2026 World Championships Women TT Race Preview & Route Profile
The details of this year's 2026 World Championships Women TT are falling into place. Find the race profile and map below, followed by our strategic preview of the race.
The 2026 UCI Road World Championships get underway Sunday, September 20, in Montréal, Canada, with the women’s elite individual time trial opening the week of racing.
The women will tackle a 39.2-kilometer course through Montréal, with the first rider scheduled to start at 9 a.m. EDT. The event is expected to conclude around 11:20 a.m. EDT.
The women’s and men’s elite fields will compete on the same time trial course, which features approximately 220 meters of elevation gain.
Starting on Avenue du Parc, the route takes riders through several recognizable parts of Montréal. The course travels through Old Montréal and along the St. Lawrence River before reaching Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, the track that hosts Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix.
Riders will also race through Parc Jean-Drapeau before crossing the Concorde Bridge and returning toward central Montréal. The finish is located at Parc Jeanne-Mance.
Unlike a road race, the individual time trial sends riders onto the course separately at predetermined intervals, with each competitor racing against the clock.
Defending world champion Marlen Reusser of Switzerland enters as one of the leading contenders after winning the 2025 world title in Kigali. Reusser has continued her strong form against the clock this season, including time trial victories at the Tour de Suisse Women and Tour de France Femmes.
The Netherlands’ Demi Vollering, who earned bronze at last year’s World Championships, is also among the riders to watch. Great Britain’s Zoe Bäckstedt enters after winning the British time trial title and finishing second to Reusser in the Tour de Suisse Women time trial.
Other contenders include Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini, Germany’s Antonia Niedermaier, Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky and Americans Kristen Faulkner and Taylor Knibb.
The elite men’s individual time trial follows the women Sunday afternoon.
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