Remco Evenepoel had the chance to make history in Montreal, and he didn’t let it slip away. The 26-year-old Belgian set a record by winning the men’s elite individual time trial at the Road World Championships for the fourth consecutive year on Sunday. Evenepoel, who had won the Grand Prix cycliste de Québec a little over a week ago, completed the 39.2-kilometre technical course in Montreal in 44:53.13, 57 seconds faster than Italy’s Filippo Ganna. “This is a special result for me, and being able to celebrate like this as I crossed the finish line (because of the large margin) makes it even more special,” said Evenepoel, who made no secret of his goal to win a fifth consecutive title next year in Haute-Savoie, France. “I felt good right from the warm-up today,” added the rider, who finished second in this summer’s Tour de France. “I pushed hard from the start and felt good throughout the race. I’m really satisfied with my performance.” Ganna, 30, was crowned world time trial champion in 2020 and 2021, but he has finished second three times in the last four years, each time behind Evenepoel. The Italian said he posted his best 45-minute power output ever, but it clearly was not enough. “I posted a better time than what I had planned with my team, so I can’t complain about my race,” he said. “Maybe it’s because of my equipment or my position — I don’t know.” READ MORE: UCI Road World Championships: Everything you need to know to get around Montreal Evenepoel replied with a smile that Ganna always says he delivered his best power output, whether he finishes second or first. “I think if he’d put out his best power output ever over 45 minutes, he would have been closer to me,” the Belgian said. “That said, personally, I feel like my power was very good.” “I understand that he would have liked to be closer to me today on a relatively flat course,” he continued. “I think he used to gain a lot of time on me in the turns, but I’ve greatly improved in that area and feel more confident now on technical sections.” The young French prodigy Paul Seixas took the bronze medal, finishing 16 seconds behind Ganna. He stayed on the leader’s wheel until the very end, with Ganna and Evenepoel the last two riders to make their move. “This is definitive proof that I’m among the specialists, since the two riders ahead of me have been world champions multiple times,” said Seixas. “It confirms the good feelings I had last week, and it bodes well for the future.” Canadians Michael Leonard and Nickolas Zukowsky finished 13th and 31st, respectively, among the 60 riders who started the race. “I was dizzy at the finish line. I’ve rarely had to push myself that hard on my time trial bike,” admitted Zukowsky, who was smiling during the first two kilometres as the crowd cheered him on. “It was hard to concentrate. I had to calm down, because otherwise I would have crashed in the first turn,” he added with a laugh. “It really gave me a boost, but I had to stay focused on the task at hand. I have to thank the people who came out along the entire course. It was absolutely incredible!” The native of Sainte-Lucie-des-Laurentides also received special encouragement through his earpiece from his partner and former professional cyclist, Simone Boilard. “I’d given her some little notes to remind me,” he said. “It was cool to have Simone talking to me through my helmet, especially at the end to cheer me on.” Sweden’s Jakob Söderqvist was on his way to a podium finish, but he crashed just over two kilometers from the finish line. He still managed to finish fifth, 13 seconds behind Seixas. American Brandon McNulty, winner of the 2025 Montreal Cycling Grand Prix, finished in fourth place, one second ahead of Söderqvist. Some of these riders will face off again on Tuesday in the mixed relay, but the highlight of the World Championships — the road race — will take place next Sunday. Evenepoel will then attempt to become the first man to win both titles in a single year at the World Championships, but he’ll have several rivals hot on his heels, including Seixas, Isaac del Toro, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Quinn Simmons. “Both (Seixas and Del Toro) posted very good times, Mathieu showed he’s in good form today (with a victory at the Tour of Luxembourg), and Wout had a strong Vuelta. The Americans are strong as well, so I think it will be a very high-level race,” he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2026.
