Montréal, Canada, 21 September, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel made cycling history on Sunday by winning a record fourth consecutive elite men’s individual time trial title at the UCI Road World Championships in Montréal. The 26-year-old completed the 39.2km course in 44 minutes 53.13 seconds, beating Italy’s Filippo Ganna by 57.31 seconds.
Evenepoel wins fourth consecutive world title
Evenepoel became the first male rider to win four consecutive elite World Championship time trials. His latest victory also moved him level with Fabian Cancellara and Tony Martin, who each won four world titles in the discipline but did not achieve four successive victories.
Evenepoel won his first elite time trial world championship in Glasgow in 2023 before retaining the title in Zürich in 2024 and Kigali in 2025.
The Belgian led throughout Sunday’s race, recording the fastest time at all three intermediate checkpoints. He was also the only rider to average more than 52km/h across the Montréal course.
Ganna takes silver and Seixas wins bronze
Ganna secured the silver medal after recovering from a slower opening section, finishing 57.31 seconds behind the winner.
France’s Paul Seixas, 19, claimed bronze at 1 minute 13.04 seconds. American Brandon McNulty finished fourth, while Sweden’s Jakob Söderqvist placed fifth after crashing on a turn several kilometres from the finish.
The course ran alongside the St Lawrence River, crossed the Samuel De Champlain Bridge and passed through Circuit Gilles Villeneuve before an uphill finish in Old Montréal.
Evenepoel reacts to record-breaking victory
Speaking immediately after his victory, Remco Evenepoel said winning for a fourth consecutive year had been a major objective.
“It’s amazing. It was obviously the goal to come and win here for the fourth time in a row.”
Evenepoel said the prospect of making history provided “a big motivation” and thanked his team for its preparation.
The Belgian later explained that he knew after approximately six kilometres that his performance was already competitive with the leading times. He initially feared he had started too aggressively but maintained his pace.
“I must say that I’ve just had a wonderful feeling all day.”
Evenepoel described the victory as “a pretty good start of the Worlds”.
Montréal hosts World Championships until 27 September
The UCI Road World Championships are being held in Montréal from 20 to 27 September. It is the second time Montréal has hosted the championships, following the 1974 edition, and the third time Canada has staged the event.
Evenepoel’s victory adds another major title to a record that also includes Olympic time trial gold and the 2022 elite men’s road race world championship.
Evenepoel turns attention to road race
Evenepoel will now recover before shifting his attention to the elite men’s road race later in the championships.
After Sunday’s time trial, he confirmed that he planned to enjoy the victory before returning to full preparation from Tuesday.
The road race gives the Belgian another opportunity to add a world title during a championship that has already produced a historic fourth consecutive rainbow jersey against the clock.
