Brandon McNulty wins UCI road world title, first American in 33 years

Brandon McNulty won the UCI men's road world championship in Montreal, ending a 33-year drought for American winners in the event. The 28-year-old broke clear with 33 kilometres remaining and held off late attacks to finish 13 seconds ahead of Michael Matthews, executing a pre-planned team strategy that saw his American teammates support the winning move.

Quick Facts

Men's elite road race world championship
Solo breakaway by McNulty with 33 km remaining
McNulty built 50-second lead by final lap
Final lead narrowed to 10 seconds on closing climb
McNulty held off Pidcock's late chase

Brandon McNulty became the first American to win the men's elite road race world championship in 33 years, finishing a gruelling 273.4-kilometre course in Montreal with a solo victory on 27 September 2026. The 28-year-old UAE Team Emirates rider crossed the finish line 13 seconds ahead of Australian Michael Matthews, with Netherlands rider Mathieu van der Poel in third place. McNulty's last American predecessor was Lance Armstrong, who won the title in 1993.

McNulty launched his decisive attack with approximately 33 kilometres remaining and built a 50-second lead by the start of the final lap. Despite visibly tiring on the closing climb and seeing his advantage narrow to just 10 seconds, he held off a late challenge from Britain's Tom Pidcock to secure victory. The race, contested without team radios and lasting over six hours, was marked by tactical volatility among the field of contenders.

The victory was the result of a pre-planned team strategy devised by US team director Mike Creed and teammate Matteo Jorgenson during a training camp in Vermont. The plan called for Quinn Simmons to follow early attacks while McNulty and Jorgenson conserved energy, with the intention that one American would attack decisively once the field regrouped. Two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar was absent due to injury, removing the dominant favourite from the race. Other top finishers included Quinn Simmons (fourth) and Jorgenson (eighth) for the US, along with Isaac del Toro of Mexico in fifth.

McNulty, who typically serves as a domestique to Pogacar, leveraged his time-trialling expertise to distance the chasing pack in the final kilometres. After the race, he expressed disbelief at the outcome, saying "until the last hundred metres, I didn't believe it, I was so tired." McNulty is only the third American man to win the road world championship, after Greg LeMond (1983, 1989) and Armstrong (1993). He had previously won the junior world time trial championship a decade earlier and claimed stage victories in the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España.

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#UCI #road race #Tadej Pogacar #Lance Armstrong #Brandon McNulty #Montreal #American winner #World Championship #team strategy #cycling

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Why This Matters

McNulty's victory marks the first American men's elite road world champion since 1993, reshaping perceptions of American competitive cycling at the sport's highest level. The win demonstrates the efficacy of tactical team strategy in Grand Tour cycling and affects rankings, sponsorship opportunities, and Olympic qualification pathways for the United States cycling federation. The absence of two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar due to injury altered race dynamics, potentially widening the field for other national teams to compete for podium positions in future UCI World Championships.

Timeline & Sources

Jan 1, 1993

Wire

Lance Armstrong won men's road world championship (previous American winner)

Sep 26, 2026

Wire

Women's road race world championship won by Demi Vollering (Netherlands); team radios not used due to race format

Sep 28, 2026

Wire

McNulty reflects on victory; posts to Instagram; confirms American team strategy execution

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