Matteo Jorgenson: "World championships close to home is a big goal"

Matteo Jorgenson is focusing on the Ardennes classics next spring, but the American also wants to score in the autumn. The 26-year-old rider has especially marked the World Championship in Montréal in red on his calendar.

"The Worlds in Canada, close to home, is a major goal," Jorgenson said at the Visma | Lease a Bike team press day in front of our camera. "I really want to train specifically for that. The plan is to go home to the United States after the Tour de France and do a high-altitude training camp. I want to stay focused during that period because I think the course suits me well. In addition, I really want to take advantage of the fact that the race is close to home."

Course in Montréal
The elite men’s road race at the World Championships next year will be held on Sunday, September 27. The race covers a total distance of 273.2 kilometers and largely takes place on a local circuit. This lap, reached after a 112.4-kilometer approach, is 95% identical to the GP de Montréal course.

Due to the World Championship logistics, there will be minimal changes to the course, but the main climbs will still need to be tackled. These include the Côte Camillien-Houde (1.8 km at 8%) in Parc du Mont-Royal and later the Côte de Polytechnique (780 meters at 6%, max 11%). In the final four kilometers, the Pagnuelo (535 meters at 7.5%) and the finish on Avenue du Parc follow.

Jorgenson has raced the GP de Montréal twice. In 2023, racing for Movistar, he finished 24th. A year later, in his debut season for Visma | Lease a Bike, he placed twelfth.