As Tadej Pogačar rounded off an exhilarating edition of the GP Montréal on Sunday, red inflatables and boards advertising the return of the UCI Road World Championships to Canada's second-biggest city in two years were unmissable. Even the final U-turn bend on the Avenue du Parc was coloured by Montréal 2026 branding, with the anticipation building year after year for the city to act as the epicentre for worlds.
Fittingly Pogačar's solo triumph arrived 50 years after Eddy Merckx became men's World Champion for the third time in Montréal and at the first championships outside of Europe. The Belgian also completed the first-ever fabled 'Triple Crown' that year, something which the Slovenian will take aim at on September 29 in Zürich after already winning the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.
The Slovenian went on to comment post-race how much the race had grown since he won the 2022 edition of the same race, with the Tour de France: Unchained Netflix documentary likely playing a role in this and helping the sport grow in North America. This makes it the perfect time to have worlds incoming, with an opportunity to change the cycling culture in Québec.
"It was an incredible atmosphere. Two years ago, it was for sure not like this. 2026 will be a good year for Montréal and the Canadian races and I hope it's gonna be a good year for me as well," said Pogačar in his winner's press conference.
"Pogačar won in Montréal two years ago, then last year there's the Netflix series and a few months ago people were saying, 'Hey Pogacar will come it's incredible' but we have to tell them 'Guys, Pogačar won here two years ago'," explained Montréal 2026 CEO and GPCQM General Manager Joseph Limare in an interview with media including Cyclingnews.
"The Netflix effect in North America is very good for cycling."
The documentary focused on the Tour de France, titled 'Unchained' has tried to follow the example of Formula 1's 'Drive to survive' by increasing interest in the USA, which has worked on a smaller scale, but also to Canada, where the presence of top riders like Derek Gee and Tour stage winner Michael Woods has contributed to a growth in cycling focus.
"I think you see with the Netflix documentary and with Canadians starting to race so well again, the sport is definitely gaining some momentum here," agreed Canadian national champion Woods ahead of the GP Montréal. "Then you put the World Championships in front of a Canadian crowd and I'm sure, I hope, that some kids will be inspired."
Road race course details
It was already that the stunning Mont-Royal will remain the heartbeat of the men's and women's road races in 2026, making up the large majority of the 270km course aside from a short excursion off the island that most of the city lies on.
While Limare and his team wanted to completely honour the 1974 course with an identical route, it simply wasn't possible with the ongoing construction in the city and a complete redesign of portions where Merckx and France's Geneviève Gambillon rode into rainbows.
Gambillon, winner of the women's race 50 years ago, was once again present at the race in Montréal, honoured on stage with a presentation alongside two-time world champion Julian Alaphilippe and ringing the bell for the final lap of the 2024 race.
"80% of the GP Montréal circuit will be used. We are going to use a pretty similar route as the Grand Prix but we change maybe 15%. The Junior and U23 races will be exclusively on the circuit but men and women elite will go outside the Montréal island," said Limare.
But the famed Avenue du Parc will maintain its spot as the location of the finish line, albeit in "the same place but not the same way" according to Limare. Sunday's race showed it as a worth finishing position for rainbows to be decided, with hundreds of fans lining each side of the barriers to welcome Pogačar.
The great Bernard Hinault told Montréal 2026 Président Sébastien Arsenault "You already have your course!" last year and the organisers have agreed, opting to stick with the Parc du Mont-Royal. It was also a given that if Montréal again hosted the worlds, the main climb which characterises the 12.3km circuit - Côte du Camillien-Houde - would serve as the high point.
"It was a wish [to copy the 1974 parcours] but with the works and construction it was not easy," said Limare. "We will not be able to have the same circuit and start/finish but it will be 80% of the circuit. It was a condition that if Montréal wanted to have worlds, we needed to have the Camillien-Houde."
Whatever the confirmed details will be when 2026 actually rolls around, the Mont Royal circuit is enough to provide a worthy winner according to Woods who, despite being from Ontario, knows it well having cut his teeth as a racer in the Montréal and Québec racing scene.
"Montréal in general is just a great sporting city so I think from a fan perspective there'll be a lot of people here," said Woods. "The course itself will be really, really hard, I haven't seen the exact details of the course but if it's anything like this circuit, a worthy World Champion will be made."
Time trial details and building a legacy
For the time trial, which will arrive a week after the final dress rehearsal at the 2026 GP Montréal, Limare revealed that organisers wanted to honour the 1976 Olympics in Montréal on its 50th anniversary, however, ongoing renovations to the Olympic stadium meant it wouldn't work featuring it.
"First of all because 2026 will be the 50th anniversary of the Olympics in Montreal, we wanted to go from the stadium to another Olympic installation and show the Olympic heritage, but the stadium will be in the works and we will not be able to see it so we said no there," he said.
"100% of the TT will not be on the island but in the Montréal territory because we will probably go on the Formula 1 circuit for one and a half laps and then go from the river through the bridge but it is not booked 100%."
With the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and crossing over the Saint Lawrence River likely to be prominent, it should provide a stunning view of some of the city's most recognisable landmarks, all while suiting the pure TT specialists with under 200 metres of elevation gain on a flat course.
It is also about legacy for Limare and the team organising the worlds in 2026, with the aim of changing the cycling culture altogether through the landmark event.
"Every day of my life, I sit with people from Montréal and say 'think about the GP and it's more than 10 times bigger than that' and at that point they realise," said Limare.
"No cycling culture here but Montréal had one time the World Championships in 1974 and that's my tool to convince everybody. In 74', Eddy Merckx won but riders are not known to everybody so the culture is not easy. That is what we are looking for, we want to go to all the Montréal island schools, put the kids on the bike and play, have fun and say OK you will be able to see the best in the world."
