Tomorrow, the 99th edition of the Road World Championships open in Montreal with three days of time trials, beginning with the Elite women and men. The Mont Royal venue is a historic location; the site of more legendary races than any other in North America.
In 1974, the first Road Worlds outside of Europe were held in Montreal, where the great Eddy Merckx beat his perennial rival Raymond Poulidor - years later, Eddy Merckx told me that it was his "hardest world championship". Two years later, the Olympic road race took place here, and since then World Cup (men and women) and World Tour races have taken places at various periods in the 1980s, '90s and over the past 15 years.
After the Elite women and men race against the clock on Sunday (39.2 kilometres for each category), the Under-23s will race on Monday - 20.3 kilometres for the women and 31.3 kilometres for the men. Tuesday will see the Mixed Relay in the morning, followed by the Junior women (10.7 kilometres) and men (20.3 kilometres) in the afternoon. All of the categories start and finish in the same location, and head south to run along and across the St Lawrence River. Wth the exception of the final kick up to the finish, the courses are pretty much flat.
Canada is already facing a disappointment for the Elite men's time trial, with national champion Derek Gee-West out of the event. Gee-West crashed in the GP Montreal on Sunday, and it appears that he has injured his ribs. At this point, he is only tentative for the road race as well. So, the lone Elite man will be the 2025 time trial champion, Michael Leonard. For the Elite women, it will be Nadia Gontova, the national champion.
UPDATE: Nick Zukowsky will replace Gee-West in the Elite Men's ITT. Olivia Baril has been added to the Elite women's start list, giving Canada 2 starters.
In Under-23 women, Ava Holmgren and Sidney Swierenga will represent Canada, while the Under-23 men will be Jonas Walton and Carson Mattern, who finished 1-2 at Nationals.
Cycling Canada has not released the names of the Canadian Juniors for the time trial, but the most likely choices are Élodie Malois and Elly Moore for the women (1-2 at Nationals), and Zachari Moreau and Carter de Veer for the men.
Team Canada
Elite Women
Adèle Normand - Alma, Quebec (RR)
Alison Jackson - Vermilion, Alberta (RR)
Magdeleine Vallières Mill - Sherbrooke, Quebec (RR)
Maggie Coles-Lyster - Maple Ridge, British Columbia (RR)
Nadia Gontova - Richmond, British Columbia (RR+ITT)
Olivia Baril - Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec (RR)
Sarah Van Dam - Victoria, BC (RR)
U23 Women
Alexandra Volstad - Calgary, Alberta (RR)
Ava Holmgren - Orillia, Ontario (RR+ITT)
Isabella Holmgren - Orillia, Ontario (RR)
Kiara Lylyk - Guelph, Ontario (RR)
Sidney Swierenga - Vancouver, British Columbia (RR+ITT)
Elite Men
Derek Gee‑West - Osgoode, Ontario (RR+ITT)
Hugo Houle - Sainte-Perpétue, Quebec (RR)
Michael Leonard - Oakville, Ontario (RR+ITT)
Michael Woods - Ottawa, Ontario (RR)
Nickolas Zukowsky - Sainte-Lucie-des-Laurentides, Quebec (RR)
Pier‑André Côté - Saint-Henri-de-Lévis, Quebec (RR)
U23 Men
Adam Smith - Winnipeg, Manitoba (RR)
Carson Mattern - Ancaster, Ontario (ITT)
Jérôme Gauthier - Amos, Quebec (RR)
Jonas Walton - Westminster, Maryland (RR+ITT)
Luke Valenti - Orangeville, Ontario (RR)
Junior Women
Molly Flynn
Élodie Malois
Elly Moore
Sandrine Veilleux
Julia Lehmann
Junior Men
Amos Scott Bouris
Albert Brouillette
Carter de Veer
Zachari Moreau