Brandon McNulty clinches first American world road race title in 33 years

In Montreal, Brandon McNulty surged clear with roughly 32 km left on the street circuit and resisted a fragmented pursuit to win the men's road race world title, edging out Australian Michael Matthews by 13 seconds and leaving former champion Mathieu van der Poel in third. His triumph ends a 33-year gap for American cyclists, the previous winner being Lance Armstrong in 1993. McNulty, a member of the UAE Emirates-XRG team, followed teammate Tadej Pogacar’s earlier move after a four-man break was caught by an acceleration from pre-race favourite Isaac Del Toro.

Subsequent chase groups, including riders such as Tom Pidcock and Ben Healy, failed to cooperate, allowing McNulty to build a lead that at one point exceeded a minute. With nine kilometres to go, a regrouped chase narrowed the gap to ten seconds, but the contenders hesitated, and McNulty pressed on to secure victory after 273.4 km and six hours 17 minutes. The win also compensates for his fourth-place finish in the time trial a week earlier.