{"id":206258,"date":"2026-09-25T14:45:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T14:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=206258"},"modified":"2026-09-25T14:45:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T14:45:39","slug":"vollering-and-evenepoel-are-slight-road-race-world-championship-favourites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/09\/25\/vollering-and-evenepoel-are-slight-road-race-world-championship-favourites\/","title":{"rendered":"Vollering and Evenepoel Are Slight Road Race World Championship Favourites"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>This weekend&#8217;s Elite Men&#8217;s and Women&#8217;s Road Race World Championships should provide plenty of suspense, drama, and maybe even a few shocks. While the Elite Women&#8217;s race seems fairly clear as to who the favourites are, just cast your minds back a year and take heed: anything can happen again. (If you don&#8217;t remember, see below.) With the absence of defending champion Tadej Poga\u010dar, the Elite Men&#8217;s race is much more open, and boasts two, three, even four or five possible winners.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Remco for the world title double?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The run-up to Sunday&#8217;s Elite Men&#8217;s World Championship Road Race was overshadowed by Mathieu van der Poel&#8217;s 176 km start-to-finish solo to win the final stage of the \u0160koda Tour de Luxembourg last Sunday. Talk about a great warm-up! That by itself should have made him the favourite for Sunday. But he had already played down his chances before that jaw-dropping performance.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI think it will still be a little too difficult for me,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/sports\/motorsports\/a-little-too-difficult-for-me-mathieu-van-der-poel-plays-down-his-world-championships-chances\/ar-AA2cr2g4?ocid=BingNewsSerp\">he said<\/a> after winning the first stage of the Luxembourg race. \u201cIf you saw which riders were at the front on Sunday [at the GP de Montr\u00e9al].\u201d That race, which was held over a similar circuit as Sunday&#8217;s title race, was won by Mexico&#8217;s Isaac del Toro after a two-man sprint with France&#8217;s now-20-year-old Paul Seixas. Both are superior climbers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But after doing a recon of Sunday&#8217;s course, van der Poel changed his mind. \u201cIt was more or less in line with what I expected,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingweekly.com\/road-world-championships\/on-the-limit-but-not-impossible-mathieu-van-der-poel-readies-for-the-last-race-of-his-season\">he told journalists<\/a> on Thursday. \u201cAs I said before, it&#8217;s simply a difficult circuit. Probably just on the limit, but not impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No, that&#8217;s not what he said before. Then he added: \u201cI don&#8217;t think I&#8217;m one of the biggest favourites, but I still have a chance of winning the race if everything goes well.\u201d He emphasized the taxing 600-metreclimb (at 4.6%) to the finish, saying: \u201c[E]specially from around the last 500 metres before the finish all the way to the top. It&#8217;s a really difficult climb. But a lot will depend on how the race develops.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I think he is one of the big favourites and will likely set off on his own from distance. But surely not at the start. The course is 273.4 km long, and this is a much higher level of competition than at the Tour de Luxembourg, and there is much more \u2013 and much steeper \u2013 climbing. The men climb the Voie Camillien-Houde (1.7 km @ 7.3%) 12 times, which \u2013 including the final climb \u2013 makes for 3,800 metresof altitude gain; that&#8217;s a lot of climbing on such a long race.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_206235\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-206235\" style=\"width: 990px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2026\/09\/Remco-Evenepoel-ITT-profimedia-1136900794-CVR.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-206235 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2026\/09\/Remco-Evenepoel-ITT-profimedia-1136900794-CVR.webp\" alt=\"Remco Evenepoel\" width=\"990\" height=\"660\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2026\/09\/Remco-Evenepoel-ITT-profimedia-1136900794-CVR.webp 990w, https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2026\/09\/Remco-Evenepoel-ITT-profimedia-1136900794-CVR-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2026\/09\/Remco-Evenepoel-ITT-profimedia-1136900794-CVR-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2026\/09\/Remco-Evenepoel-ITT-profimedia-1136900794-CVR-400x267.webp 400w, https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2026\/09\/Remco-Evenepoel-ITT-profimedia-1136900794-CVR-272x182.webp 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 990px) 100vw, 990px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-206235\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Remco for the world title double? \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That is why after the GP de Montr\u00e9al, in which he finished fifth, Remco Evenepoel told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wielerflits.nl\/nieuws\/evenepoel-over-van-der-poel-en-van-aert-wk-parcours-is-echt-moeilijk-voor-zwaardere-mannen\/\">Wielerflits<\/a>, \u201cWith the way the longer climb [the Voie Camillien-Houde] is ridden, it is really difficult for the heavier guys. If you look at the average weight of the [Montr\u00e9al] top 10, we are perhaps at 63 or 65 kilograms. Those aren&#8217;t heavy men, but riders like Wout [van Aert] and Mathieu [van der Poel] can survive this on super days.\u201d Van Aert and van der Poel tip the scales at 75 kg and 78 kg, respectively.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And, as Evenepoel pointed out, there&#8217;s a lot more flat terrain in the World Championship race than there was in the GP. \u201cIt is also a difference that we will first ride 100 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingweekly.com\/racing\/what-is-the-red-bull-kilometre-at-the-giro-ditalia-the-groundbreaking-intermediate-sprint-for-bonus-seconds\">kilometres<\/a> on flat terrain,\u201d he noted. \u201cWe can ease into it a bit then. Here [at the GP de Montr\u00e9al] it was full throttle right from the start. And the race is much longer, so it will be less explosive towards the end and come down more to endurance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If endurance is indeed the key, advantage to van der Poel. The man is a physical marvel. But it depends on what his legs are like when he hits that final climb and who is chasing him.