The scheduling of the Road World Championships and the European Road Championships caused quite a stir this fall, as there was only one week between the World Championships in Rwanda and the European Championships in southern France. The European time trial followed just three days after the road race in Africa. There were calls for a different schedule, but in 2026 there will again be only one week between the Worlds and the Euros.
The 2026 Road World Championships will be held from September 20-27, 2026, with the circus traveling to Montréal, Canada. Part of the men's peloton will already be there, as the WorldTour races in Québec and Montréal will be 'regularly' held a week earlier. A traditional World Championship program will follow a week later.
The individual time trials for the elite categories are scheduled for Sunday, September 20, followed by youth races and the Mixed Team Relay on Tuesday, September 22. The women's road race opens the final weekend (Saturday, September 26), with the men's race (Sunday, September 27) providing the climax on the well-known, hilly course in Montréal.
For the 2026 European Road Championships, the peloton heads to Slovenia, where the races are scheduled from October 3-7, 2026. Notably, a slightly different order has been chosen by the organizer UEC. The championship starts with the women's (Saturday, October 3) and men's (Sunday, October 4) road races. Only afterwards follow the Mixed Team Relay (Tuesday, October 6) and finally the European time trials (Wednesday, October 7).
This suggests that the European Championships organization is taking into account the long flight and the six-hour time difference after the World Championships in Canada.
Among others, Dutch national coach Koos Moerenhout spoke out against the Worlds and Euros scheduling this fall. "Obviously a ridiculous schedule," he told WielerFlits. "We have to deal with it. I hope it will be different next year and spread out more. We prepare well, but it’s very tight."
