The Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal 2026 takes place on Sunday 13 September, with one of the hardest one-day races on the men’s WorldTour returning to Mount Royal just a week before the UCI Road World Championships begin on many of the same roads.
For UK viewers, HBO Max is the best option for watching the complete race. The live stream is scheduled to begin at 15:00 BST, 15 minutes before the riders start their 214.4km race around Montréal.
The situation is different for viewers relying on conventional television. TNT Sports 3 is currently scheduled to join GP Montréal at 20:00 BST, following the final stage of the Vuelta a España. With the race expected to finish at around 20:45 BST, that should still cover the decisive final laps but misses most of the afternoon.
There is currently no free-to-air UK broadcast announced.
For anyone new to the Canadian WorldTour double-header, our beginner’s guide to the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal 2026 explains why Montréal is normally considerably harder than GP Québec and how the repeated Mount Royal climbs gradually reduce the peloton.
GP Montréal 2026 UK TV details at a glance
| Detail | GP Montréal 2026 |
|---|---|
| Date | Sunday 13 September 2026 |
| Location | Montréal, Canada |
| Classification | UCI WorldTour |
| Distance | 214.4km |
| Circuit | 16 laps of 13.4km |
| Total climbing | Around 4,304 metres |
| Race start | 15:15 BST |
| HBO Max coverage | From 15:00 BST |
| TNT Sports 3 | From 20:00 BST currently listed |
| Expected finish | Around 20:45 BST |
| Podium ceremony | Around 21:00 BST |
| Free UK live coverage | None currently announced |
| 2025 winner | Brandon McNulty |
Montréal is five hours behind the UK while Britain remains on BST. The local 10:15 start therefore becomes 15:15 for British viewers.
How to watch GP Montréal 2026 live in the UK
HBO Max is the option to use if you want the entire race.
The dedicated GP Montréal stream is scheduled from 15:00 BST until approximately 21:15 BST, meaning viewers should be able to follow the race from before the start through to the finish and podium.
HBO Max replaced Discovery+ as the UK streaming home of TNT Sports during 2026, so viewers who previously used Discovery+ for WorldTour cycling should now look for the race within HBO Max.
That distinction matters for GP Montréal because Sunday’s television schedule is crowded.
The final stage of the Vuelta a España also takes place on 13 September, and the current TNT Sports 3 schedule gives priority to the Grand Tour during the afternoon. Montréal is not due to appear on that channel until 20:00.
Anyone wanting full coverage should therefore use the dedicated HBO Max stream rather than waiting for the linear TNT Sports broadcast.
What time is GP Montréal on TNT Sports?
The current UK listing has TNT Sports 3 joining GP Montréal at 20:00 BST.
That is around four hours and 45 minutes after the race begins.
It sounds late, but the timing should still deliver the most important part of the race. The finish is scheduled for approximately 20:45 BST, leaving around 45 minutes of live action once TNT Sports switches across.
For viewers spending the afternoon watching the Vuelta finale, it makes for a straightforward handover from Spain to Canada.
For everyone else, HBO Max is the better option.
The difference is simple:
- HBO Max: full race from around 15:00 BST
- TNT Sports 3: final part from around 20:00 BST
Broadcast schedules can still change in the week before the race, particularly with several major cycling events taking place on the same Sunday, so television viewers should check the final TNT Sports listings on race morning.
What time does GP Montréal 2026 start?
The Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal officially starts at 15:15 BST.
Team presentation runs from approximately 14:05 to 15:05 BST, with the riders then lining up on Avenue du Parc for the start.
The organiser currently schedules the race to finish at approximately 20:45 BST, followed by the podium ceremony at around 21:00.
That produces a race lasting roughly five and a half hours.
For British viewers, Montréal consequently occupies a different part of the day to most European Classics. The opening laps begin in mid-afternoon, but the race does not reach its decisive phase until the evening.
