GP de Montréal 2026 preview, profile, favourites & predictions - Evenepoel, Seixas, Pidcock and Del Toro face off again ahead of World Championships
CyclingFriday, 11 September 2026 at 22:23
Together with the GP de Québec, the GP de Montréal forms the second part of the Canadian World Tour classics. It takes place on the 13th of September and this year it might be more important than ever before as it takes the riders through the World Championships course only two weeks before the big one. We take a look at its profile.
The race was created in 2010 and presented a more climber-friendly option when comparing to the race in Québec. It is one where puncheurs can win, and this was often the case at first. Whilst Robert Gesink was the first winner, names such as Rui Costa, Peter Sagan, Simon Gerrans, Tim Wellens, Greg van Avermaet and Michael Matthews were amongst the winners in the 2010's.
Despite the course not changing in any particular manner, the 2020's have put different types of winners on display. UAE Team Emirates - XRG is the only team to have won in this decade, benefiting from races that have been pushed hard from very early on. Tadej Pogacar has won it in 2022 and 2024; whilst Adam Yates was the winner in 2023 and Brandon McNulty crossed the line together with Pogacar in 2025.
Profile: Montréal - Montréal
Montréal - Montréal, 215 kilometers
A circuit based around the Mont-Royal park, where the riders will spend the afternoon, however not only enjoying the scenery, but also having to go into a brutal race that will see plenty attacks and aggressive racing.
There are over 3700 meters of climbing and 215 kilometers on the menu, making it harder and longer than Québec. There will also be more laps due to the shorter circuit, which is very explosive with three clear uphill sections and the rest of the circuit mostly downhill. The lap opens up immediately with it’s major feature, the Côte de Camilien-Houde, 1.9 kilometer at 7.1%.
This will be the hardest section of the circuit and likely the one that will be attacked the hardest, finishing with 10 kilometers to go. A very fast descent follows, with the Côte de Polytechnique coming after summiting with 6 kilometers to go, it is 800 meters long at 4% average gradient but goes up to 10%. And with 3 kilometers will be the Côte Pagnuelo with 500 meters at 7.5%.
All three are very explosive climbs, where damage can be made. The riders will then very quickly travel back into the Avenue where the race is to finishing, going down it before turning back in the roundabout and within sight of the line. This won’t be a regular sprint however, with the final 600 meters featuring 4% of gradient which can alter the result of the sprints that will happen.
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Preview GP de Montréal 2026
The race will be more selective and less tactical than in Québec. The climbs of Mount Royal is where the race will be decided, although you might see Remco Evenepoel attack mid-circuit because the solo moves are his specialty and as we saw today, if there is a group of more than only a few riders behind, then the chase might not take place and he can run away with the win.
But his rivals will know how he races, and will not let him go. Tom Pidcock in Québec looked incredibly sharp, and he might be the rider who is best able to follow Evenepoel in an attack at any point of the circuit. Paul Seixas looked very strong today, but is not as explosive and did too much work - something he won't be too bothered by.
UAE have a Tour de France team, but a third-level execution. In Québec they lacked the tactics and strength to make an impact. At his best level, Isaac del Toro is a candidate for victory; whilst Jhonatan Narváez is a second one, and Brandon McNulty is literally the defending champion.
Lidl-Trek had Giulio Ciccone riding at his best today, and he cannot be excluded from a victory as he is also perfectly fit for such a difficult and explosive race, whilst Quinn Simmons' form is also very high and he should be a card to use early in the race as he could escape with the win.
Top riders are aplenty in this race, with Visma having Matteo Jorgenson, Bart Lemmen and Louis Barré; whilst the likes of Mauro Schmid, Alex Baudin, Jenno Berckmoes, Anthon Charmig, Quinten Hermans, Michael Matthews and Ben Healy are all dangerous riders for lots of different scenarios.
Prediction GP de Montréal 2026:
*** Remco Evenepoel, Tom Pidcock, Paul Seixas
** Giulio Ciccone, Isaac del Toro, Quinn Simmons
* Anthon Charmig, Paul Lapeira, Matteo Jorgenson, Jenno Berckmoes, Jhonatan Narváez, Alex Baudin, Mauro Schmid
Pick: Remco Evenepoel
How: Small group sprint.
