'A once-in-a-career kind of thing' – A year on from a stunning victory, Canada's top women riders look ahead to 'special' home Road World Championships

With the Tour de France Femmes in the rearview mirror along with many of the other big races of the Women's WorldTour season, it's no surprise that the focus of the women's peloton is now turning towards the UCI Road World Championships.

The Worlds, the last standout racing event of the season, heads back to North America for the first time since Richmond 2015 as Canada hosts the event for the third time, the country's first since Hamilton 2003.

Back then, Swedish racer Susanne Ljungskog defended her road race rainbow jersey, powering to a reduced sprint victory ahead of Dutchwoman Mirjam Melchers and Briton Nicole Cooke. In the time trial, it was Spain's Joane Somarriba who won, 10 seconds up on Judith Arndt.

In September, the Worlds return to Canada, heading to Montréal from September 20-27. The city has hosted once before – in 1974 – and this year, the likes of Demi Vollering (Netherlands), Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy), and Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) willl compete on the hilly city-centre circuit.

Meanwhile, the home nation will be hoping to retain the surprise rainbow jersey won by Québecois rider Magdeleine Vallieres Mill – Canada's first-ever Road Worlds triumph – last time out in Kigali, Rwanda.

She's expected to lead the women's squad again, while the men's elites will be led by Derek Gee-West and Michael Woods, who has surprisingly come out of road retirement.

Six Canadian riders took the start of the Tour de France Femmes in Lausanne earlier this month, so Cyclingnews tracked some of them down to get their thoughts and feelings on what will be a momentous event for them and for Canadian cycling.

Vallieres Mill was proud to race in rainbows at the biggest event of the calendar – "The atmosphere has been super good, so it's been nice to have some extra cheers because of the jersey," she said – and she's very much looking forward to a Canadian Worlds.

Canada doesn't host any top-level women's races, aside from September's 1.1 Tour de Gatineau and Chrono de Gatineau, so she and her compatriots rarely have a chance to compete on home roads.

"I'm super excited. I don't get to race home very much. To be racing Worlds to defend my title is going to be something incredible, so I'm really looking forward to it," Vallieres Mill said.

"We already know a bit about the team, but it's not super official. I have an idea because there are a lot of really strong Canadians at the moment, including at this race, so I think we will have a really strong team."

'I think for every Canadian this is the coolest thing to have everyone come to your country'

Canada took five riders to the road race as Vallieres Mill broke away for a last-gasp victory in Rwanda, though they're set for an increased roster of seven this time. Vallieres Mill was joined by Olivia Baril, Emilie Fortin, and Laury Milette in 2025, with 2023 Paris-Roubaix champion Alison Jackson also racing.

Jackson, from Alberta, said she was confident about taking part once more. Fourth place on stage 7 of the Giro d'Italia Women is a standout result which should see her make the cut according to Cycling Canada's selection criteria.

"I mean, the depth of the female racers in Canada right now is super high, but there's a lot of U23s and elites. So, yeah. I think my result at the Giro will put me in there," Jackson told Cyclingnews.

"I think for every Canadian this is the coolest thing to have everyone come to your country. I think this will be a once-in-a-career kind of thing."

Nadia Gontova, hailing from Richmond, B.C., close to Vancouver, flew the Canadian flag as newly crowned national champion in the Tour's Dijon time trial. She was forced to miss what would've been her Worlds debut last year after undergoing iliac artery surgery at the season's end.

She told Cyclingnews earlier this year that making this year's Canada squad is "definitely a big goal" and said in France that she's still got her fingers crossed.

"I was super bummed to miss out last year. I think it was a pretty last-minute decision to skip Worlds, so I think I'm even more motivated to go and have a good race this year, especially with the defending World Champion being Canadian. It's even more motivation behind it," Gontova said.

"I hope to race. We don't have the selection out yet, but I definitely really hope to be there. I'm not sure, but I hope so."

Alongside last year's team and Gontova, riders including Sarah Van Dam (seventh at Amstel Gold Race and the Tour de Suisse) and national road champion Maggie Coles-Lyster are also in the mix for selection for the elite squad.

With such a strong list of riders to choose from, it's no surprise that Canadian women's cycling is on the rise. Three years ago in Glasgow, Ontarian Isabella Holmgren scored their only top result with eighth in the under-23 road race.

A year later in Zürich, her twin sister Ava was fourth in the same race. 2025 saw several other big results alongside Vallieres Mill's rainbow jersey, as Sidney Swierenga raced to fourth in the junior road race and sixth in the junior time trial, while Isabella improved two places on her Glasgow result.

'I would love to be in my best shape to help Isabella, because I think we could win'

Still just 21, Isabella Holmgren led Canada's charge for a medal in the same race this time around, having already won two under-23 rainbow jerseys on the mountain bike.

Holmgren will head to Canada after filling her season with a score of big results at the highest level – including top 10s at La Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Giro d'Italia Women, and the Tour de France Femmes.

She's racing both road and mountain bike this year, heading to Italy for the MTB Worlds, which run from August 26-30 in Val di Sole.

Holmgren will race Elite MTB Worlds this time around, having taken both short track and cross-country under-23 titles last year, beating Carla Hahn of Germany by 20 seconds in the shorter event before putting in a dominant ride to beat US racer Vida Lopez de San Roman by 2:16 in the cross-country race.

A month later on home ground, she'll be back among the under-23s for the 123km race in Montréal.

Ava will be aiming for a spot too, as will Canadian under-23 time trial champion Alexandra Volstad and 19-year-old Swierenga, third at the Volta a Catalunya this year. Kiara Lylyk, like the Holmgren twins, another Ontarian, is feeling confident about making her Worlds debut, too.

The 22-year-old has overcome RED-S this year, and raced the Tour de France Femmes for a second time in what will be her final year racing at under-23 level.

"I've thought about it a lot since like two years ago. It's been marked as my last year under-23. I had to miss Worlds last year because of my last year of university, so it would be really special to do an under-23 Worlds.

"To have a favourite like Isabella, I would love to be in my best shape to help her, because I think we could win. So, it would be so special – it's so close to my home," she told Cyclingnews.

"I feel I'm pretty certain, because the way our criteria works – if you become top five in a UCI .1 or higher, that's a first priority. In Catalunya I did that, so it should be me, Isabella, Sydney for sure, and then the other spots are still to be decided."

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