GP Montréal 2026 UK viewing schedule
| Event | UK time |
|---|---|
| Team presentation begins | 14:05 BST |
| HBO Max coverage begins | 15:00 BST |
| Race starts | 15:15 BST |
| Mid-race | Around 18:00 BST |
| Recommended time to join | Around 19:15 BST |
| Final 50km | Approximately 19:30 BST onwards |
| TNT Sports 3 joins | 20:00 BST |
| Expected finish | Around 20:45 BST |
| Podium ceremony | Around 21:00 BST |
Anyone intending to watch the whole race should be ready shortly before 15:00.
For a shorter viewing window, the final 90 minutes should provide most of what makes Montréal worth watching.
When should you start watching GP Montréal?
Five and a half hours of circuit racing is not necessary for everyone.
If you want the full story of the race, start at 15:00 BST on HBO Max.
For a better balance between context and decisive racing, 19:15 BST is a good target. By then the riders should have accumulated well over 3,000 metres of climbing and the repeated Mount Royal ascents will have started removing riders who were comfortable earlier in the afternoon.
For viewers mainly interested in the attacks that decide the race, aim for 19:30 BST onwards.
Waiting until TNT Sports 3 joins at 20:00 should still provide an entertaining final section, but it carries one obvious risk. Montréal does not always wait for the final lap.
A strong group can establish itself 30 or 40km from the finish, particularly once the major teams begin running short of domestiques.
The 2026 route is also a World Championships rehearsal
There is more reason than usual to pay attention to the roads this year.
The 2026 race covers 214.4km across 16 laps of a redesigned 13.4km Mount Royal circuit, accumulating around 4,304 metres of climbing.
The circuit is closely related to the one that will be used when the UCI Road World Championships return to Montréal from 20 to 27 September.
Our full GP Montréal 2026 route guide looks at the changes in detail.
The main difficulties are familiar.
Camillien-Houde measures approximately 1.8km at 8% and remains the backbone of the circuit.
Côte de la Polytechnique is shorter at around 780 metres and 6%, but includes a section above 11%.
Avenue Pagnuelo adds another 534 metres at around 7.5%.
The riders then return towards the finish on Avenue du Parc, which itself rises for roughly 600 metres at around 4%.
None of those climbs would define a major Classic on its own.
The difficulty comes from repeating them 16 times.
Why the final three laps matter
The new circuit means the final three laps cover just over 40km.
That is where the race should begin changing quickly.
After more than four hours and several thousand metres of climbing, the peloton will have fewer riders available to close attacks. Domestiques who dealt comfortably with Camillien-Houde in the opening hour may no longer be capable of doing the same job on lap 14 or 15.
That makes the final 40km a useful viewing marker.
The strongest teams can begin alternating attacks rather than trying to control everything for one leader, while riders targeting a World Championship result have every reason to discover how the circuit behaves at genuine race speed.
It is not simply reconnaissance.
Nobody sacrifices a WorldTour Classic purely to gather information.
But riders will leave Montréal knowing far more about where gaps open, where positioning matters and how much energy the circuit takes out of them after five hours.
Remco Evenepoel and Isaac del Toro headline the field
The 2026 start list is taking shape as one of the strongest editions of the Canadian races.
Remco Evenepoel is due to return with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, seven years after his previous appearance at the Canadian WorldTour races.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG bring significant strength through Isaac del Toro and defending champion Brandon McNulty.
Del Toro arrives after a season in which he became the first Mexican rider to finish on the Tour de France podium, while McNulty already knows exactly what is required to win on Mount Royal.
Paul Seixas, Tom Pidcock, Matteo Jorgenson and Michael Matthews are also among the confirmed headline riders.
That collection of names makes the Worlds connection much more than a marketing angle. Several riders capable of challenging for the rainbow jersey will effectively be testing themselves on its finishing circuit seven days beforehand.
Brandon McNulty returns as defending champion
McNulty won the 2025 GP Montréal after UAE Team Emirates-XRG overwhelmed the opposition late in the race.
He and Tadej Pogačar formed part of the decisive move with Quinn Simmons and Neilson Powless before the two UAE riders eventually rode clear together.
McNulty crossed the line first, with Pogačar taking second and Simmons arriving just over a minute later.
The result continued UAE’s remarkable record in Montréal after Pogačar had dominated the 2024 edition and Adam Yates won in 2023.