List of winners GP de Montréal
| Year | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| 2025 | Brandon McNulty | Tadej Pogačar | Quinn Simmons |
| 2024 | Tadej Pogačar | Pello Bilbao | Julian Alaphilippe |
| 2023 | Adam Yates | Pavel Sivakov | Alex Aranburu |
| 2022 | Tadej Pogačar | Wout van Aert | Andrea Bagioli |
| 2021 | — | — | — |
| 2020 | — | — | — |
| 2019 | Greg Van Avermaet | Diego Ulissi | Iván García Cortina |
| 2018 | Michael Matthews | Sonny Colbrelli | Greg Van Avermaet |
| 2017 | Diego Ulissi | Jesús Herrada | Tom-Jelte Slagter |
| 2016 | Greg Van Avermaet | Peter Sagan | Diego Ulissi |
| 2015 | Tim Wellens | Adam Yates | Rui Costa |
| 2014 | Simon Gerrans | Rui Costa | Tony Gallopin |
| 2013 | Peter Sagan | Simone Ponzi | Ryder Hesjedal |
| 2012 | Lars Petter Nordhaug | Moreno Moser | Alexandr Kolobnev |
| 2011 | Rui Costa | Pierrick Fédrigo | Philippe Gilbert |
| 2010 | Robert Gesink | Peter Sagan | Ryder Hesjedal |
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Also, Michael Matthews. What is it with him and this race? He's never placed worse than 9th, I think, and did terribly today, by his own standards, meaning he finished outside the top 5 for only the 2nd time, at 6th. How does he do this, at this race, when he is so invisible at so many other races? I find this totally fascinating. Good for him!RidesHills11-09-2026
- The past few years, I've been on the ground in Quebec, but I missed it this year. Watching on TV for the new circuit was interesting. Congratulations to Evenepoel on his win, the right strategy and the legs to do it, clinical and excellent. Really superbly done - and he didn't get pissed off along the way, he just took the race apart at just the right time! This is going to be a hell of a world championship. Bummer about Ayuso's crash, I didn't see what happened in detail, but I hope he's ok.RidesHills11-09-2026
- It looked like a camera bike was close in front of Dunbar at one stage too. In general, they have tended to stay too close to riders before .oving off.Hills3311-09-2026
- @wrsty Me too! @Mistermaumau I think you’re taking wrsty’s comment too seriously. It was made completely in jest, just standard fan banter hoping one of the original underdogs (pre-Pogi leaving the Vuelta) pulls it off. It’s not that deep, wrsty is just passionately cheering on Mas. No need to overanalyse it, let him or her have his fun.anonymouscyclist11-09-2026
- The camera motorbike was rdiculously close in front of him all the time of his attack and as soon as Dunbar caught up it pulled away. Why?Quebrantahuesos11-09-2026
- 2nd near miss. Finishing 2:13 behind Jakob Omrzel on Calar Alto does not count
Rafionain-Glas11-09-2026 - A great win by Dunbar. I thought he was done when they caught him after his first solo attempt. To climb like that and so visibly break Buitrago’s mental efforts was amazing to watch. Both of them clearly went beyond what their bodies wanted them to do, with Dunbar coming out on top. Fabulous racing in the breakaway group.RidesHills11-09-2026
- He was almost never one to attack from far away. Back in the day his wins came from sprints near the end of stages, where he could count on getting a time gap and time bonuses. Enough of those and they added up to a solid win. He’s never been one to solo away. Most people don’t. That’s why Pogačar, who can also sprint at the end of a stage like Roglič, is so rare.RidesHills11-09-2026
- This is why Pogi solo wins are still better. You need ~ 2 minutes to win, you dont attack in the last 2 k, you attack at least 10k to go or the previous mountain with satellite riders. Dont make token attacks just for the sake of showing. Roglic has now lost a Giro, TDF and now a Vuelta because he was too conservativeabstractengineer11-09-2026
- there is a certain risk level in cycling that cannot be avoided, but racing reckless and risking other riders' life (health at the least) can certainly be considered mentally ill!Ketterechts11-09-2026
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