“There was a lot of arrogance in that group” - Adam Blythe blames World Championship favourites for gifting Brandon McNulty his chance in Montreal

Brandon McNulty still had to finish the job in Montreal, but Adam Blythe believes some of the biggest names in the World Championship gave the American exactly the opening he needed.

By the time McNulty attacked with a little over 30 kilometres remaining, the race had already been pulled apart and pieced back together several times. Mathieu van der Poel had attacked from distance, Wout van Aert had gone over the top, Primoz Roglic had been dropped and worked his way back more than once, while Isaac del Toro, Paul Seixas and Remco Evenepoel had all spent energy keeping themselves involved.

McNulty chose his moment after much of that damage had already been done. He was not the rider everyone was watching, and the first few seconds became half a minute before the gap pushed towards a minute.

“The way in which he attacked and where he did attack was the perfect place to attack,” Blythe said on TNT Sports' The Breakaway. “It was an unexpected place for McNulty, who wasn't one of the big favourites and no one was going to chase him down.”

There was still plenty of strength behind him. Van der Poel, Del Toro, Seixas, Evenepoel and Mads Pedersen were all involved, but the chase never developed enough momentum to bring McNulty straight back.

“There was a lot of class in that group still, and you're always going to look at each other, as they always did,” Blythe said. “There was a lot of arrogance in that group today and too much of it.”

Blythe's criticism stretched much further back than the moment McNulty rode clear. Van der Poel had been intent on getting the race moving once France almost wiped out the early break, while Van Aert was equally willing to attack with more than 80 kilometres still remaining.

“They were playing that game of Van der Poel going on the attack, Wout going over the top of him with 80km to go,” Blythe said. “What's wrong with a group of five? Why do you need to split that up already? You look how far they have to go and you're like, ‘Mate, that's a long way to go on a very difficult circuit’.”

Van der Poel eventually took bronze after spending much of the afternoon at the centre of the action. Van Aert paid more heavily for his early efforts, dropping back later and working for Evenepoel before finishing 28th.

Evenepoel never produced the major attack many had been waiting for, while Del Toro and Seixas were repeatedly caught reacting to what was happening around them. “You look at Wout attacking that far out. What the heck was he doing attacking that far out?” Blythe said. “You look at Remco, rode himself into the race and didn't really do anything. Seixas, Del Toro were just watching each other, waiting for the climb, but I think they overrated themselves on that climb.”

Mads Pedersen was another rider who found his way back into contention late. After looking out of the medal fight for a long stretch, the Dane was suddenly back among the leading riders and eventually finished seventh.

“He all of a sudden came back in and he was fifth or sixth to the finish line,” Blythe said. “That should never have happened. He should not have been allowed in that group. It shows the stop-start nature and how everyone blew up.”

With Tadej Pogacar absent, Montreal was always likely to produce a more open World Championship than the previous two editions. The attacks started much earlier than most had expected and rarely stopped once France had opened the race.

“Everyone wants the most impressive win and everyone wants to dominate by attacking so early,” Blythe said. “It's a lot of mind games, but today it massively backfired on a lot of people.”

Van der Poel, Evenepoel and Del Toro were the riders he singled out as having had the legs to approach the finale differently. “Van der Poel could have won that if he was patient. Remco could have, Del Toro could have, if they launched one attack.”

The long-range racing associated with Pogacar has become increasingly familiar at the biggest races, but in Montreal several riders were trying to force the issue from distance at the same time, across a circuit that kept offering dropped riders a route back into contention.

McNulty waited until the race had already absorbed all of that attacking before making his move. His advantage stretched beyond a minute, then suddenly began falling on the final lap as Tom Pidcock, Van der Poel, Del Toro and others closed in.

By the last ascent, the gap was heading towards ten seconds. McNulty was visibly fading, but the chase lost enough momentum once the road flattened for him to settle back into his rhythm and keep the remnants of his advantage.

The American reached the line 13 seconds clear of Michael Matthews and Van der Poel to become the first US elite men's road world champion in 33 years. His winning attack came after nearly 100 kilometres of moves, counters and regroupings among the riders who had started the afternoon as the bigger favourites.