Brandon McNulty Wins 2026 Road World Title in Montréal

Brandon McNulty won the men’s elite road race at the 2026 UCI Road World Championships in Montréal on Sunday, completing a 33-kilometre solo effort to take the rainbow jersey for the USA.

McNulty crossed the line 13 seconds ahead of Australia’s Michael Matthews, while the Netherlands’ Mathieu van der Poel finished third after an exhilarating conclusion to the championships, held in Canada from 20 to 27 September. The result capped a demanding 273.4km race that featured 3,803 metres of elevation gain and repeated climbs on the Mont-Royal circuit.

McNulty makes his move with 33km remaining

The men’s elite race began with 184 riders representing 61 nations. The route opened with a loop of around 100km before the field faced 12 laps of the 13.4km Mont-Royal circuit. The repeated ascent of the Voie Camillien-Houde, measuring 1.67km at an average gradient of 7.4% and reaching a maximum of 10%, was central to the day’s difficulty.

An early breakaway of 16 riders established itself and built an advantage of up to eight minutes. The group included Canada’s Guillaume Boivin, Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay and Norway’s Andreas Leknessund. France then increased the pace when the peloton returned to the final circuit, seeking to create attrition and favour Paul Seixas.

Bruno Armirail worked to close the gap across the first five laps of the circuit, before the race opened up with attacks from several of the leading contenders. Van der Poel broke away alongside the USA’s Quinn Simmons and Great Britain’s Oscar Onley, with Slovenia’s Primož Roglič joining them 65km from the finish.

Behind that move, Mexico’s Isaac del Toro and Seixas were active in reduced groups whose make-up changed repeatedly as the attacks continued. A 12-rider group eventually came back together for the final 35km, but McNulty quickly found his opportunity to go alone.

The American opened a lead of one minute over the final two laps. He started the last lap with 53 seconds in hand over a 10-man chasing group led by Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel, the recently crowned individual time trial UCI World Champion.

McNulty’s advantage was cut sharply on the road to the finish. After the final ascent of the Voie Camillien-Houde and with 10km remaining, the gap had fallen to 10 seconds. Yet the chasers could not bring him back before the final straight.

Rainbow jersey secured after late suspense

McNulty held on to complete his solo victory, with Matthews taking second and van der Poel third. The 33km move echoed the effort of fellow American Ashlin Barry, who also won gold with a solo ride in the men under-23 road race at these championships.

“I’m really at a loss for words,” McNulty said after the finish. “Even in the last 300 metres, I really didn’t believe it. I was so tired. The last climb on Mont-Royal, I was just dying, but I kept pushing.”

He added that he had felt a special result was possible before the race, while acknowledging the scale of the task. “I knew something could happen today, but it would take miracles. And miracles happened.”

McNulty also credited the strength of the USA team’s ride across the day. “We said for weeks now that we had a super-strong team and that it was possible,” he said. “We rode crazy well. We marked everything, had guys ahead.”

For McNulty, the final Sunday of the 2026 UCI Road World Championships delivered the sport’s most recognisable prize. His controlled ride under pressure on Montréal’s closing circuit earned him the men’s elite rainbow jersey and brought the week of racing to a close.