Tough Worlds Finale for Jakob Söderqvist in Montréal

Jakob Söderqvist closed his 2026 UCI Road World Championships campaign with a difficult Elite Men’s Road Race in Montréal, where an unforgiving pace eventually ended the Swedish rider’s day after more than four hours of racing.

The 273.4 km World Championship road race proved highly attritional, with repeated attacks and tactical moves shaping more than six hours of racing. Brandon McNulty ultimately delivered the victory for the United States, finishing 13 seconds ahead of Michael Matthews and Mathieu van der Poel.

A Tactical Decision That Didn’t Pay Off

Before the start, Söderqvist faced a choice: try to make the early breakaway or conserve energy by staying with the main contenders until the demanding Montréal circuit.

He ultimately chose the latter.

As the race intensified, Söderqvist felt the decision had worked against him. According to his post-race comments shared by Swedish Cycling, by the fifth lap in Montréal it had become clear that making the breakaway could have provided a better opportunity for him on the day.

With France helping drive a hard pace, the race increasingly became one of elimination. After roughly four hours in the saddle, Söderqvist was eventually unable to remain in contention and recorded a DNF. His result is also listed as DNF in published 2026 race records.

Lessons From Montréal

While the road race didn’t produce the result Söderqvist wanted, his World Championships still included one of Sweden’s standout performances of the week.

In the Elite Men’s Individual Time Trial, Söderqvist was among the fastest riders through the intermediate checkpoints before crashing late in the race. He recovered quickly and still finished 5th in the world. The UCI confirmed his fifth-place result behind champion Remco Evenepoel, Filippo Ganna and bronze medalist Paul Seixas.

That performance is the result Söderqvist takes with him as he leaves Montréal and turns his attention toward his next objectives.

Next Stop: European Championships

Söderqvist said the experience in Montréal has also provided clarity about his approach to the upcoming European Championships.

Rather than waiting for the race to develop, the plan is clearer: look for the breakaway and race aggressively, before turning his attention once again to the individual time trial.

The World Championships may have ended with a difficult road race, but Montréal also showed Söderqvist competing near the very front of an elite World Championship time trial.

From all of us at CCN Sport, congratulations to Jakob Söderqvist and SWE Cycling on representing Sweden on the world stage. 🇸🇪

P5 in the World Championship time trial and valuable lessons from the road race — onto the next one.

📸 Luca Bettini / Sprintcycling Agency, SCF & private