The Cycling World Championships are heading to Quebec.

The first UCI Road World Championships ever held outside Europe take place in Montréal, on the now-legendary Mount Royal course, with Belgium’s Eddy Merckx and France’s Geneviève Gambillon crowned the winners.

Montreal becomes the epicenter of global cycling.

At the Congress of the International Cycling Union (UCI) in Wollongong, Australia, the 2026 UCI Road World Championships are awarded to Montréal. The event will be organized by the promoter of the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal, with support from Cycling Canada.

Montreal receives the UCI Bike City Label from the UCI.

Montréal is awarded UCI Bike City Label which recognizes cities and regions that, in addition to hosting major events on the UCI’s international calendar, also invest in the development of cycling in their communities and in related infrastructure and programs.

The start of the UCI Road World Championships is given.

The 2026 UCI Road World Championships organizing committee takes advantage of the presence of the élite teams in the international pro peloton, competing in the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal, two races on the UCI WorldTour calendar, to symbolically kick off the countdown to this prestigious event during which cycling will rule on the Avenue du Parc site in Montréal.

Half a century later, the story continues.

The UCI Road World Championships make their triumphant return to Montréal, a historic rendezvous 52 years after the city thrilled the world by hosting the 1974 edition, the first ever held outside Europe.