{"id":2132214,"date":"2026-09-07T09:10:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T06:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2132214"},"modified":"2026-09-07T09:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T06:10:11","slug":"pogacar-is-out-who-will-step-up-ranking-the-favorites-for-montreal-road-worlds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2132214","title":{"rendered":"Poga\u010dar Is Out \u2013 Who Will Step Up? Ranking the Favorites for Montr\u00e9al Road Worlds"},"content":{"rendered":"
Updated September 7, 2026 04:29AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Tadej Poga\u010dar is out, and the cycling world will be tilted on its axis until he\u2019s back.<\/p>\n
Because the brutal crash that took the two-time world champion out of the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a didn\u2019t just end the modern GOAT\u2019s season. It took the center of gravity out of the peloton and left a power vacuum in its wake.<\/p>\n
Three huge prizes are now available to whoever steps into the void at the top of the Pog-less peloton.<\/p>\n
The rainbow jersey is up for grabs at the UCI road world world championships.<\/p>\n
Poga\u010dar\u2019s blue-and-white European champion\u2019s top is available one week later.<\/p>\n
And for the first time in seemingly forever, Il Lombardia can be considered a genuine competition again. Pogi won in \u201cThe Falling Leaves\u201d an incredible five times in a row.<\/p>\n
Of course, the Montr\u00e9al world championship road race on September 26 \u2013 only 19 days from now \u2013 is the ultimate treasure waiting to be taken.<\/p>\n
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Poga\u010dar is out, others are peaking: Re-assessing our \u2018way too early\u2019 ranking<\/h2>\n
We released a \u201cway too early ranking for road worlds\u201d at the back end of last month that seemingly cursed Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n
You can refer back to it here.<\/p>\n
Less than 30 hours separated us posting a contemplation of the risk Poga\u010dar was exposing himself to at the Vuelta and the moment his world title defense was loaded into a Spanish ambulance.<\/p>\n
And Poga\u010dar\u2019s exit isn\u2019t the only thing that changed since our provisional ranking.<\/p>\n
Wout van Aert started stampeding across the rolling hills of the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a.<\/p>\n
Tom Pidcock began smoking everybody, on all surfaces.<\/p>\n
Mads Pedersen got sick. Mathieu van der Poel endured more MTB misery. And Remco? He\u2019s been keeping a low profile, riding his bike lots, and staying on top of his skincare.<\/p>\n
All these things put a new complexion on our \u201cway too early\u201d rankings.<\/p>\n
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Belgium faces a luxury problem at road worlds<\/h2>\nRemco Evenepoel has shown many times that he\u2019s the second-best behind Poga\u010dar \u2013\u00a0can he take his chance in Montr\u00e9al?<\/span> (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The one thing that\u2019s not changed?<\/p>\n
Remco Evenepoel is World No.2, the prince of the peloton behind King Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n
Historic results and recent form suggest he\u2019s the rider who stands to make hay while Pogi is away.<\/p>\n
Last year, Remco finished second to Poga\u010dar at the world championships, European championships, and Il Lombardia, and was a tier above the rest. Forty-eight seconds at worlds, more than three minutes at Euros, and nearly 90 seconds at Il Lombardia separated Evenepoel from the bewildered chasers.<\/p>\n
Logic \u2013 and Evenepoel\u2019s bullish ride to second at the 2026 Tour de France \u2013 suggests the 26-year-old is poised to usurp King Pog\u2019s throne while the Slovenian is on the sidelines.<\/p>\n
But that doesn\u2019t mean Evenepoel is guaranteed his second road race world title in Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n
Things might have actually gotten a little more complicated for Remco now that Poga\u010dar is out.<\/p>\n
The complicating factor?<\/p>\n
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Wout van Aert is peaking, right in time to give Belgium a tactical headache.<\/p>\n
Belgium might have two of the favorites for the rainbow jersey. Only one of these two Belgian heroes and cycling superstars can win.<\/p>\n
And of course, Team Belgium has gotten it wrong when it found itself in these awkward situations before.<\/p>\n
There was a firestorm in Belgian media after Evenepoel and Van Aert unraveled in front of a home crowd at the 2021 worlds in Flanders.<\/p>\n
How Belgium plays its tactical cards will be crucial to how the race plays out on September 26.<\/p>\n
