Published September 26, 2026 04:33AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Montr\u00e9al\u2019s attritional circuit has started giving up its secrets for what favorites like Demi Vollering<\/a> and Mathieu van der Poel<\/a> will be facing in the UCI Road World Championships<\/a>.<\/p>\n The opening road races at the Montr\u00e9al road world championships<\/a> have shown us where the attacks are likely to fly, how the wheels can quickly fall off a chase, and why the grinding uphill drag to the line could still decide the rainbow jersey.<\/p>\n The junior and U23 races have offered a glimpse<\/a> of how the circuit races, but the elite fields this weekend will also pack more depth, horsepower, and far more kilometers.<\/p>\n Still, some key takeaways can be made.<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s women\u2019s race looks tailor-made for Vollering to claim her first elite world road title, but it won\u2019t be easy.<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s men\u2019s race will test whether Van der Poel can survive repeated climbs up Camillien-Houde and 3,700 meters of elevation gain against explosive climbers like Isaac del Toro<\/a> and Paul Seixas<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here is what the racing has told us so far:<\/p>\n The broad urban boulevards of central Montr\u00e9al can make this look like a forgiving city circuit. The racing this week says otherwise.<\/p>\n The steep ascent of Voie Camillien-Houde has repeatedly forced the decisive moves in the four road races contested so far.<\/p>\n Vikt\u00f3ria Chlado\u0148ov\u00e1 and Isabella Holmgren powered away in the under-23 women\u2019s race and settled the title in a two-rider sprint.<\/p>\n In the junior men\u2019s race, Benjam\u00edn Noval attacked on the penultimate lap<\/a>, took company over the top and then left everyone behind. Ashlin Barry<\/a> dropped his last breakaway companion with just under 30km remaining and held off five chasers over the closing climbs.<\/p>\n The later hills stacked up at Polytechnique and Pagnuelo in the second half of the circuit are giving attackers more space to press their advantage.<\/p>\n That pattern favors riders who have the legs to accelerate on Camillien-Houde and keep piling on.<\/p>\n The winning moves might not come exactly there, but the Camillien-Houde climb is proving to be the race-breaker so far.<\/p>\n The biggest takeaway came from Friday\u2019s under-23 men\u2019s race.<\/p>\n Barry joined a move early, attacked out of it late, and carried his advantage all the way to the rainbow jersey. The chasers could see him up the road, but seeing him and catching him proved very different things.<\/p>\n That will give ambitious riders like Team USA or an outsider like Toms Skuji\u0146\u0161 something to think about this weekend. An early move can have real chances if strong riders get clear and the nations screw up the chase behind.<\/p>\n The elite races present a different calculus, however, than what we\u2019ve seen so far, but more than a few pros took note of Barry\u2019s raid.<\/p>\n Larger and deeper teams have more riders to control the gaps, while the longer distances give the favorites more time to bring a break back, but cooperation (or the lack of) between rival national teams can give breaks some air.<\/p>\n Barry\u2019s ride proves the circuit rewards the brave, and worlds has a long history of occasionally serving up a rogue winner.<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s junior women\u2019s road race produced the world\u2019s first reduced bunch kick. Spain\u2019s Alejandra Neira won in a five-up drag to the line to take gold.<\/p>\n That\u2019s good news for riders like Michael Matthews<\/a> or Lotte Kopecky<\/a>, who will be holding out hope if a small group survives.<\/p>\n The key is surviving over Camillien-Houde and reconnecting with the lead group. A deeper elite field could see more regrouping of scattered riders than the earlier splintered age-group races have shown us so far.<\/p>\n And if several riders do arrive together, the grinding uphill finale requires a mix of cold-blooded patience and perfect timing.<\/p>\n The road keeps grinding upward toward the line, and going too early could see riders getting swarmed, and leaving it too late could mean missing a medal.<\/p>\n Montr\u00e9al\u2019s urban circuit is largely contested on wide roads and offers plenty of room to move, even if team cars have struggled<\/a>.<\/p>\n There are a few traffic islands and other pinch points that will make positioning important before the climbs, especially on some of the cornering if the group is still big in the closing laps.<\/p>\n The course is also littered with painted pedestrian crossings and white traffic lines.<\/p>\n So far, Montr\u00e9al has served up crisp, dry autumn weather, and we haven\u2019t seen a lot of riders losing the grip on the corners.<\/p>\n There is a small chance of rain late Sunday, but forecasters are not calling for showers until after the men\u2019s race ends. If rain comes earlier, the course could turn treacherous.<\/p>\n Montr\u00e9al\u2019s battered roads have drawn some complaints, but as one local said, that\u2019s what Canada\u2019s harsh winters do.<\/p>\n Crews have patched up the worst sections, and any remaining bumps and divots have been highlighted with bright neon paint marks.<\/p>\n So far, besides a few minor crashes, the peloton has been able to handle the demands of the course.<\/p>\n That could change with the bigger, more crowded pelotons or if the weather suddenly changes this weekend.<\/p>\n Vollering should relish that sort of attrition, and after being on a tear for much of 2026, she\u2019s the five-star favorite.<\/p>\n Even with a loaded Dutch team, the two-time Tour de France Femmes champion will need to win this one alone<\/a>.<\/p>\n Top rivals include Kasia Niewiadoma and rising Spanish star Paula Blasi<\/a>.<\/p>\n The course might be a touch too hard for Kopecky or Marlen Reusser, with American road worlds debutant Kate Courtney entering unknown territory. Don\u2019t count out rider like Elisa Longo Borghini or rising Swiss star Noemi R\u00fcegg if it comes down to a reduced bunch kick.<\/p>\n For Van der Poel, the question is whether his classics-built horsepower can hold out on the incessant climbing. Wout van Aert<\/a> and Mads Pedersen are also on the bubble on this course<\/a>.<\/p>\n At 3700m packed into Sunday\u2019s men\u2019s road race, the accumulative elevation \u2014 at least on paper \u2014 looks almost like a grand tour mountain stage.<\/p>\n It\u2019s less than the total elevation at Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge, at about 4,300m, but more than Tour of Flanders, which usually averages around 2,200m.<\/p>\n Lighter riders like Remco Evenepoel<\/a>, Seixas, Del Toro, and Tom Pidcock could hold the advantage.<\/p>\n Fatigue and attrition, however, are the ultimate deciders in any road worlds.<\/p>\n At 180km and 273km, respectively, these are the longest one-day races that the top women and men will race all season.<\/p>\n Tactics and plans only count for so much at the six-hour, monument-distance courses that make the worlds so unique<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the closing laps, it\u2019s whoever still carries a few diamonds in the legs who usually brings home the rainbow jersey.<\/p>\nCamillien-Houde is where the damage is done<\/h2>\n
Barry showed an early break can survive<\/h2>\n
![\"Ashlin](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2297098504.jpg?width=2048&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\"\/)
The fast finishers still have a way in<\/h2>\n
![\"Alejandra](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2297140889.jpg?width=2048&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\"\/)
Position and weather could change everything<\/h2>\n
![\"Montr\u00e9al](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2297129719.jpg?width=2048&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\"\/)
Who does it favor?<\/h2>\n
![\"Vollering](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2296153898.jpg?width=2048&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\"\/)