Enric Mas, Juan Ayuso and Paula Blasi will lead the teams in the World Cup

The cyclists Enric Mas and Juan Ayuso will lead the list of the Spanish men’s cycling team in the 2026 road world championship, which will be held from September 20 to 27 in Montreal (Canada), while the elite women’s team will play its tricks in the figures of the young Paula Blasi and the veteran Mavi García.

The national selectors Alejandro Valverde and Gema Pascual revealed during a press conference held in Seville on the occasion of the second rest day of La Vuelta, their respective elite squads for the Road World Championships in Montreal (Canada). Present at the event were the president of the Royal Spanish Cycling Federation, José Vicioso; and Manuel Salvadores, general director of Mitsubishi Motors in Spain.

For the online test, Alejandro Valverde has selected Enric Mas, Juan Ayuso, Markel Beloki, Carlos Verona, Iván Romeo, Raúl García Pierna, Marcel Camprubí and Igor Arrieta. While the women’s team will be represented in the online event by the elite bronze medalist in Rwanda Mavi García, the 2025 U23 bronze medalist Paula Blasi, Usoa Ostolaza, Mireia Benito, Sara Martín and Sandra Alonso.

The men’s route will close the World Championship on Sunday, September 27 and will propose an enormous challenge of 273.4 kilometers and 3,803 meters of positive elevation gain. After starting from Brossard, the runners will enter Montreal to complete 12 laps of the demanding Mont-Royal circuit, with the succession of climbs and accumulated wear as major selection factors before the arrival at Parc Jeanne-Mance.

In the individual time trial, the Spanish representatives will be Iván Romeo and Pablo Castrillo. A fight against the elite time trial that will be held on Sunday, September 20, on a common route for men and women of 39.2 kilometers and 220 meters of positive gradient, starting at Avenue du Parc and finishing at Parc Jeanne-Mance. The route will combine urban sectors and numerous changes of direction with especially fast sections, including passing through the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

The women’s race will take place on Saturday, September 26, over 180.1 kilometers and 2,570 meters of positive gradient. After the initial stretch from Brossard to Montreal, the runners will face eight laps of the Mont-Royal circuit, a highly demanding scenario that will accumulate wear and tear lap after lap and which should favor a very selective race.

For the individual time trial, Gema Pascual will have the Spanish champion Mireia Benito and Paula Blasi. Both will also face the 39.2 kilometers and 220 meters of elevation of the Montreal course, which will open the elite women’s competition on Sunday, September 20. The route will start from Avenue du Parc, cross different areas of the city and around the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve before returning to Parc Jeanne-Mance to settle the fight for the rainbow jersey.

Regarding the call, the national coach highlighted that Spain has “a great team.” “We have the experience of Mavi, who already knows what it is to get on the podium and who always prepares these events very well, and with the emergence and talent of Paula who is having a great season. In addition, we have cyclists who know how to handle themselves in all terrains like Mireia, Sara, Usoa and Sandra. We will be a strong and compact block and we have to take advantage of it,” he added.