TakeWorlds6 days ago
Houle is riding the 2026 Vuelta a España three weeks before the Worlds, not months after — the Grand Tour is the build, not the season's centerpiece. At 35, on home soil in Montréal, this is a rainbow jersey shot he won't get twice.
«Being at the Vuelta was my choice to be at 110% in Canada at the Championships,» Houle said — a deliberate sequencing, not a scheduling accident. Canada last had a rider contest the men's road race rainbow jersey in 2003; Houle will be only the second in 23 years to do it at home. He's also said he plans to retire after Canada's 2027 WorldTour races, which makes the September 20 Montréal start line something closer to a defined target than a farewell tour.