Brandon McNulty won the elite men’s road race world title in Montréal on Sunday, delivering the United States its first men’s road race rainbow jersey in more than three decades.
The American attacked from an elite front group with 32.4km remaining and committed fully to a solo move. Once clear, he settled into a time trial effort and forced the favorites to organize behind him.
They never did so decisively enough.
Brandon McNulty turns late attack into rainbow jersey
McNulty built his advantage to 1:08 with two laps remaining. He still carried 52 seconds into the bell lap, despite repeated accelerations behind him.
The chase never found rhythm. Riders took turns attacking, but the stop-start pattern helped McNulty protect his lead. His United States teammates Matteo Jorgenson and Quinn Simmons also played key roles, marking moves from Tom Pidcock, Remco Evenepoel, and others.
Pidcock’s late pressure cut the margin to 32 seconds at the start of the university hill climb. Van der Poel, Mauro Schmid, and Pidcock all tried to revive the chase, but Jorgenson shut down the most dangerous threats.
McNulty reached the steep finishing straight with enough time to celebrate. He clasped his helmet in disbelief after crossing the line, having become the first US elite men’s road race world champion since Lance Armstrong in 1993. Greg LeMond also won the title in 1983 and 1989.
After the finish, McNulty struggled to process the result. He said he was “really at a loss” and admitted he only believed victory was possible in the final 300 meters.
He also said he had not expected to win before the start. McNulty said he had joked about the possibility with his wife, but thought it would require “a miracle.”
Matthews wins sprint for silver behind McNulty
Michael Matthews won the sprint for second place, finishing 13 seconds after McNulty. He beat Mathieu van der Poel and Simmons, who completed the podium positions.
Isaac del Toro, Mads Pedersen, Pidcock, Jorgenson, Giulio Ciccone, and Ben Healy finished a further second back. They completed the top 10 after a selective and aggressive race.
Pre-race favorites Paul Seixas and Evenepoel could not turn expectation into victory. Evenepoel spent much of the day off the pace and fighting to remain with the front group. Seixas suffered cramp in the finale.
The race always promised severity, with 273km and 3,578 meters of climbing on the menu. Sixteen riders broke away very early and held an eight-minute gap after 100km.
France led much of the chase for Seixas, reducing the advantage to 1:15 with 123km remaining. The break eventually shrank to Andreas Leknessund, Jamie Meehan, Emils Liepinš, and Henok Mulubrhan. They were caught on the Voie Camillien-Houde with 106.4km left.
Anthon Charmig attacked just under 98km from the finish and was caught six kilometers later. A partial regrouping followed before Wout van Aert launched a major move with 87km remaining.
Van Aert was joined by Charmig, Van der Poel, Simmons, Primož Roglič, and Oscar Onley. They held 41 seconds with 80km to go, prompting stronger chasing behind.
Van der Poel sensed danger and split the move with 74km left. Only Simmons and Onley could follow at first, before Roglič returned with 65km remaining.
Healy then surged across with just over four laps left. Del Toro drove the chase group back to the leaders with 35km remaining, setting up McNulty’s decisive attack.
Tadej Pogačar did not take part, but UAE Emirates-XRG will still keep the rainbow jersey for a third straight year. For US cycling, McNulty’s win ended a 33-year wait for elite men’s road race gold.
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