For the next week, 2027 September, the Canadian city of Montral will be hosting the 2026 UCI Road World Championships. Ive just been to visit, scoping out Qubecs biggest city before the best cyclists on the planet (well, those that arent injured) arrive in town and turn everything on its head.So, whether youre visiting to watch the worlds, or spectating from afar, here are a dozen things you should know about Montral. 1. This isnt the first time the UCI Road World Championships has been staged in Montral the city also hosted the Worlds back in 1974, which was an extra significant event because it was the first time the prestigious championships had been held outside of Europe. That year Eddy Merckx took the rainbow jersey, completing a Triple Crown (having already won the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France that year.2. The name of the city derives from the volcanic hill that towers over it, Mount Royal, around the flanks of which the 2026 World Championships course wends. When the worlds isnt happening here, these same roads and various gravel tracks that spin off them are popular with local riders. The first European to climb to the summit, led by local First Nation people, was Jacques Cartier du Couvreur on 2 October 1535, and it was he who called the peak Mont-Royal, from which the city of Montral took its name.3. Montral was officially founded on 17 May 1642, making the city considerably older than the country of Canada, which only came into being on 1 July 1867. 4. The streetscape of Montral is covered in incredible art and giant murals, including until very recently one depicting Hugo Houle, the second Canadian and first Quebecer to win a stage of the Tour de France, dedicating his 2022 victory to his brother, Pierrik, who was killed in 2012 by a hit-and-run driver. But, on the very eve of the Worlds coming to Quebec, the painting of Houle has controversially been replaced by one of fellow Canadian cyclist Michael Woods (who is from Ontario) celebrating his 2024 Vuelta a Espaa stage win. The mural is on the side of a building owned by Sylvan Adams, the Israeli-Canadian owner of the Israel-Premier Tech team both men rode for.5. The best bar food in Montral is a dish called poutine, which is basically chips in gravy with spring onions and cheese curds its not the prettiest meal in the world, but its delicious, goes well with the equally wonderful local IPAs and is brilliant for carb-loading if youre going cycling (although we doubt Wout van Aert or Demi Vollering will be scoffing too much of it the night before their big rides). 6. Also, bagels. Montral is famous for its world-class bagels, especially Fairmount Bagels, baked in wood-fired ovens in the funky suburb of Le Plateau, beneath Mont-Royal. These are the best post-ride feast imaginable. 7. Protected Copenhagen-style bike lanes spider all around the streets of Montral, theres an excellent shared-bike system called BIXI and we found drivers to be disarmingly polite compared to most other cities perhaps because of this campaign about road-crossing awareness that ran a few years ago.A post shared by Smart Sources (@smart.sources)A photo posted by 8. Like Manhattan, Montral is an island. The city is surrounded on all sides by the waters of the magnificent St Lawrence River, which later opens up into the Gulf of St Lawrence. 9. You can spot black squirrels in Montral and the city is also home to racoons and chipmunks, which can be seen around Mont Royal, in Parc Jean-Drapeau and various other green spaces. 10. Over 30km of subterranean tunnels burrow beneath the surface of Montral, so you can navigate the city in comfort even in mid-winter, when temperatures can plummet to -20C. Sadly, cycling is not allowed in these underground passageways. 11. One of the most popular places for visiting cyclists to explore is le Notre-Dame, a small island in the St Lawrence River reached via a bridge from Montral, where you can ride around the track of the Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit, which is named after Gilles Villeneuve, a Canadian racing legend who was killed during the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix. 12. Montral is sometimes known as the City of Saints, because of its many Catholic churches and cathedrals. But intriguingly its also known as the City of Sin, because people flocked here for boozy weekends during the Prohibition era in the United States.