“Today a miracle happened” - Brandon McNulty left “at a loss for words” after ending 33-year US wait in Montreal Worlds epic
Cycling
Brandon McNulty could barely make sense of what he had just achieved after surviving one of the wildest World Championship finales in recent memory to claim the rainbow jersey in Montreal.
The American ended his country's 33-year wait for an elite men's road world title with a 13-second victory over Michael Matthews and Mathieu van der Poel, having spent the closing stages alone while some of the biggest names in the race repeatedly threatened to bring him back.
McNulty survives one final collapse in the gap
At one point McNulty had more than a minute in hand. On the final lap that advantage collapsed towards ten seconds as Tom Pidcock and Giulio Ciccone helped drive the chase, before hesitation behind gave the exhausted American one final reprieve.
Even then, he refused to believe it was over. "I'm really at a loss," McNulty admitted in his immediate post-race television interview. "Until the last 300 metres I really didn't believe it. I was so tired. The last time up Mont-Royal I was just dying. I kept pushing and... I don't know."
McNulty had been forced to drag himself across the final climbs while the race continued to explode behind. Van der Poel attacked again, Pidcock refused to stop trying and Mauro Schmid also launched a late move, but nobody could finally bridge the gap.
🌈🇺🇸 BRANDON MCNULTY 🇺🇸🌈
— UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 27, 2026
Unbelievable scenes as the American claims the 2026 Men Elite UCI Road World Championships title 🤯
Just WOW! 👏#Montréal2026 pic.twitter.com/jXjh5EOKIe
USA turn numbers into rainbow gold
McNulty's attack came after an exceptional collective performance from the United States during the decisive phase of the race.
Quinn Simmons had already spent a long period at the front alongside Van der Poel and Primoz Roglic, while Matteo Jorgenson remained deeply involved when the favourites eventually regrouped. Once McNulty attacked, both Americans behind were ideally placed to cover moves without contributing to the chase.
"We said for weeks that we have a super strong team and anything's possible," McNulty said. "We rode crazy well; marked everything; had guys ahead. I'm seriously at a loss for words."
That strength in numbers had been visible throughout a finale in which the race repeatedly changed shape. Simmons eventually finished fourth and Jorgenson eighth, putting three Americans inside the top eight on the day McNulty finally succeeded where his teammates had helped create the opportunity.
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The possibility of actually becoming world champion, though, had apparently remained little more than a joke inside the McNulty household before the race. "We talked about it, I made some jokes with my wife," he said. "In the end I knew something could happen but that it would take a miracle. Today a miracle happened."
After 6:17:04 of racing and a final hour in which his rainbow jersey hopes appeared to swing from secure to doomed and back again, McNulty crossed the line alone as the first American elite men's road world champion in 33 years.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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