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evenepoel would love to become the first male rider to win the time trial and road race world titles in the same year. On Thursday, 17-year-old academy rider Benjam\u00edn Noval of Spain completed the ITT-road race junior world championship double with a long solo. The last junior-level rider to win the double? Remco Evenepoel, of course, in 2018.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, who will win the Elite race? I have no idea. There are a number of riders with good chances to win. In addition to those already cited, there&#8217;s del Toro, Seixas, Britain&#8217;s Tom Pidcock, Denmark&#8217;s Mads Pedersen, Germany&#8217;s Florian Lipowitz, Spain&#8217;s Juan Ayuso, and, of course, Evenepoel&#8217;s Dutch teammate Wout van Aert.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I like Evenepoel for the win, just because being the first Elite Man to do the double is powerful motivation \u2013 and especially if van Aert rides in support. I expect him to take off on the final ascent of the Voie Camillien-Houde and then time-trial the remaining 12 km.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seixas will be world champion one day, but not on Sunday. Though he just turned 20, he still lacks the necessary experience. Pedersen, del Toro, and van der Poel should be in the mix for the podium. But this is one race I would not put money on.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Lessons learned?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Saturday&#8217;s Elite Women&#8217;s Road Race World Championship should play out between three riders: Demi Vollering of the Netherlands, winner this year of the Giro d&#8217;Italia Women and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (TdFFaZ); the two-time time trial world champion, Switzerland&#8217;s Marlen Reusser, who led the TdFFaZ for much of the race; and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney of Poland, winner of the 2024 TdFFaZ and second in this year&#8217;s TdFFaZ.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I say \u201cshould\u201d because there are often surprises in this race, none greater than last year, when all the favourites, riding together, refused to chase the breakaway because they were afraid it would leave them without a chance against their rivals at the end. So they all lost, and the unheralded Canadian Magdeleine Vallieres stole the race. Vollering, Reusser, and Niewiadoma-Phinney finished 7th, 9<sup>th<\/sup>, and 10<sup>th<\/sup>, respectively, 1:34 behind the plucky (and lucky) Canadian.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You&#8217;d think that they learned their lesson in that race, but don&#8217;t bet on it. Remember how Vollering refused to chase Niewiadoma-Phinney on the Mont Ventoux in this year&#8217;s TdFFaZ for fear of pulling Reusser up the climb with her and handing her the glory. Still, I think Vollering will win because she is the best rider in the race and has doubtless become a little smarter as a result of her past errors.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The problem for her is that the Voie Camillien-Houde, which the women climb eight times on the 180 km course, are not long enough for her to exploit her superior climbing ability. They are steep, yes; but perhaps too short. A lot will depend on the ability of her Dutch teammates \u2013 Riejanne Markus, Puck Pieterse, Femke de Vries et al. \u2013 to maintain a hellish pace and weaken the legs of her rivals.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All things being equal, this year no one can stay with Vollering on Grand Tour climbs when she wants to win. If all the favourites reach the summit of the final climb together, probably as a small breakaway group, they must race the lumpy final 12 km together, which might favour the best time trial rider, which would be Reusser. The key will then be the final 600 uphill metres.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Thursday, 19-year-old Vikt\u00f3ria Chlado\u0148ov\u00e1 of Slovakia won the women&#8217;s U23 championship because she had fresher legs than Canada&#8217;s Isabella Holmgren and wore her down in the sprint to the line. Everyone racing on Saturday will have seen that race and learned something. If it comes to a sprint among the three favourites, Vollering should win. However, remembering the disaster of last year, she may want to be out in front all by herself. I think she will take off to try to solo for the win, perhaps on the last ascent of the Voie Camillien-Houde.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An interesting outsider for the win is Spain&#8217;s Paula Blasi, who won this year&#8217;s Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition ahead of Niewadoma and Vollering. Another serious contender is Italy&#8217;s Elisa Longo Borghini, who on Tuesday won the Mixed Relay Time Trial World Championship with Filippo Ganna and four other riders, and will be feeling confident. She also finished a solid fourth in the ITT WorldChampionship behind Reusser, so either she is perfectly tuned for the road race or is carrying tired legs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whoever wins, both races should be exciting from start to finish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This weekend&#8217;s Elite Men&#8217;s and Women&#8217;s Road Race World Championships should provide plenty of suspense, drama, and maybe even a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":206259,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329],"tags":[9141,3771,3544,8694,831],"global-categories":[3366],"class_list":["post-206258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","tag-2026-uci-road-world-championships","tag-demi-vollering","tag-remco-evenepoel","tag-viktoria-chladonova","tag-wout-van-aert","global-categories-cycling"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.5 (Yoast SEO v28.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Vollering and Evenepoel Are Slight Road Race World Championship Favourites - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This weekend&#039;s Elite Men&#039;s and Women&#039;s Road Race World Championships should provide plenty of suspense, drama, and maybe even a few shocks. 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