Road Worlds Start List and Team Power Ranking: Who Will Dominate in Montréal?

Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel, Mathieu van der Poel, Isaac del Toro, and Paul Seixas headline the start list for the road world championships elite men’s road race.

With Tadej Pogačar out with injury, this fantastic five shoulder the burden of becoming 5-star favorites for what will be a brutal, attritional 273km race in Montréal on Sunday, September 27.

But they and their respective teams won’t be the only ones driving the narrative.

The USA is one of a small crop of squads bringing the depth and talent to snatch a rainbow jersey from the established bigs. Quinn Simmons, Brandon McNulty, and Matteo Jorgenson lead what might be the team with the most wildcard potential in the race.

Great Britain, Italy, and Spain join the U.S. in packing enough individual star power and collective strength to go deep into the vert-loaded Canadian course.

With little more than a week until rollout, teams have mostly confirmed their selections.

So who’s racing, and which teams should we pay attention to in the race for the rainbow jersey?

Here’s our elite men’s road race power ranking, based on the provisional start list that’s now available.

Rankings are based on individual rider strengths, team depths, and this writer’s spidey senses.

For a full overview of the 2026 road world championships program, check our cheat sheet, here. And here’s all you need to know about how to watch the action.

2026 road world championships power ranking

The A-Tier

Belgium: Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel, what more can be said? Belgium has two of the top favorites, Thibau Nys as a super-wildcard, and a squad strong enough to control the race. With Tadej Pogačar out, rival teams will lean on the Belgians to dictate the dynamic from kilometer zero. Tiesj Benoot, Gianni Vermeersch, and Alec Segaert will have to do a lot of donkey work. Van Aert and Evenepoel will have to deliver.

Netherlands: Mathieu an der Poel is saying the Montréal course is too hard for him, but you never rule that guy out. He always finds a way. The Dutch team isn’t super-deep, but riders like Bart Lemmen, Daan Hoole, and Tim van Dijke are more than good enough to take MVDP to the final selections.

USA: Quinn Simmons, Brandon McNulty, Matteo Jorgenson – any of those guys could win a rainbow jersey. Kevin Vermaerke showed at the recent Vuelta that he could also be in contention if the road race plays his way. This U.S. team has enough sneaky strength to flood the zone in the decisive final selections and play a numbers game in Montréal. Say it quietly, but this could be USA’s best chance at a men’s road race rainbow jersey in decades.

France: It’s all about Paul Seixas. The 19-year-old could become the youngest road world champion in history next Sunday, and his nation believes in it. And Seixas has a bona-fide super team to support his quest to make history. Valentin Paret-Peintre, Alex Baudin, Jordan Jegat, and Bruno Armirail are some of the most consistently excellent riders in the bunch. France never backs down at road worlds. Expect to see them join Belgium in taking the race by the scruff.

Italy: Giulio Ciccone and Giulio Pellizzari aren’t obvious potential world champions, but scroll back through their recent results and you’ll see a consistent string of top-10s. And they’ll be backed by one of the most versatile, deepest support crews in the peloton. Matteo Trentin, Alberto Bettiol, Mattia Cattaneo, Davide Piganzoli, Lorenzo Finn – with the Giulios as leaders, that’s enough muscle to put Italy toward the top of the power rankings.

Mexico: Isaac del Toro basically is the Mexican team. His five relatively unknown teammates might not be around to deliver him bottles long. But Del Toro is such a danger man among the favorites that his team has to be considered in the A-Tier. Plus, look at what Del Toro did last year at worlds – he proved he doesn’t need a team around him to ride high in the final.

The B-Tier

The B-Tier is mostly made up of teams with standout riders or roster depth, but not both.

For example, Ecuador has Richard Carapaz and Jhonatan Narváez – two of the most ruthless attackers in the bunch – but only four on the team. It’s a similar story for Ben Healy and Ireland.

On the flip side, Great Britain has Tom Pidcock and a strong team, but neither the rider nor the squad can be considered favorites.

The same goes for host team Canada. Derek Gee-West, Hugo Houle, and returning favorite Mike Woods will be riding on crowd vibes and underdog hope.

And take note – Denmark probably would have been in the A-Tier a few weeks ago, but Mattias Skjelmose’s late withdrawal and questions over Mads Pedersen after he came down sick at La Vuelta forced their demotion.

The C-Tier

The D-Tier