Trouble also in the Danish World Championship camp as Magnus Cort is dropped: 'Strange that he’s on the team'

It turns out that spots for the 2026 World Cycling Championships in Canada are scarce, even for the major nations. Because the course is well-suited for punchers, climbers, and even classics specialists, national team coaches face a significant challenge in putting together their lineups. And that’s causing some friction, including in Denmark.

It became clear as early as Tuesday evening that there would be some controversy surrounding the World Championship team announcements. First there was backlash at the Team USA squad announcement.

Quinn Simmons is being touted as the main leader, but a few key riders were left off the roster. AJ August of Netcompany INEOS is not on the team, and neither are Sepp Kuss (Visma | Lease a Bike) nor Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM).

Riley Sheehan of NSN didn’t receive an invitation either, which led to an explosive post on X. The 26-year-old puncher had clearly been counting on a World Championship in September, as his words show. “Let’s not pick the guys who’ve won races,” he wrote with a cynical tone, knowing that he won a stage at this year’s Tour of Wallonia and took a stage at the Tour of the Czech Republic.

August has also racked up some impressive victories this year, but he won’t be competing in Canada. The same goes for Magnus Cort on the Danish team, who is in his final months as a pro with Uno-X Mobility. Cort became the Danish champion in June and won a stage at the Tour of Catalonia, but was told he had not been selected for the Danish national team.

"It’s a disappointment," Cort admitted to TV2 during the Vuelta a España. The veteran is particularly unhappy that Mikkel Honoré of EF Education-EasyPost will be heading to the World Championships. “He hasn’t raced in a while, so it’s a bit strange that he’s on the team,” said Cort, who had his facts straight, knowing that Honoré rode his last race on June 6, finishing with a DNF in the Heylen Vastgoed Heistse Pijl.

Honoré crashed hard and suffered broken ribs, a broken vertebra, a broken collarbone, and a collapsed lung. Cort said he would have liked to compete one more time. “I don’t know if I would have been next on the list. I’ve competed many times, and it would have been nice to end my career at the World Championships. Now I have to prove that it was a mistake not to take me.”

National team coach Michael Morkov defended himself to the Danish media by stating that Honoré is on the mend. “Based on his past performances, he has earned his spot on the team.”