainbow jersey including Tom Pidcock, Oscar Onley, Paul Seixas of France, Evenepoel and Isaac del Toro of Mexico. Evenepoel, the first rider to win four consecutive world time trial titles, has stated his aim to become the first rider to hold all four world and Olympic road and time trial titles simultaneously. He has described his preparation for Montreal as “Project Canada” and recognises that Pogacar’s absence opens a rare opportunity.
Pidcock is among those expected to figure on the long course after finishing second to Pogacar in Milan-Sanremo in March and collecting recent wins in the world mountain bike championships and GP Industria & Artigianato. The double Olympic gold medallist recorded a best-ever ninth place in this summer’s Tour de France and has linked his upturn in form to his departure from Ineos Grenadiers — now, as Netcompany Ineos, home to Onley — in late 2024. “I’m not the top favourite,” Pidcock said. “I think it’s quite an open race, but it’s my best shot so far.”
Oscar Onley carries backing from Netcompany Ineos director of racing Geraint Thomas after a season that included fourth place in the 2025 Tour de France and the best young rider classification at this year’s Vuelta, a campaign that saw him drop out of the overall top five after losing time on the final mountain stage. “He’s a great rider,” Thomas said of the Scot. “He’s a super talent, with an attitude that I can relate to. He’s mentally strong, he wants to perform and he’s desperate to do that. He puts a lot of pressure on himself. I just don’t want to see him suffering from putting extra pressure on himself.”
British women’s hopes rest with Zoe Backstedt after she took silver in the elite women’s time trial last weekend; the 22-year-old was fifth in this year’s Tour of Flanders and was a key protagonist in the decisive stage of this year’s Tour de France Femmes, which featured repeated climbs of the Col d’Eze. Backstedt’s career began with Cardiff’s Maindy Flyers club and she emphasised her team’s potential on the difficult circuit in Montreal, saying: “It’s going to be a hard course. But I think with the team that we’ve got coming, we will make it a really hard race.”
The women’s peloton also includes Tour de France Femmes champion Demi Vollering, Kasia Niewiadoma, Kim Le Court, former world champion Lotte Kopecky, Marlen Reusser, Elisa Longo Borghini and Paula Blasi; Reusser successfully defended her world time trial title last weekend and Blasi is the winner of the 2026 Vuelta Feminina. The presence of those riders adds depth to a field stacked with established names and recent titleholders.
Rider safety has shadowed the week in Montreal. Two years after the death of Muriel Furrer at the 2024 UCI world road championships, Matt Brennan — a five-stage winner in the recent Vuelta — criticised cycling’s response to the death of Fin Tarling in Portugal in August, saying: “There should be an independent organisation that holds the (race) organisations, the UCI and everything accountable to some very strict rules that makes sure the safety of the riders is held as a priority.” He added: “It’s unbelievable, because you’ve lost a friend and when nothing changes it is really shocking.” After meeting in Montreal, the UCI’s management committee did not make any reference to recent lapses in race safety; while improved barriers, GPS tracking and equipment regulation were cited as essential safety measures, there was no mention of the security issues that have repeatedly allowed cars on to race courses. The circumstances of Tarling’s death are the subject of an investigation by the Portuguese Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The men’s elite road race in Montreal is scheduled over 273.7km and includes almost 4,000m of climbing, while the elite women’s race is set at 180km and comprises almost three thousand metres of climbing; both events will be decisive tests for riders contesting world titles this week.