Guillaume Boivin will retire from professional cycling at the end of the 2026 season, bringing a 17-year career to a close after using his final World Championships appearance to spend more than 140km in the breakaway on home roads in Montréal.
The 37-year-old Canadian was part of a 16-rider move that established itself during Sunday’s elite men’s road race and stayed clear deep into the race. When the break was finally absorbed, Boivin was able to acknowledge the crowd lining the Montréal circuit, high-fiving spectators as he completed what he knew would be his last race through the city.
Boivin confirmed afterwards that he will stop racing at the end of the season, although he has not yet decided whether Montréal was his final competitive appearance altogether. His remaining programme will depend on how the next few weeks unfold.
“I’ve lived everything I was meant to live,” Boivin said as he reflected on the decision.
Boivin spent his Montréal farewell in the breakaway
Boivin had not originally been due to start the elite men’s road race. He was called into the Canadian team after Derek Gee withdrew because of injuries sustained in the GP Montréal, a change covered in our World Championships withdrawals update.
Once on the start line, Boivin made the opportunity count. He joined the day’s major break and remained out front for more than 140km as the race moved onto the repeated Mount Royal circuits.
The move was eventually brought back before the decisive attacks among the favourites, with Brandon McNulty going on to win the rainbow jersey. The American’s victory is covered in our 2026 men’s World Championships race report.
For Boivin, the result mattered less than the setting. He described the final passages through Montréal as a chance to take in a home crowd that included friends and supporters who had followed his career for years.
“That was definitely the last time you’ll see me racing through the streets of Montréal,” he said, adding that he was at peace with the decision after a long process of reaching it.
A professional career that began in 2009
Boivin turned professional in 2009 and developed into one of Canada’s most experienced road riders, combining sprinting strength with the durability needed for long Classics and Grand Tours.
He won three Canadian national road titles across the U23 and elite ranks, with elite victories in 2015 and 2021, and took bronze in the under-23 road race at the 2010 World Championships.
A bronze medal at the 2015 Pan American Games followed, while his European career included spells with Cannondale before a long association with the Israel Cycling Academy structure and its later WorldTour incarnations.
That organisation became Israel Start-Up Nation and Israel-Premier Tech before relaunching as NSN Cycling for 2026. ProCyclingUK looked at the transition in our piece on the launch of NSN Cycling.
Boivin also won the Famenne Ardenne Classic in 2018 and produced one of the strongest Classics results of his career with ninth at Paris-Roubaix in 2021.
Five Tours de France and an Olympic appearance
Boivin became a familiar support rider in the biggest stage races during the latter part of his career. He raced five editions of the Tour de France between 2021 and 2025, as well as the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España.
His first Tour came in 2021, when he rode in support of fellow Canadian Michael Woods. The pair were also teammates for Canada at the Tokyo Olympics, where Boivin helped Woods to fifth in the road race before finishing 65th himself.
Woods has also been preparing to step away from professional road racing, with ProCyclingUK previously covering his decision in Mike Woods’ retirement announcement.
Boivin and Woods therefore leave behind a period in which a group of Canadian riders became established figures in the WorldTour, combining Grand Tour roles with regular appearances in the Ardennes, cobbled Classics and the country’s own WorldTour races in Québec and Montréal.
Home Worlds provided the farewell Boivin wanted
Boivin’s professional career has taken him through North America, Europe, Grand Tours, an Olympic Games and repeated World Championships appearances, but Montréal gave him a rare chance to finish a major international race in front of people who had watched that career from close range.
He said the decision to retire had been forming for some time rather than being prompted by one race. Sunday’s breakaway instead gave him a way to mark the end publicly, spending much of the day visible at the front before acknowledging the crowd when the move finally came back.
Whether Boivin starts another race before the season ends remains undecided. What is settled is that his 2026 campaign will be his last as a professional.