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A new road worlds ranking for a new peloton<\/h2>\nTadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s rainbow jersey is up for grabs in what will be a wide-open 2026 road worlds.<\/span> (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
All these things considered, here\u2019s our new ranking for road worlds.<\/p>\n
And unlike last time, they\u2019re not \u201cway too early.\u201d It\u2019s now just two and a half weeks to the big day.<\/p>\n
1. Remco Evenepoel, 26 (Belgium)<\/h3>\n
Previous ranking:<\/strong> 2nd Last races:<\/strong> Clasica San Sebastian (1st), Tour de France (2nd overall, 2 x stage wins) Final race before road worlds:<\/strong> Canadian GPs (Sep 11 and 13), road worlds TT (Sep 20).<\/p>\n
Remco Evenepoel proved at last year\u2019s worlds, Euros, and Il Lombardia that he\u2019s the best of the rest behind Tadej Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n
He did it again this summer at the Tour de France and has been training like a madman in the time since.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s impossible not to put Evenepoel as the top favorite for the Montr\u00e9al road worlds, even with the complicating factor of Wout van Aert.<\/p>\n
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Evenepoel returns to racing this week at the GP Qu\u00e9bec (Friday) and GP Montr\u00e9al (Sunday). Many of those hoping to beat him in the race for the rainbow jersey will also be using the two grand prixs as their final tune-ups.<\/p>\n
Will Evenepoel come out of the gates hot after his long mid-summer layoff? Or will he leave his bullets in the chamber for his golden opportunity to win both the time trial and road race world championships? He will be the point of reference, either way.<\/p>\n
2. Mathieu van der Poel, 31 (Netherlands)<\/h3>\nThe Tour de France taught us to never count out Mathieu Van der Poel. <\/span> (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Previous ranking:<\/strong> 3rd Last races:<\/strong> MTB world championships (30th), MTB Les Gets (2nd), Tour de France (2 x stage wins) Final races before road worlds:<\/strong> Tour de Luxembourg (Sept 16-20)<\/p>\n
Mathieu van der Poel was nowhere at the mountain bike world championships. His anonymous ride stood in stark contrast to his multi-discipline rival Tom Pidcock, who dominated on the rooty trails of Val di Sole.<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t take MVDP\u2019s MTB misfire as a sign of his potential for road worlds.<\/p>\n
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If anything, being humbled on the singletrack a second year in a row will probably feed his hunger to double back for a second road world title after his epic victory in Glasgow \u201923.\u00a0If the recent Tour de France taught us anything, it\u2019s never count out MVDP.<\/p>\n
3. Wout van Aert, 31 (Belgium)<\/h3>\n
Previous ranking:<\/strong> 6th Last race:<\/strong> Belgian gravel championships (2nd), Tour of Denmark (1st overall) Current race:<\/strong> Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a (2 x stage wins, in control of green jersey) Final race before road worlds:<\/strong> Nothing after Vuelta<\/p>\n
Wout van Aert stampedes up the rankings from third after we ranked him sixth last month.<\/p>\n
That lowly position was largely predicated on the thinking that the course in Montr\u00e9al might be \u201ctoo hard.\u201d But Wout\u2019s been running riot in the endlessly hilly sprint stages of the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a. And two stage wins in three days suggest his racing nous is even sharper than his climbing legs.<\/p>\n
WVA must be starting to believe in his chances of a first road world title.<\/p>\n
The problem is, of course, Remco Evenepoel.<\/p>\n
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If Evenepoel gets the jump with a characteristic long-range attack, Belgium might want to play Van Aert as a tactical card in the peloton in case of a fast finish.<\/p>\n
Unless, of course, Van Aert goes with Evenepoel\u2019s early move. Then it\u2019s time to break out the popcorn.<\/p>\n
4. Tom Pidcock, 27 (Great Britain)<\/h3>\nTom Pidcock blasts into the rankings after he won MTB worlds and the GP Industria & Artigianato<\/span> (Photo: Tommasini\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Previous ranking:<\/strong> N\/A \u2013 was only an honorable mention Last races:<\/strong> GP Industria & Artigianato (1st), MTB world championships (1st), Tour de France (9th overall) Final races before road worlds:<\/strong> Canadian GPs (Sep 11 and 13)<\/p>\n
Tom Pidcock blasts into the rankings after he was criminally overlooked in our \u201cway too early\u201d assessment. As a born \u2018n\u2019 bred Brit, I feel ashamed.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no ignoring Pidcock this time around.<\/p>\n
