France, Belgium and Denmark reveal plans to stop Pogacar at Montreal Worlds

The Slovenian will arrive at the UCI Road World Championships in Montréal as the overwhelming reference point after winning the elite men's road race in both 2024 and 2025. His second successive title came in Kigali last September, where another long range attack left Remco Evenepoel 1:28 behind in second place.

Little has happened in 2026 to suggest Pogačar has become any easier to beat. He won a fifth Tour de France in July and has started the Vuelta a España in similarly dominant fashion, taking three victories in the opening week and building a lead of almost four minutes.

And Montréal is hardly unfamiliar territory. Pogačar has already won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal twice, in 2022 and 2024, on roads that will form the heart of the World Championships course. He could have completed a hat trick in 2025, but after proving the strongest rider in the race, he waited for UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Brandon McNulty and gifted the American the victory at the finish.

But three of cycling's strongest nations are beginning to reveal very different plans for September 27.

The elite men's road race will cover 273.7 kilometres and 3,803 metres of elevation gain, according to the latest official UCI route information. After the opening section from Brossard towards Montréal, the race reaches a 13.4 kilometre circuit around Mount Royal that the riders will complete twelve times.

The main obstacle is the Voie Camillien Houde, a 2.3 kilometre climb averaging 6.2 per cent. That is followed by the Chemin de la Polytechnique, where gradients rise above 11 per cent, before the road gradually climbs again towards the finish on Avenue du Parc.

It is difficult enough to reward the best climbers and puncheurs, but not so extreme that heavier Classics specialists have no chance. That distinction is central to the plans being developed by Belgium and Denmark.

It also creates one obvious question. How do you stop Pogačar on a circuit where he has already proved he can win?

France have provided the clearest answer of the three nations when it comes to leadership.

Thomas Voeckler has confirmed that Paul Seixas will be the undisputed leader of the French team. The 19-year-old, who turns 20 during the championships, has moved rapidly from promising talent to genuine medal contender after finishing fourth at the Tour de France and winning both the Tour of the Basque Country and La Flèche Wallonne this season.

“Paul Seixas will be the leader of the French team at the World Championships,” Voeckler told Le Télégramme.

Voeckler has not publicly revealed the seven riders who will support Seixas, but says his selection is effectively already formed. He told Le Télégramme that he has his eight riders “in mind”, while acknowledging that crashes, form and performances over the coming weeks could still force changes.

Seixas already finished 13th at the exceptionally difficult 2025 Worlds in Kigali and later took bronze at the European Championships. Montréal should give France more tactical possibilities, although Voeckler himself has cautioned that it may not be the perfect course for his young leader.

Nevertheless, his performances at Strade Bianche, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège should give France plenty of confidence in the young prodigy’s ability to deliver in one day races.

Belgium are approaching Montréal differently.

Where France have committed to one leader, Belgian national coach Serge Pauwels intends to build around both Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert. Evenepoel has the climbing ability and long range power to follow an aggressive race, while Van Aert gives Belgium a completely different way to win if a larger group survives deep into the final circuit.

Pauwels has previously argued that having two leaders could become an advantage rather than a source of conflict. As he told Het Nieuwsblad, there may only be one world champion, but that does not mean a nation cannot “play different cards”.

He also sees a potential weakness in Pogačar's position. At the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, UAE Team Emirates-XRG can dedicate an entire WorldTour squad to making the race hard for its leader. At the Worlds, Pogačar will have to rely on Slovenia instead.

Pauwels told Het Nieuwsblad that Pogačar would “always be difficult to beat” on this kind of course, but pointed out that the Slovenian will not have his exceptionally strong UAE teammates controlling the race.

Belgium's preparations have suffered two setbacks, however.

Tim Wellens and Ilan Van Wilder have both informed Pauwels that they will not travel to Canada. Wellens has not raced since the Tour de France after illness affected his condition, while Van Wilder has yet to return following his heavy crash during the final weekend of the Tour.

Wellens had initially been particularly interesting from a tactical perspective because he rides alongside Pogačar at UAE and, unlike in 2025, had told Pauwels he was prepared to race against his trade team leader in Belgian colours.

That option has now disappeared. Even so, Belgium can still field a formidable team around Evenepoel and Van Aert, with Tiesj Benoot, Maxim Van Gils, Alec Segaert and Rune Herregodts also reported to be part of the squad. The withdrawals of Van Wilder and Wellens mean Pauwels still has two places to fill before finalising his eight rider selection.

Denmark are further advanced. Michael Mørkøv has already announced his complete eight rider team, with Mads Pedersen and Mattias Skjelmose sharing leadership.

The combination makes tactical sense. Skjelmose was fourth at the brutal 2025 World Championships in Kigali and gives Denmark a rider capable of responding when the pure climbers accelerate. Pedersen offers a much faster finish and becomes particularly dangerous if Denmark can prevent Pogačar, Evenepoel and the other climbers from reducing the race to a tiny group.

Mørkøv is making no attempt to disguise the target.

“Clearly, the main task is to beat Pogačar, and that can be incredibly difficult,” he told Feltet.

Jonas Vingegaard will not be part of that plan. The Dane fractured his collarbone when he crashed out of the Tour de France in July and Visma | Lease a Bike subsequently confirmed that he will not race again this season.

Denmark will head to Montréal with Mads Pedersen and Mattias Skjelmose as co-leaders, supported by Kasper Asgreen, Mikkel Bjerg, Andreas Kron, Michael Valgren, Mikkel Honoré and Søren Kragh Andersen. Bjerg and Asgreen will also represent Denmark in the individual time trial.

One selection decision has attracted particular attention: the omission of Magnus Cort.

The retiring Danish champion was considered for the squad, but Mørkøv instead selected Mikkel Honoré, despite Honoré not having raced since suffering a serious crash at the Heistse Pijl in June.

Cort made his disappointment clear to TV 2 Sport. “If I'm being honest, Honoré hasn't raced for a long time, so it is a little strange that he is included,” he said. 

Cort stopped short of claiming that he should automatically have taken Honoré’s place, but admitted that the decision had surprised him.