The last time that the Road Cycling World Championships were held in Montreal, Canada, the legendary Eddie Merckx took gold.
The first edition of the championships to be held outside of Europe, the Belgian claimed men's victory as France's Geneviève Gambillon won the women's title.
It was held at a time that saw the cyclists wear hats rather than helmets, so the return to the city this September will feel markedly different.
Here is all you need to know ahead of the Montreal 2026 Road Cycling World Championships.
History of the Road Cycling World Championships
The inaugural championships took place in 1921 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with Britain's Charles Davey taking bronze in the men's amateur road race, which was the only event contested.
The first professional event took place just a few years later in 1927 at the Nürburgring in Germany, before the first women's professional race was introduced in 1958.
In 2019, the team time trial events for men and women were replaced by a mixed relay team time trial.
Unlike the Pro Tour, which sees athletes compete under their Pro team's name, all athletes race for their national team.
Victors win not just gold, but the iconic rainbow jersey, which they are entitled to wear in races of that same category throughout the following year until the next championships.
For anyone who wins the World Championships road race, the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia in the same season, they are famed with the Triple Crown of Cycling for completing one of the most difficult and prestigious achievements in the sport.
Montreal 2026 Road Cycling World Championships
Montreal will once again become the epicentre of road cycling this September as the world championships return to Canada from 20-27 September.
The eight-day event will be the third time Canada has hosted the competition, with their second outing back in 2003 in Hamilton.
A total of 13 events will be in contention, with elite British riders taking to the road for the individual time trials, road races and mixed relay.
The road race circuit is similar to that of the 1974 edition, as well as that of the 1976 Montreal Olympics, which will be celebrating its 50th anniversary during the event.
British history at the Road Cycling World Championships
Over the decades, Britain has stamped its name on the road cycling world.
Beryl Berton became Britain's first world champion in 1960 as she won the women's road race at the height of her dominance in the sport, adding her second title in 1967.
In 1965, Tom Simpson became the first British men's road champion, out sprinting Germany's Rudi Altig on the streets of San Sebastián, as Mandy Jones added women's gold in 1982 on home soil.
In the time trial, Chris Boardman won the inaugural men's title in 1994 as Emma Pooley took women's gold in 2010.
Bradley Wiggins added time trial gold to his impressive road CV in 2014, while Nicole Cooke clinched road race gold in 2008, the same year she won her Olympic title in the same event.
Sprinting icon Mark Cavendish became Britain's first male road race champion in 46 years when he claimed the crown in 2011, controlling the peloton before exploding over the line ahead of Australia's Matt Goss and German Andre Greipel.
However, Britain's most recent elite world champion on the road is Lizzie Deignan (née Armistead), who soared to road race gold in 2015.
With start lists for Montreal 2026 set to be released closer to the date, British cyclists will be back in action in Canada this September.
Sportsbeat 2026