McNulty now returns without the race necessarily revolving around one obvious UAE leader.
Del Toro gives the team another rider perfectly suited to more than 4,000 metres of climbing, and that numerical strength could become particularly valuable when the race reaches its final laps.
Tom Pidcock has a route that should suit him
Pidcock is another rider worth watching closely as the race approaches its final hour.
The repeated short climbs fit his characteristics much better than a race built around one long mountain. Montréal continually demands acceleration, positioning and the ability to recover between efforts.
His descending ability also matters.
Camillien-Houde and Polytechnique do not simply create climbing selections. Every ascent is followed by another technical transition where riders can gain or lose positions without necessarily producing a visible attack.
For Pidcock, Montréal is also one of the final opportunities to test his road form before the World Championships.
GP Montréal is much harder than GP Québec
The Canadian WorldTour weekend begins two days earlier with GP Québec on Friday 11 September.
Our guide to watching GP Québec 2026 in the UK has the full Friday broadcast schedule.
The two races share a similar concept but reward different riders.
Québec contains repeated short climbs and an uphill finish, but a larger group can remain in contention. That gives durable sprinters and powerful puncheurs a realistic opportunity.
Montréal shifts the balance decisively towards climbing.
More than 4,300 metres of ascent makes it difficult for pure fast finishers to survive, particularly once the pace increases over the final laps.
That difference has always been part of the appeal of the Canadian double-header. Riders can contest two WorldTour Classics in three days without simply racing the same event twice.
A race with its own history on Mount Royal
GP Montréal was created in 2010 alongside the Québec race, establishing a permanent Canadian presence at the top level of men’s professional cycling.
Its winners since then include Robert Gesink, Rui Costa, Peter Sagan, Simon Gerrans, Greg Van Avermaet, Diego Ulissi, Michael Matthews, Adam Yates, Tadej Pogačar and Brandon McNulty.
Our history of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal looks at how the race developed and why the connection between Mount Royal and major championship cycling goes much further back than 2010.
Montréal hosted the World Championships in 1974, when Eddy Merckx won the men’s road race.
Fifty-two years later, the rainbow jerseys return.
That gives the 2026 GP Montréal an unusual place in the season. It is both an established WorldTour Classic and the final full-scale test of roads that will matter considerably more one week later.
-
Photo Credit: Getty
Is GP Montréal free to watch in the UK?
There is currently no confirmed free-to-air UK live coverage.
UK rights sit within the Warner Bros. Discovery cycling package, with the race available through HBO Max and TNT Sports.
Canadian services such as TVA Sports and CBC Gem should not be treated as UK alternatives because their availability is aimed at domestic viewers.
There is also no confirmed unrestricted official YouTube stream for the UK.
For guaranteed live coverage, HBO Max remains the practical option.
Can you watch GP Montréal on Discovery+?
UK viewers should now use HBO Max rather than Discovery+.
HBO Max became the UK streaming home of TNT Sports during 2026 and carries the live WorldTour cycling that had previously been available through Discovery+.
Older race guides and some international television listings may still use Eurosport or Discovery+ terminology.
For British viewers in 2026, the relevant services are HBO Max and TNT Sports.
Best way to watch GP Montréal 2026 in the UK
For the complete race, use HBO Max from 15:00 BST on Sunday 13 September.
The main times to remember are:
- 15:00 BST: HBO Max coverage begins
- 15:15 BST: GP Montréal starts
- 19:15 BST: Good time to join for the decisive phase
- Around 19:30 BST: Final 50km expected to begin
- 20:00 BST: TNT Sports 3 currently joins the race
- Around 20:45 BST: Expected finish
- Around 21:00 BST: Podium ceremony
For anyone choosing only one viewing window, 19:15 BST onwards is the safest option.
That should leave enough racing to see how the final selection develops rather than arriving after it has already formed. By then more than 3,000 metres of climbing will be in the riders’ legs, teammates will be disappearing and the same Mount Royal roads that decide GP Montréal will be offering their clearest preview yet of what awaits at the World Championships a week later.
