Van Aert and Van der Poel explode World Championship road race with 90km+ still to go! Roglic, Onley and Simmons join elite six-man move
Cycling
The elite men's road race at the 2026 World Championships has burst into life with more than 80 kilometres still to race, as Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel helped force a dangerous six-man move clear on the Mont-Royal circuit.
They were joined by Primoz Roglic, Oscar Onley, Quinn Simmons and Anthon Charmig, creating the first genuinely elite selection of the race.
The move came after France had spent much of the previous phase driving the pace through Bruno Armirail and then launching a series of attacks once the early breakaway had been brought back.
Van Aert was the rider who really forced the issue. After an earlier group had briefly formed and then been reeled back in, the Belgian attacked again on one of the climbs. Van der Poel reacted, Onley moved with them, and the group was soon strengthened by Roglic and Charmig before Simmons bridged across from behind.
With Van Aert and Van der Poel already committing from distance, Roglic back in the action and both Onley and Simmons present for Great Britain and the United States, the race has suddenly taken on a very different shape.
There is still a long way to go, and the peloton remains close enough for the move to be brought back, but the message from some of the biggest names in the field is already clear: nobody is waiting for the final lap to start racing for the rainbow jersey.
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WHAT AN ATTACK🤯
— UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 27, 2026
Wout van Aert 🇧🇪, Oscar Onley 🇬🇧 and Mathieu van der Poel 🇳🇱 are off and other riders try to breach the gap and join the at the front 🔥#Montréal2026 pic.twitter.com/d5vEbYrwqm
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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