How next generation stars can seize rare opportunity to win rainbow jersey

Flo CliffordSat, September 26, 2026 at 8:16 AM UTC

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From Sunday, men’s cycling will be in the strange position of knowing that the best rider in the world does not in fact wear the jersey of the best rider in the world. The absent and injured two-time defending world champion Tadej Pogacar will be back in standard-edition UAE kit for the next season and watching the race to determine his successor from the sofa, or more likely the indoor trainer, following surgery on injuries sustained in a crash at the Vuelta a Espana. That leaves Montreal as an unexpected free-for-all.

British rider Callum Thornley, who will support Tom Pidcock and Adam Yates, summed it up when he told Cyclingnews last week: “I think it’s kind of like an unspoken thing. All those big guys who would usually be fighting for the podium are now fighting for the win, and I'm sure it makes it even more at stake than normal.”

And with that comes significant pressure. This is many riders’ best chance to ever win the rainbow jersey – so who will sink and who will swim?

Paul Seixas took bronze in the individual time trial and could double up on medals (Reuters)

Last year’s course in Kigali was a novel experience for the majority of the peloton: over 5,000m of climbing, with altitude and pollution significant factors to deal with. This year’s course is much more familiar and even has a regular WorldTour outing as a dress run – last week’s Grand Prix de Montreal, the second and more difficult half of the autumn double-header of Canadian races.

This weekend the men will tackle 12 laps of the Mont Royal circuit over 273km, the women eight laps over 180km, with 269m of elevation gain per 13.4km loop.

The final standings from the Montreal GP could be instrumental in determining who will do well on Sunday; certainly 2022 champion Remco Evenepoel thought so. The Belgian’s assessment was that the climb made it “really difficult for the heavier guys”, putting him in pole position. Evenepoel was fifth in Montreal after winning in Quebec and has already won a world title this week, racking up his fourth consecutive time-trial rainbow jersey. He is one of the best climbers in the world and in the top three or four best one-day racers in the world. In short, he is the favourite – but in Pogacar’s absence, no one is a prohibitive favourite.

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Pidcock, sixth in Montreal and in excellent form, tipped the young pair of pure climbers Isaac del Toro and Paul Seixas for the win, ahead of what he expects to be an “attritional” race like the Grand Prix. Should either the Mexican or Frenchman win and claim a maiden rainbow jersey, it would be a premonition of what the future of cycling could look like, once Pogacar’s era of unprecedented dominance is over. They may be the favourites but, as Pidcock conceded, anything can happen in a one-day race

Remco Evenepoel won the time trial last weekend and is favourite to add the road title (AP)

That was certainly the case in last year’s women’s race, when Canada’s Magdeleine Vallieres sprung a surprise attack and held on to win a shock world title. She is back to defend it on Saturday but more eyes will be on the two best riders in the peloton, Tour de France Femmes champion Demi Vollering and her great rival, Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma.

Vollering has been supreme this year – winning Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Giro d’Italia on top of a second Tour title – but has never been able to replicate that brilliance at the world championships, often stymied by a lack of cooperation within an all-star Dutch team which also boasts Riejanne Markus and mountain bike star Puck Pieterse.

If they can control proceedings it would be hard to bet against Vollering, but such is the strength in depth of the women’s peloton that any number could win, from French star Cedrine Kerbaol to Mauritian Classics specialist Kim Le Court, who won the Tour of Britain last month, and Giro d’Italia champion Elisa Longo Borghini, as well as Niewiadoma.

Demi Vollering is the hot favourite in the women’s race (AFP/Getty)

It has also been an excellent championships for Great Britain, which has one of the strongest squads, drawn from its 49 riders competing at WorldTour level – the highest total the country has ever seen. The 21-year-old Zoe Backstedt took silver in the elite time trial on her first appearance in the senior race, before promising teenager Aalia Clay won bronze in the junior TT.

Backstedt is riding on Saturday and her huge engine could prove dangerous – as indicated by a superb performance in support of Niewiadoma at the Tour de France Femmes, when she put several top climbers in difficulty on terrain which is not usually her favourite.

Rainbow stripes in the elite road races would be a brilliant end to the week and indicative of a wider trend of British success on the road this year, led by Matthew Brennan at the Vuelta and GC rider Oscar Onley, the latter also in Pidcock’s support squad. Without Pogacar, the stage is set for any number of riders to shine – and anyone who seizes the spotlight will be rewarded with the biggest of prizes.

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Source: “AOL Sports”