Belgium’s national coach and former pro Serge Pauwels is leaving as little as possible to chance ahead of the road world championships in Montreal this September. As reported by Sporza, Pauwels is in La Belle Province this week, not just to study the race routes, but to figure out where his riders should live and train during a packed block of racing.
A chunk of time in Quebec
The calendar makes things complicated. The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal fall on Sept. 11 and 13, and a week later the world championships is in Montreal. That leaves a gap to manage, especially for riders targeting the road race on Sept. 27. Because it doesn’t make sense to fly back to Europe in that short span. Which means they will stay here and train.
“It’s really important that we find a good place in this region that can serve as a base between the Canadian races and the worlds,” Pauwels said. The idea is to avoid keeping riders stuck in a city hotel for two weeks.
“We want to create a kind of isolation bubble for the guys doing both the Canadian one-day races and the worlds,” he explained. “Even if that’s only three to five riders, I’m not a fan of putting them in a hotel for two weeks. After a while, they forget what they’re there for.”
Somewhere to get miles in
The solution? Somewhere quieter, with space to train and recover properly — not ideal in a busy place like Montreal. One of the few choices that is used by pros or amateurs is the F1 circuit–that’s fine for an easy ride, doing laps of the 6-km circuit, but not for a long stay. But there are plenty of great roads for training outside of the city.
Pauwels is travelling with a small Belgian Cycling delegation and under-23 rider Viktor Soenens as they scout options. A final decision hasn’t been made, but he hinted they are close.
On the courses
There’s also the racing itself. Pauwels has already ridden parts of the time trial and road race courses. The 39.9-kilometre time trial is largely flat, aside from a slight rise near the finish, with two laps of Montreal’s Formula 1 circuit before heading back along the waterfront.
“It’s basically pan-flat, which we expected,” he said. “But it’s good to see and feel it for yourself. The wind usually comes from the south.”
La fédération belge en repérage à Montréal 🇧🇪
Cette semaine, @sergepauwels et Victor Soenens ont découvert les circuits de #Montréal2026, du circuit Gilles-Villeneuve au mythique Mont-Royal.
On leur a posé quelques questions : parcours, ambitions et avis sur Montréal… pic.twitter.com/HPjo3RjgQ0
— Montréal 2026 (@Montreal_2026) April 23, 2026
That profile could suit pure power riders like Filippo Ganna, whom Pauwels flagged as a serious rival. While Remco Evenepoel remains a natural contender, Pauwels suggested the course opens the door to a broader group of specialists.
As for Wout van Aert, he won’t ride the time trial. The focus, Pauwels confirmed, is firmly on the road race after the Vuelta, another detail in a plan where, clearly, nothing is being left to guesswork. Van Aert has done well on the Montreal circuit, finishing behind a certain Tadej Pogačar back in 2021.
The 2026 UCI road worlds are going down Sept. 20–27, and it’s gonna be big. According to the organizers, the event is expected to bring roughly 1,000 riders from 80 countries and as many as 500,000 spectators. That will make it Montreal’s biggest sporting moment since the 1976 Olympics.
And the City of Montreal is doing lots to prepare the road, too. Given MTL’s infamous potholes, there is pressure to fix it up so that Wout van Aert doesn’t fall through a hole on Notre-Dame St. E and end up in a portal to another dimension. If you’ve ridden in Montreal…well, IYKYK.
When asked about crashes in the road race, organizing committee GM Joseph Limare said it’s part of the sport. But they sure don’t want it to be the result of lousy roads, he said.
“Let’s make sure any crashes are the result of the racing, and not from the quality of the asphalt.”