Del Toro and Seixas ready for an exciting World Championship warm-up against Evenepoel and Pidcock

All eyes in the cycling world are on the Vuelta a España, but there are also two excellent races scheduled in Canada on Friday and Sunday. The GP Québec and GP Montréal serve as a preview of the World Championships, which will also be held in Montréal later this month. Most of the big names for those World Championships are already heading to North America this week.

Remco Evenepoel has set his sights on the World Championships, and now that Tadej Pogačar is out of the picture following a crash in the Vuelta a España, the Belgian rider from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe may well be the top favourite.

He’ll have the chance to prove himself on Friday and Sunday, following a long period of high-altitude training in Livigno. “The most important thing for me is to be ready in two or three weeks,” he said upon arrival on Tuesday.

Tom Pidcock is also undoubtedly a favourite—for Friday, for Sunday, and for the World Championships itself. The British rider became world champion on the mountain bike and recently won his first road race of the season at the GP Industria & Artigianato.

“Normally, it takes me a while after the mountain bike World Championships to get my road legs back, because it’s a completely different kind of effort. So I’m really happy with how I felt,” he cautioned.

On behalf of UAE, a spot has opened up for the remainder of 2026 following Pogacar’s departure, and it will be filled by Isaac del Toro. The young Mexican has had an incredible year and says he’s ready for one last push in September and October. “I’m really looking forward to racing in Canada for the first time,” Del Toro said in a press release from his team.

"Québec and Montréal are two races I’ve heard and seen a lot about. It’ll be great to finally experience them for myself," added the third-place finisher in the Tour de France. “They’re two challenging races with strong fields. At this point in the season, they’re two great opportunities to push for a strong finish to the year.”

Although Del Toro will be competing for Mexico rather than the UAE at the World Championships, the UAE will be eager to help its new superstar on his way to a potential world title. “I feel good and I’m highly motivated. We’re coming here with a strong team,” says Del Toro, referring to Felix Großschartner, Brandon McNulty, Jhonatan Narváez, Florian Vermeersch, Tim Wellens, and Adam Yates as his teammates.

We’ve covered Evenepoel and Del Toro, but there are others who want to make a splash at the World Championships—and they’re doing so by testing their legs in Québec and Montréal.

Decathlon CMA CGM is fielding Paul Seixas. “He’ll be the team leader for both races, but with Paul Lapeira, we still have another card to play in Québec,” said team manager Julien Jurdie in a press release.

"We're heading into these two races with high ambitions, and victory is our main goal. To achieve this, we have a balanced team with great leaders and a fantastic road captain, Tiesj Benoot. We'll need to stay calm and read the race well."