Road World Championships 2026 elite women's road race LIVE - The battle for the rainbow jersey begins in Montreal

The 140 riders representing 57 nations, including new countries of Panama, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia

They will face 2570 metres of elevation gain over the 180.4km course featuring the closing Mount Royal circuit.

Three minutes until the start in Brossard - more on the route coming up.

It is sunny in Brossard, with cool temperatures around 12°C, but the day should warm up, as the forecast calls for a high of 23°C in Montréal.

Along with Vallieres, Belgian leader Lotte Kopecky is the only previous World Champion lining up at the start. She won twice before, in Glasgow in 2023 and Zurich in 2024.

Speaking on Friday, Kopecky acknowledged that Demi Vollering stands out as the favourite, but said plenty of other contenders are in the mix.

More on Vollering from Laurens ten Dam, the Dutch team coach:

"She is incredibly focused, that's true. Two days after the Tour de France, I got the first message already from her, 'OK, job's not finished'. I was like, 'OK, she's on'," Ten Dam told Cyclingnews on Thursday evening.

Will Dutch racer Demi Vollering finally win a world title today? She lines up as the top favourite, having swept almost all before her this season.

Check out the riders to watch in the women’s road race in our in-depth preview.

Reigning champion Magdeleine Vallieres of Canada shared her thoughts on social media on the eve of the road race.

Hi. Bonjour. Welcome to our live report on Cyclingnews for the elite women's road race on the final weekend of the 2026 UCI World Road Championships in Montréal, Canada.