As Tadej Pogačar rounded off an exhilarating edition of the GP Montréal on Sunday, red inflatables and boards advertising the return of the UCI Road World Championships to Canada's second-biggest city in two years were unmissable. Even the final U-turn bend on the Avenue du Parc was coloured by Montréal 2026 branding, with the anticipation building year after year for the city to act as the epicentre for worlds.
Fittingly Pogačar's solo triumph arrived 50 years after Eddy Merckx became men's World Champion for the third time in Montréal and at the first championships outside of Europe. The Belgian also completed the first-ever fabled 'Triple Crown' that year, something which the Slovenian will take aim at on September 29 in Zürich after already winning the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.
