The UCI Road World Championships are reaching their climax in Montréal, Canada, and among the fifteen Czech riders taking part is Václav Ježek of the Kasper crypto4me team. The 21-year-old has a successful season behind him and will represent the Czech Republic in the men's U23 road race. How has the Czech squad fared so far, and what still lies ahead?

The world's best road cyclists have gathered in Montréal, Canada. From 20 to 27 September, the city is hosting the UCI Road World Championships 2026, one of the highlights of this year's cycling season. Czech riders are also chasing the rainbow jerseys of world champions across the elite, U23 and junior categories.

Montréal returns to the centre of world cycling after more than half a century

The Road World Championships are returning to Montréal after 52 years. It was here, in 1974, that the first world championships in history to be held outside Europe took place. One of the main figures of that race was the legendary Eddy Merckx, who crowned an extraordinary season by winning the road race and completing the so-called Triple Crown after his victories at the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France.

This year's championships are also part of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Montréal Olympic Games. The organisers expect around a thousand riders, and the programme features a total of 13 events - from individual time trials and mass-start races to the mixed team relay time trial.

The setting lives up to the occasion. The courses combine fast stretches, technical sections and repeated climbs on the circuit around Mont-Royal. The elite races in particular will offer an exceptional number of kilometres: the women face more than 180 kilometres, while on Sunday the men's elite peloton will tackle almost 274 kilometres with more than 3,800 metres of climbing.

Fifteen Czech riders against the world's best

The Czech team arrived in Canada with fifteen riders. Preparations for an event like this do not begin just a few days before the start. According to the Czech Cycling Federation, the logistics for Montréal were being planned practically a year in advance - from accommodation and transport to mechanics, soigneurs and technical support for each rider.

The most prominent Czech name in the elite category is Mathias Vacek. He will be joined in the road race by Jakub Otruba and Pavel Novák.

In the men's U23 category, the Czech Republic is represented by Alberto Carlo Monti, Tomáš Přidal and Václav Ježek. In the women's U23 category, Julia Kopecký, Eliška Kvasničková and Barbora Němcová were selected. The Czech Republic also has riders competing in the junior men's and junior women's races.

The diversity of the whole selection shows that the World Championships are not just about a handful of elite professionals. For young riders, they are a chance to measure themselves against the best of their generation and to gain experience from a race that the entire cycling world is watching.

Montréal has already delivered the first Czech results

The championships opened with the time trials, and the first Czech results were not long in coming.

Mathias Vacek started the elite time trial with high ambitions. He was in twelfth place at the first time check, but lost ground in the second half of the demanding 39.2 km course and eventually finished 29th. The title went to Belgium's Remco Evenepoel, who won the world time trial for the fourth time in a row.

The Czech U23 women performed particularly well. Julia Kopecký finished seventeenth in the time trial and Eliška Kvasničková twentieth, meaning both made it into the top twenty riders in the world in their category. Alberto Monti placed 33rd out of 68 starters in the men's U23 time trial.

In the junior men's race, Daniel Kuběna finished 24th in the individual time trial.

The Czech colours were also visible in the first road races. In the women's U23 race, Eliška Kvasničková joined the leading group and spent several laps at the front of the race. Her aggressive riding eventually cost her a great deal of energy and she did not finish, but she was one of the most visible riders during the race. Barbora Němcová finished 36th. Julia Kopecký did not start after crashing during an earlier training session. In the junior men's race, Marek Stiblík finished 31st.

Václav Ježek also brings the Kasper crypto4me colours to Montréal

For crypto4me, this year's World Championships have an extra dimension. Among the members of the Czech national team is Václav Ježek, one of the most prominent young riders of the Kasper crypto4me team.

The 21-year-old Czech cyclist has had an exceptionally successful season. In May, he won the general classification of the Tour of Hellas, and in August he became the first Czech winner of the West Bohemia Tour. He also finished seventh overall at this year's Czech Tour, making him the best-placed Czech rider.

In Montréal, Ježek is part of the Czech line-up for the men's U23 road race alongside Alberto Monti and Tomáš Přidal. The riders face 174.2 km and almost 3,500 metres of climbing.

Working with young Czech talent is one of Kasper crypto4me's long-term goals. The professional road team entered the 2026 season with crypto4me as its new title partner. Its fifteen-rider roster includes nine U23 riders, and the team openly builds its strategy on their development and gradual progression to the higher levels of professional cycling.

Václav Ježek's participation in the World Championships is therefore another step in a season in which he has already raced successfully against strong international competition.

The elite races will close the championships

The World Championships continue until Sunday, 27 September, and the headline races are still to come.

On Saturday, the elite women's race will be held over a course of around 180 kilometres. On Sunday, the championships will conclude with the men's elite race. On the 273.7 km course, the peloton faces 3,803 metres of climbing, and this is where Mathias Vacek will be in action again, supported in Czech colours by Jakub Otruba and Pavel Novák.

The route first heads through the area south of Montréal before bringing the riders onto the city circuit around Mont-Royal. The men's and women's elite races start in Brossard, from where the peloton sets off towards Montréal itself.

After a week of time trials, junior races and U23 events, Montréal now looks ahead to a weekend that will decide the most closely watched rainbow jerseys of the entire championships.

Crypto4me is cheering for the Czech team

Cycling is a sport built on long-term preparation, discipline, teamwork and the ability to keep going even when a race does not go to plan. That is exactly why it is one of the sports crypto4me has long supported.

In the 2026 season, we entered Czech professional road cycling as the title partner of the Kasper crypto4me team. And now that the best Czech riders are taking on the world's elite in Montréal, we have yet another reason to follow the Czech national team closely.

We wish all the Czech riders the very best of strength in the remaining races. The chance to represent the Czech Republic at the World Championships against the best cyclists on the planet is the result of a long journey, hard work and determination.

We are keeping our fingers crossed for the Czech team.