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Brandon McNulty roared to America’s first rainbow jersey in 33 years with a daring solo attack to win the UCI Road World Championship Sunday.
The 28-year-old hold off a late chase in Montréal to join Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong in a select club of U.S. cycling history.
LeMond won the elite men’s road race in 1983 and 1989 and Armstrong took the title in 1993.
Since then, no American man has worn the rainbow jersey as road race world champion. The most recent best was fifth, last by Neilson Powless in 2021.
McNulty changed that with a thrilling, well-timed two-lap attack and a solo ride to the line in a wild and epic race at Montréal.
“On the last climb on Mount Royal, I was just dying. I just kept pushing,” McNulty said. “We talked about it and I made some jokes to my wife. I knew something could happen and it would take a miracle, and today miracles can happen.”
McNulty becomes the fifth American to win the elite world crown, one of cycling’s most prestigious titles. U.S. women winners include Audrey McElmury in 1969 and Beth Heiden in 1980.
Team work seals America’s first rainbow jersey in three decades
The stunning victory capped superb teamwork from Team USA.
Quinn Simmons rode into an early attack with Mathieu van der Poel. As the favorites came back together, McNulty launched his bid for the title. Matteo Jorgenson then marked attacks behind him.
“We said for weeks now we have a super strong team and that it’s possible. We rode crazy well,” McNulty said. “Until the last 300 meters I really didn’t even believe it.”
McNulty jumped with just over 30km to go, but his lead shrink from 54 seconds with one lap to go to 15 seconds over the final climb on the Mount Royal circuit.
Stalled cooperation among the chasing superstars behind him from the likes of Remco Evenepoel, Isaac del Toro, and Van der Poel gave him the rope he needed to deliver the stunning win.
He still held 24 seconds with five kilometers to go and put his time trialing legs to work on the final run.
The 28-year-old crossed the line alone, ending a drought that stretched back to Armstrong’s victory three decades ago. Michael Matthews was second, with Van der Poel third.
A big win for the quiet rider
Quiet and famously brief in interviews, McNulty has spent much of his career letting his legs do the talking.
The Arizona native came through the junior and U23 ranks with LUX Cycling and Rally Cycling, where a stage win and GC at the 2019 Giro di Sicilia helped earn him a move to superteam UAE Emirates-XRG.
Since 2020, he’s became a trusted teammate of Tadej Pogačar, often putting his own ambitions aside to work for the sport’s biggest star.
McNulty’s won some big races in his career and there is nothing fluky about happened Sunday.
In grand tours, he’s won stages at the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, where he also wore the leader’s jersey, and finished a career-best ninth in the 2025 Giro.
In 2024, he went all-in for the Paris Olympics, where he missed a medal in the time trial on a wet and treacherous course by about 40 seconds.
After some setbacks earlier in his European career, McNulty has been racing with more confidence the past few seasons.
His victory at the GP de Montréal last year showed what he could do on a similar finishing circuit. In three previous elite road worlds starts, his best result was 17th, alongside two DNFs, with a junior time trial crown in 2016.
On Sunday, he won the big one.
US elite road world champions
| Elite Men’s Road Race | Elite Women’s Road Race |
| 1983: Greg LeMond 1989: Greg LeMond 1993: Lance Armstrong 2026: Brandon McNulty |
1969: Audrey McElmury 1980: Beth Heiden |
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