Slovenia's cycling superstar targets World Championship double

After a nearly two-month break from racing Tadej Pogačar came back recharged to finish the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal in second place, gifting the win to his trusted UAE Emirates teammate Brandon McNulty. The Slovenian is now setting his sights on the upcoming UCI Road World Championships, where he aims to defend the road race title as well as contest the time trial.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG had been in firm control of the 14 September race from the very start, never letting the breakaway carve out a gap that would be difficult to close, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

When Pogačar attacked 23 kilometres to go, it seemed he would simply solo to victory, but he later waited for McNulty to bridge over to him and turned into a super domestique for the American during the last two laps.

They rode side-by-side the last one hundred metres or so with McNulty crossing the line for the official victory in what was his first one-day win at the highest level.

Recording their 85th win this season, UAE Emirates have now equalled the all-time mark in the number of wins achieved by a single team in one season. The record was set by Team Columbia-HTC in 2009.

Following his fourth Tour de France victory, Pogačar returned to racing at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec on 12 September.

He appeared recharged and aiming for the victory, launching a couple of attacks, but in the final few kilometres he seemed not to have really gone for it as the punchy but still mostly flat terrain did not play to his strengths.

He finished 29th in the chase group in what was his worst one-day result in three years. He was 26 seconds behind the winner, French rider Julian Alaphilippe.

The 2026 World Championships will be held in Montreal, so the latest race, considered the harder of the two due to all the climbing, was a perfect opportunity to see and experience the course.

Pogačar targets World Championship double

Pogačar wanted to use the two Canadian races as training for this year's World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, which he considers the main goal of the final stretch of the season. There he will compete in both the time trial on 21 September and the road race on 28 September.

The Slovenian is known for his exceptional all-around abilities in Grand Tours, one-day classics and time trials, and the rainbow jersey in the World Championship time trial remains one of the few prizes he has not yet won.

He is the absolute favourite to win the road race, whereas in the time trial he will have to take on the reigning champion, Belgian TT specialist Remco Evenepoel, who recently decided to leave Soudal-Quick-Step and start riding for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe in the 2026 season.

Since the time trial course in Rwanda is quite hilly, Pogačar, a more versatile rider than Evenepoel, is considered a serious contender for the title in this discipline as well, and by the end of the month he could be donning both rainbow jerseys.

"I want to put him and the other strong specialists to the test," he told a press conference ahead of the Canadian classics. "The course should suit me, although I'll need a very good day. I've always been a fan of the discipline and have been on my time trial bike more than usual this time. I'm going there to prove myself the best that day."

Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) will join Pogačar in the Slovenia team for Rwanda, but he will not ride the time trial.