The elite women’s individual time trial opens the 2026 UCI Road World Championships in Montréal on Sunday 20 September, with defending champion Marlen Reusser heading a 53-rider field for the first rainbow jersey of the week.
Reusser is joined by Zoe Bäckstedt, Demi Vollering, Lieke Nooijen, Antonia Niedermaier, Elisa Longo Borghini, Kristen Faulkner, Taylor Knibb and Lotte Kopecky among a deep group of established time trial specialists. Great Britain have two starters through Bäckstedt and Anna Morris, while the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, United States and several other nations have also filled both of their available places.
The women face 39.2km with 220 metres of climbing, using exactly the same course as the elite men later in the day. ProCyclingUK’s 2026 UCI Road World Championships course guide covers the route in detail, including the fast section around Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve and the rise back towards the finish beside Parc Jeanne-Mance. A race preview can also be found here.
Women’s World Championships time trial 2026 race details
Date: Sunday 20 September 2026
Start: Avenue du Parc, Montréal
Finish: Parc Jeanne-Mance, Montréal
Distance: 39.2km
Elevation gain: 220 metres
Race start: 09:00 local / 14:00 BST
Expected finish: approximately 11:20 local / 16:20 BST
Defending champion: Marlen Reusser
Rather than using the repeated Mount Royal climbs which dominate the road races later in the championships, the time trial heads through Montréal towards the St Lawrence River and Île Notre-Dame.
The relatively low climbing total and long distance make this a sustained test of pacing and aerodynamic efficiency. The Formula 1 circuit should produce some of the fastest kilometres of the race before the riders return towards central Montréal.
UK viewers can find the full broadcast schedule in ProCyclingUK’s guide to watching the 2026 UCI Road World Championships.
Full women’s World Championships time trial 2026 start list
| Nation | Rider |
|---|---|
| Australia | Lauretta Hanson |
| Austria | Christina Schweinberger |
| Belgium | Lotte Claes |
| Belgium | Lotte Kopecky |
| Bulgaria | Gergana Stoyanova |
| Canada | Nadia Gontova |
| Canada | Olivia Baril |
| Cayman Islands | Alyssa Burgess |
| China | Xin Tang |
| China | Shimeng Zhu |
| Colombia | Diana Peñuela |
| Estonia | Ann-Christine Allik |
| Estonia | Janika Lõiv |
| Finland | Anniina Ahtosalo |
| France | Cédrine Kerbaol |
| France | Juliette Berthet |
| Germany | Franziska Koch |
| Germany | Antonia Niedermaier |
| Great Britain | Zoe Bäckstedt |
| Great Britain | Anna Morris |
| Indonesia | Magh Firotika Marendra |
| Iran | Sajedeh Siyahian |
| Italy | Vittoria Guazzini |
| Italy | Elisa Longo Borghini |
| Japan | Karin Abe |
| Kazakhstan | Faina Potapova |
| Kenya | Monica Jelimo Kiplagat |
| Kenya | Kendra Tabu |
| Mauritius | Lucie de Marigny-Lagesse |
| Mexico | Romina Hinojosa |
| Mexico | Sara Roel |
| Namibia | Vera Looser |
| Netherlands | Lieke Nooijen |
| Netherlands | Demi Vollering |
| Neutral athlete | Kristina Novikova |
| New Zealand | Henrietta Christie |
| New Zealand | Bronwyn MacGregor |
| Norway | Katrine Aalerud |
| Poland | Dominika Włodarczyk |
| Rwanda | Diane Ingabire |
| Rwanda | Xaveline Nirere |
| Saudi Arabia | Mashael Alhazmi |
| Slovenia | Nika Bobnar |
| Spain | Mireia Benito |
| Spain | Paula Blasi |
| Switzerland | Marlen Reusser |
| Switzerland | Jasmin Liechti |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Teniel Campbell |
| Ukraine | Valeriya Kononenko |
| United States | Kristen Faulkner |
| United States | Taylor Knibb |
| Zimbabwe | Skye Davidson |
| Zimbabwe | Rongina Ngandu |
Marlen Reusser returns as defending champion
Reusser starts the week with the rainbow jersey after winning the 2025 title in Kigali ahead of Anna van der Breggen and Demi Vollering.
Her final competitive preparation came at the Chrono Féminin de Gatineau on Wednesday, where she again demonstrated why she enters Montréal as the rider everybody else has to measure themselves against. ProCyclingUK’s Chrono Féminin de Gatineau contenders preview looked at how the Canadian race fitted into her final preparation.
The Montréal course is substantially longer than Gatineau and places less emphasis on repeated changes in gradient. At 39.2km, maintaining speed and position deep into the race will be just as important as producing the highest opening power.
Reusser is joined in the Swiss team by Jasmin Liechti, who has made a substantial step forward against the clock during 2026.
Great Britain select Bäckstedt and Morris
Great Britain have Zoe Bäckstedt and Anna Morris in the elite women’s time trial.
Bäckstedt enters her first elite World Championships as one of the strongest challengers to Reusser after another season of progress against the clock. She retained the British title and finished second to Reusser in the Tour de Suisse Women time trial before another strong performance at the Tour de France Femmes.
Morris also brings considerable track pursuit experience and finished second to Bäckstedt at the British championships.
The 39.2km distance presents a different test from many of the shorter stage-race time trials Bäckstedt has ridden this season, but its fast character should suit her ability to hold high power for prolonged periods.
Vollering and Nooijen give the Netherlands two contenders
Demi Vollering returns after taking bronze in Kigali and has another chance to add a World Championships time trial medal to a season already dominated by her stage-racing success.
Lieke Nooijen offers a different type of threat.
Nooijen finished only four seconds behind Reusser in the Tour de France Femmes time trial from Gevrey-Chambertin to Dijon, one of the strongest performances of her season. ProCyclingUK’s Tour de France Femmes Stage 4 time trial guide looked at the riders expected to shape that race against the clock.
Montréal is almost twice as long, so Nooijen now has to carry that speed through a much longer championship effort.
Italy, Germany and the United States bring two-rider teams
Italy have Elisa Longo Borghini and Vittoria Guazzini, giving them two very experienced options for the opening championship.
Germany send Antonia Niedermaier and Franziska Koch. Niedermaier has already established a strong World Championships record against the clock, while Koch beat her to the German national title earlier this season.
The United States pair Kristen Faulkner with Taylor Knibb. Both are particularly well suited to a race based around sustained power, although Knibb’s background in triathlon gives her a different route into the discipline from most of the field.
Belgium also have two starters through Lotte Kopecky and national time trial champion Lotte Claes.
Mie Bjørndal Ottestad will not start
Norway had initially selected Mie Bjørndal Ottestad alongside Katrine Aalerud, but Ottestad has since withdrawn from the World Championships.
Her recovery from the concussion suffered earlier in the summer has taken longer than expected, leaving Aalerud as Norway’s sole starter in the elite women’s individual time trial.
Ottestad had appeared on several preliminary start lists, so older versions of the field may still show two Norwegian riders.
When will the individual start times be confirmed?
The current entry list establishes the field, but the final running order is still to be published.
Once confirmed, each rider will receive an individual departure time, allowing the main contenders to be grouped into a complete start-order table. The later starters will be particularly important because they will have access to intermediate times from riders already on the course.
The first rider is scheduled to leave Avenue du Parc at 14:00 BST on Sunday, with the competition expected to finish at approximately 16:20 BST.
The wider championship programme, including all 13 title events across the eight days in Montréal, is available in ProCyclingUK’s beginner’s guide to the 2026 UCI Road World Championships.
