RACE REPORT: Remco Evenepoel has done it again. The Belgian superstar blasted around the 39.9-kilometre Montréal course to claim his fourth consecutive elite men’s world time trial title – and join Fabian Cancellara and Tony Martin as the event’s joint record holders. Filippo Ganna took another silver medal, while 19-year-old French sensation Paul Seixas delivered the surprise of the day with bronze.
There are time-trial victories, and then there are the rides where one man simply operates on a different level from everyone else.
Remco Evenepoel’s performance in Montréal was very much the latter.
The defending champion was the only rider to break the 45-minute barrier, stopping the clock 57 seconds faster than Italian powerhouse Filippo Ganna. Behind them, Paul Seixas announced himself as one of cycling’s brightest young talents by taking a remarkable bronze medal at his first elite World Championships.
Nick Zukowsky finished 31st for Canada
For Evenepoel, it was a historic fourth rainbow jersey in a row—and another clinical demonstration of why he remains the best time trial rider in the world.A Course Built for Speed—With a Sting in the TailThe elite men faced 39.9 kilometres through Montréal, with fewer than 200 metres of climbing across the course.
On paper, it was a route for the big engines: fast, relatively flat and suited to riders capable of holding enormous power for close to 45 minutes.
But the profile didn’t tell the whole story.
Michael Leonard was top Canadian in 13th, average speed just a whisker under 50km/h
Most of the climbing was packed into the final kilometres, where the road tilted upward and tired legs could quickly surrender chunks of time. Go too hard early and the Montréal finale would expose you. Hold too much back and the rainbow jersey would already be gone.
Evenepoel arrived as the overwhelming favourite after winning the previous three editions. His main challenger was expected to be Filippo Ganna, the two-time world champion who had finished second to the Belgian in both 2023 and 2024.
Daan Hoole was the sole Dutch representative.
Asgreen Sets the Early Mark
As usual, the riders from the smaller cycling nations were among the first down the start ramp, with Guinea-Bissau’s Gil Gomes opening proceedings.
Apolinário Cá and Gil Landim Gomes took 59th and 60th places for Guinea-Bissau and go home with stories of how the raced in the Worlds
The first serious benchmark came from Denmark’s Kasper Asgreen, who reached the finish in 46:41.
That gave the field something to chase—but it wasn’t going to last.
Sweden’s Jakob Söderqvist soon emerged as one of the early surprises. The 23-year-old was ten seconds faster than Asgreen through the opening checkpoint and looked capable of challenging for a place on the podium.
Hoole, meanwhile, struggled to find his best rhythm. At the first time check he was already 27 seconds behind the young Swede, leaving his hopes of a top-10 finish hanging by a thread.
The Favourites Roll Out
Once the big guns began appearing on the course, the first time split produced a few surprises.
Stefan Küng was only seventh fastest, 11 seconds down on Söderqvist. Ganna was even further back in tenth, posting almost the same time as the Swiss rider.
Brandon McNulty came through fifth at nine seconds, while Czech rider Mathias Vacek was 12th at 18 seconds.
Then Remco arrived.
Evenepoel hit the first checkpoint like a man determined to end the argument as quickly as possible. He was already 22 seconds faster than Ganna and Küng—and nine seconds ahead of Söderqvist.
Less than a quarter of the way into the race, everyone else was already chasing silver.
Paul Seixas Announces Himself
While Evenepoel was tearing the race apart, Paul Seixas was putting together one of the performances of the championships.
Still only 19 years old, the Frenchman crossed the finish line a staggering 35 seconds faster than Asgreen. It was the fastest time of the day to that point and immediately placed Seixas in contention for a medal.
At just his first elite World Championships, he had delivered a ride far beyond what most would have expected.
The question was whether it would hold up once Evenepoel, Ganna and the remaining favourites reached the finish.
Ganna Lifts the Pace—But Remco Goes Faster
At the second checkpoint, Ganna appeared to be finding his legs. The Italian clawed back a few seconds on Söderqvist and began moving toward the silver-medal position.
Any hope of challenging Evenepoel, however, was disappearing quickly.
The Belgian had extended his advantage over Ganna to 40 seconds. He was also 34 seconds faster than Söderqvist and 39 seconds ahead of Seixas.
Evenepoel was not fading. He was getting stronger.
Disaster for Söderqvist
Söderqvist remained on course for a possible medal and was still the fastest rider at the third checkpoint among those who had passed through.
But in the final section, disaster struck.
The Swede crashed, and with it went his chance of standing on the podium. He recovered to finish, but crossed the line behind both Seixas and McNulty.
It was a cruel end to what had been one of the rides of the day.
Ganna Secures Silver
Evenepoel continued to extend his advantage through the third section, adding another eight seconds to his lead over Ganna.
The Italian was clearly heading toward the silver medal, however. At the finish, he went 15 seconds faster than Seixas and moved into the provisional lead.
But everyone knew the real race winner was still out on the road.
Ganna had produced another world-class time trial. On almost any other day, it might have been enough.
This was not any other day.
Four in a Row for Evenepoel
Evenepoel powered through the closing kilometres without showing any sign of weakness.
He crossed the line as the only rider under 45 minutes, beating Ganna by 57 seconds and claiming a fourth consecutive elite men’s world time trial championship.
Four starts. Four rainbow jerseys.
The victory moves Evenepoel level with Fabian Cancellara and Tony Martin, who also won four world time trial titles during their careers. Neither, however, managed to win four consecutively.
Ganna was once again forced to settle for silver, while Seixas completed a sensational ride with the bronze medal.
Hoole recovered well after his difficult start and climbed back into ninth place by the finish.
But the day belonged entirely to Evenepoel.
The Belgian didn’t simply defend his world title in Montréal. He demolished the field, rewrote the record book and proved—once again—that when Remco Evenepoel is at his best against the clock, everyone else is racing for second place.
2026 World Championships – Elite Men’s Time Trial Results
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