“There are no excuses” - Remco Evenepoel's double-double dream dies in Montreal disappointment
Cycling
Remco Evenepoel's hopes of completing an extraordinary second road race-time trial double ended in disappointment at the 2026 World Championships in Montreal, with the Belgian admitting afterwards that he knew from the opening lap that he was not on one of his best days.
After dominating the individual time trial earlier in the championships, Evenepoel started the men's road race with the chance to repeat the double he achieved at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Instead, he spent much of an extraordinary finale fighting simply to stay in contention. "Yeah, it was tough. Actually, from the first lap on I felt that I was not having a great day," Evenepoel told Cycling Pro Net after the finish. "So yeah, it's a pity that it happens today, but I think there are no excuses. The strongest always wins at the World Championships, so yeah, that's life."
Evenepoel eventually finished 12th, 25 seconds behind new world champion Brandon McNulty, after repeatedly losing contact and then fighting his way back into the race.
At several points he appeared to be completely out of the medal battle, particularly when Isaac del Toro began forcing the pace on the Cote Camillien-Houde. Yet Evenepoel kept returning, even launching a late attack of his own before being caught again on the final lap.
Van Aert se pone al servicio de Evenepoel y Remco consigue llegar al grupo.#Montreal2026 #LaCasadelCiclismo pic.twitter.com/usE6oHoJSh
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) September 27, 2026
Van Aert tries to rescue Evenepoel's race
Belgium had initially been in a strong tactical position when Wout van Aert made the major front selection alongside Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic and others.
That allowed Evenepoel to sit behind when Del Toro began increasing the pressure in the chase. "Actually, I think the situation was quite perfect with Wout being in front and me being behind," Evenepoel explained. "Then Del Toro put a tremendous pace on the climb and I could just sit in the wheels and wait because Wout was in front, so that situation was pretty perfect."
The race changed when Van Aert was dropped from the leading group. Rather than continuing to ride for himself, Van Aert waited for Evenepoel and began working for his teammate, giving him another opportunity to return towards the front.
"But then I think Wout dropped from the front and he told me that he wanted to ride for a bit," Evenepoel continued. "I already knew at that moment that I was not feeling great, so I think it's just because Wout really wanted to do something. I'm grateful to him for doing that, but I knew pretty quickly that today was not going to be my day to win."
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Evenepoel still refused to disappear completely. He repeatedly clawed his way back into the chase and was close enough to contest the medals deep into the finale before eventually finishing just outside the top ten.
After four consecutive world time trial titles and his Olympic road-time trial double in Paris, Montreal had offered the chance for another remarkable addition to Evenepoel's palmares.
This time, the legs never quite arrived.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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