Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx believes his country has a major opportunity to claim the men’s road race world title in Montréal on Sunday, September 27, with defending champion Tadej Pogačar absent from the start list.
Merckx, who won the world championship in Montréal in 1974, has backed Belgium’s chances, pointing particularly to Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert as the nation’s two leading cards for the 2026 elite men’s road race.
The 81-year-old was speaking to Belgian broadcaster RTBF ahead of the race and said Pogačar’s absence significantly changes the landscape. According to Merckx, Belgium has a strong chance of putting a rider into the rainbow jersey, although he also warned that the responsibility placed on the Belgian team could become a major factor during the race.
“If he was there, we’d have been fighting for silver,” Merckx said, highlighting how difficult it would have been for other riders to overcome Pogačar had the Slovenian been able to defend his title.
Pogačar will miss the Montréal Worlds after a crash at the Vuelta a España ended his 2026 season. He had entered the year as the two-time defending world champion after victories in 2024 and 2025.
Evenepoel and Van Aert lead Belgium
Merckx sees Evenepoel and Van Aert as Belgium’s principal weapons.
Evenepoel has already made history in Montréal by winning the elite men’s individual time trial for a record fourth consecutive year. His victory on September 20 added another rainbow jersey to an already impressive collection and gives Belgium considerable momentum heading into Sunday’s road race.
Van Aert also arrives with strong form. He won two stages and the points classification at the Vuelta a España before turning his attention to the World Championships. Merckx therefore believes Belgium has two riders capable of playing decisive roles over Montréal’s demanding course.
Belgium’s team also includes Tiesj Benoot, Quinten Hermans, Thibau Nys, Alec Segaert, Maxim Van Gils and Gianni Vermeersch, giving the country several options for different race situations.
A difficult race awaits
Despite his confidence, Merckx does not expect Belgium to have an easy afternoon.
Mathieu van der Poel of the Netherlands, France’s Paul Seixas and Mexico’s Isaac del Toro are among the riders capable of disrupting Belgium’s plans. Del Toro, in particular, arrives after winning the recent Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, while Seixas has also impressed during the Canadian races.
The elite men’s race will cover roughly 273 kilometres and feature around 3,720 metres of elevation gain, making it a demanding test of endurance as well as tactical decision-making.
Merckx also offered tactical advice, suggesting that if a Belgian rider gets into a breakaway, the rider should avoid doing unnecessary work. With Evenepoel and Van Aert available behind, Belgium can potentially force rival teams to take responsibility for the chase.
However, Merckx recalled his own 1974 victory in Montréal and warned that dangerous attacks cannot simply be ignored. A breakaway that gains too much time could become extremely difficult to bring back.
Back to the scene of Merckx’s historic triumph
Sunday’s race carries additional significance because Montréal is the same city where Merckx won the world title 52 years ago.
In 1974, he defeated Raymond Poulidor in a two-man sprint to claim his third world championship. That victory completed an extraordinary season in which Merckx also won the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, making him the first rider to achieve cycling’s Triple Crown.
Now, more than five decades later, Merckx will watch another generation of Belgian riders attempt to win the rainbow jersey on the same roads.
With Pogačar absent, Evenepoel already a world time-trial champion again and Van Aert arriving with strong form, Belgium enters Sunday with several possibilities. But the challenging Montréal course and a deep field of international contenders mean the race is likely to be decided by tactics, positioning and endurance over the final kilometres.
For Merckx, however, there is a special connection. The 2026 World Championships have brought the sport back to the city where he produced one of the defining performances of his career — and where he now hopes another Belgian can add a new chapter to the country’s rich World Championships history.
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