Brandon McNulty, a 28-year-old American cyclist from Phoenix, Arizona, achieved a surprising victory at the UCI Road World Championships in Montreal, securing the men's road race world title. This marks the first time an American has won the event in 33 years, with the last being Lance Armstrong in 1993. McNulty, often known as a domestique (a support rider) for two-time world champion Tadej Pogačar on UAE Emirates, made a decisive solo attack with approximately 30-35 kilometers remaining on the 273.4km course.
McNulty maintained a significant lead, at one point over a minute, heading into the final laps. Despite his lead dwindling to as little as 10 seconds on the last climb up Mount Royal, he held off the chasing pack. He crossed the finish line 13 seconds ahead of Michael Matthews of Australia, who took second, and Mathieu van der Poel of the Netherlands, who finished third. McNulty's winning time was 6 hours and 17 minutes.
His victory was particularly unexpected given that pre-race favorites included former winner Mathieu van der Poel, and even without the injured Tadej Pogačar, many strong contenders were present. McNulty himself expressed disbelief, stating, "Until the last few hundred metres, I really didn’t even believe it I was so tired." This win follows his fourth-place finish in the World Championships time trial a week prior and avenges a near-miss at an Olympic medal five years ago at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