Like Wout van Aert, he\u2019s peaking right on time. A sublime ride through the pack to win his second MTB world title and a swaggering solo win at GP Industria & Artigianato this weekend rockets Pidcock into contention for a road race that should suit a rider who\u2019s won Amstel Gold Race and Strade Bianche.<\/p>\n
No rider has won both the road and MTB world championships in one year. Don\u2019t rule out Pidcock from doing it in 2026.<\/p>\n
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5. Isaac del Toro, 22 (Mexico)<\/h3>\n
Previous ranking:<\/strong> 4th Last races:<\/strong> Lidl Deutschland Tour (1st overall), Hamburg Classic (43rd), Tour de France (3rd overall, 1 x stage win) Final races before road worlds:<\/strong> Canadian GPs (Sep 11 and 13)<\/p>\n
Isaac del Toro hasn\u2019t raced since our previous ranking, so there\u2019s not much to say.<\/p>\n
He slides down a slot from our previous ranking purely because of Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock\u2019s storming rise.<\/p>\n
Del Toro\u2019s position could change drastically this week at the Canadian GPs, where he will start as one of the many favorites who are also targeting a rainbow jersey.<\/p>\n
Has \u201cTorito\u201d gotten his groove back since his underwhelming \u2013 but victorious \u2013 ride at the Deutschland Tour?<\/p>\n
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6. Paul Seixas, 19 (France)<\/h3>\n
Previous ranking:<\/strong> 5th Last race:<\/strong> Tour de France (4th overall) Final races before road worlds:<\/strong> Canadian GPs (Sep 11 and 13)<\/p>\n
Paul Seixas\u2019s situation is the same as Isaac del Toro\u2019s. He hasn\u2019t raced since our \u201cway too early rankings,\u201d so it\u2019s hard to assess his form.<\/p>\n
Keep an eye on the 19-year-old at the Canadian GPs to see how well he bounced out of his debut Tour de France.<\/p>\n
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7. Quinn Simmons, 25 (USA)<\/h3>\n
Previous ranking:<\/strong> 7th Last races:<\/strong> Philadelphia Cycling Classic (9th), Leadville 100 MTB (9th), Tour de France (A billion km in the break and \u201cbest teammate\u201d prize) Final races before road worlds:<\/strong> Canadian GPs (Sep 11 and 13)<\/p>\n
Quinn Simmons raced once since our previous rankings, at the Philadelphia Cycling Classic. \u201cCaptain America\u201d largely played a team role for his race-winning teammate Tim Teutenberg in the revamped U.S. race.<\/p>\n
But Simmons has shown so much potential all year that Team USA is confident enough to hand him the captain\u2019s armband for Montr\u00e9al. That\u2019s good enough to earn our continued confidence, too.<\/p>\n
The former junior world champion remains the ultimate dark horse for the elite race later this month.<\/p>\n
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8. Mads Pedersen, 30 (Denmark)<\/h3>\n
Previous ranking: <\/strong>8th Last races:<\/strong> Tour de France (green jersey, 1 x stage win), Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a (DNF) Final race before road worlds:<\/strong> None<\/p>\n
Mads Pedersen hangs on to eighth place in the rankings on the power of his palmar\u00e9s alone. The big Dane was a shadow of his best self at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a and pulled the plug ahead of stage 11, citing illness.<\/p>\n
His chances in Montr\u00e9al hang in the balance.<\/p>\n
Pedersen could be a legit contender in Montr\u00e9al if he can tap back into the wild form he struck at the Tour de France. If not, he might best serve Team Denmark by pulling for his teammate Mattias Skjelmose.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Jim Cotton<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Updated September 7, 2026 04:29AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Vuelta-Espana-2026-Stage-15-4743-3-scaled-e1788767473982.jpg”] Jim Cotton Updated September 7, 2026 04:29AM Tadej Poga\u010dar is out, and the cycling world will be tilted on its axis until he\u2019s back. Because the brutal crash that took the two-time world champion out of the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a didn\u2019t just end the modern GOAT\u2019s season. It took the center of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-2132214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2132214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2132214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2132214\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2132214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2132214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2132214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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