Belgium's Remco Evenepoel made history on the opening day of the UCI Road World Championships in Montreal, becoming the first cyclist ever to win four consecutive elite men's time trial world titles. The 26-year-old covered the 39.2-kilometre course in 44 minutes 53 seconds, finishing 57 seconds clear of two-time former world champion Filippo Ganna of Italy.
Evenepoel led at every intermediate checkpoint and steadily increased his advantage throughout the effort. After a technically demanding opening section with tight corners, the Belgian rode away from the field on the powerful middle segment.
"It's amazing. It was obviously the goal to come and win here for the fourth time in a row. It was a big motivation," Evenepoel said. "I just have to thank the whole team around me again for the preparation. Also, have to thank Specialized for all the new material that they made with me. And yeah, obviously it was a pretty fast one today. Very happy with the feeling, with the cornering. Was a very demanding course with the technical start and finish, and a really powerful part in the middle. But I'm super happy. It was a wonderful experience again."
After a personal time check at 6km, Evenepoel knew he was already ahead of everyone else. "Honestly, yeah. After 6k, we had a personal time check, and I knew that I was already in front of the rest. And I thought that the first intermediate that I kind of over-paced, but I just could keep pushing. I must say that I've just had a wonderful feeling all day."
Evenepoel had previously won in Glasgow (2023), Zurich (2024) and Kigali (2025). With his fourth consecutive title, the Belgian equalled the record of Fabian Cancellara and Tony Martin, each with four world time trial victories. He is the first to win four in a row.
Italy's Ganna executed his characteristic negative split to overcome an early deficit and surge into silver medal position. France's Paul Seixas claimed his first elite world championship medal at just 19 years old, finishing third at 1:13.
Brandon McNulty finished fourth for the United States, Jakob Söderqvist fifth for Sweden, and Isaac del Toro sixth for Mexico.
The absence of two-time defending road race champion Tadej Pogačar, who sustained season-ending injuries in a Vuelta a España crash on August 29, marked the event.
Sources
https://www.cyclingnews.com/pro-cycling/record-breaking-remco-evenepoel-makes-it-four-in-a-row-with-blistering-time-trial-performance-in-montreal/ https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/remco-evenepoel-world-championships-time-trial-road-cycling-2026
