McNulty Wins First US Road World Title Since 1993

Brandon McNulty won the men's elite road race at the 2026 UCI Road World Championships in Montreal in 6:17:04 over 273.4 kilometres. He attacked solo with roughly 32-35 km left, built a lead of over a minute, and won by 13 seconds over Michael Matthews. Mathieu van der Poel took third at 6:17:17. McNulty is the first U.S. man to win the title since 1993. "I knew something could happen, but it would take a miracle, and I guess miracles happened," he said. Until the last few hundred metres, he said, he did not even believe it. Van der Poel and Van Aert ignited a breakaway with 85 km left. Isaac del Toro's acceleration on the Camillien-Houde climb reeled it in with 35 km left, after which McNulty went clear. On the final Mount Royal ascent the lead shrank to about 10 seconds, but chasers including Tom Pidcock, del Toro and Paul Seixas hesitated and raced each other rather than cooperate. Quinn Simmons finished fourth. Defending champion Tadej Pogačar missed the race after a Vuelta a España crash; McNulty is his UAE Emirates-XRG teammate. CONTESTED: Most accounts put the closest gap at about 10 seconds; one puts it at 15. Sources cite the solo attack at 32 km or about 35 km to go.