McNulty Claims Historic World Championship Victory in Montréal, Ending 33-Year U.S. Rainbow Jersey Drought
In an extraordinary tactical masterpiece in Montréal, Brandon McNulty claimed the Elite Men’s Road Race world title at the 2026 UCI Road World Championships, breaking a 33-year rainbow jersey drought for the United States.
Launching a decisive solo attack with 33 kilometres remaining in the 273.4 km race, the 28-year-old Phoenix native held off a star-studded chase group to become the first American man to win the elite road world title since Lance Armstrong’s victory in Oslo in 1993.
Australia’s Michael Matthews sprinted to take the silver medal, while 2023 world champion Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) secured bronze.
Key Highlights & Final Results
| Position | Rider | Nation | Time / Deficit |
| 🥇 1st | Brandon McNulty | 🇺🇸 United States | 6h 17' 04" |
| 🥈 2nd | Michael Matthews | 🇦🇺 Australia | +13" |
| 🥉 3rd | Mathieu van der Poel | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | +13" |
| 4th | Quinn Simmons | 🇺🇸 United States | +13" |
| 5th | Tom Pidcock | 🇬🇧 Great Britain | +13" |
How the Tactical Masterclass Unfolded
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Early Breakaway & High Tempo: An early 17-rider escape group featuring Biniam Girmay and Andreas Leknessund established a buffer before the French national squad brought them back 110 km from the line, resetting the race for the pre-race favourites.
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Aggressive Mid-Race Moves: Explosive accelerations by Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert shattered the peloton. A elite break containing Van der Poel, Van Aert, Primož Roglič, and U.S. National Champion Quinn Simmons formed before heavy chasing from Isaac Del Toro, Remco Evenepoel, and Matteo Jorgenson brought the groups back together.
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The Winning Counter-Attack: With 33 km remaining, as the lead group regrouped, McNulty launched a stinging counter-attack. A moment's hesitation among the rivals allowed the time-trial specialist to establish a gap that quickly grew to over a minute.
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Team USA Strategy: Teammates Matteo Jorgenson and Quinn Simmons played crucial tactical roles in the chasing group—disrupting smooth rotations, jumping on every counter-attack, and forcing pre-race favourites like Evenepoel and Van der Poel to work into the wind.
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Holding On for Rainbow Gold: Despite suffering severe fatigue in the final lap and seeing his lead dwindle to under 20 seconds, the chase stalled as riders refused to pull rivals to the line. McNulty crossed the finish line solo with 13 seconds to spare.
Post-Race Reactions
"Until the last 300 meters, I really didn't even believe it. I was so tired. We've said for weeks now that we have a super strong team and it's possible. We rode crazy well, marked everything, and had guys ahead. I'm just seriously at a loss for words."
— Brandon McNulty, 2026 World Champion
"As soon as it all came back together, the ultimate goal was to get one of us solo. Brandon went immediately, and from there I just sat on wheels and disrupted moves. It was the perfect team race."
— Matteo Jorgenson, Team USA teammate