2026 Worlds road race start lists: The many challengers for the rainbow jersey
The elite women's road race takes place on Saturday 26, September, while the elite men's road race takes place the following day on Sunday 27, September. Here's a look at who will line up for each event.
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Elite Men's start list
There are 62 nations on the provisional start list, resulting in a peloton of 192 riders.
Defending champion Tadej Pogačar is absent from the seven-rider Slovenian squad following his season-ending crash at the Vuelta a España.
Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States are the nations that have a full complement of eight riders.
Meanwhile, there are four former winners on the start list: Michał Kwiatkowski (Poland), Mads Pedersen (Denmark), Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) and Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands).
2026 UCI World Championships Elite Men's road race start list
Elite Women's start list
There are 56 nations on the provisional start list, resulting in a peloton of 148 riders.
Defending champion Magdeleine Vallieres (Canada) returns to defend the rainbow jersey on home soil, while Demi Vollering (Netherlands) aims to complete the triple crown, having won the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.
Canada, France, Italy, and the Netherlands have the largest squads with seven riders each.
Meanwhile, there are two former winners on the start list in Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) and Vallieres.
2026 UCI World Championships Elite Women's road race start list
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