Brandon McNulty Ends 33-Year US Wait for Men’s Road World Title With Epic Solo

Brandon McNulty roared to America’s first elite men’s rainbow jersey in 33 years with a daring solo attack to win the UCI Road World Championship Sunday.

The 28-year-old held off a late chase in Montréal to join Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong in a select club of U.S. cycling history.

“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.”

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.

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.

Sunday’s win caps a big week for Team USA after Ashlin Barry won America’s first U23 men’s road race title on Friday.

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 made a plan last night, we set our egos aside a little bit and we decided, okay, we just want an American to win this race,” Jorgenson said. “And I really think that we played the perfect race with Quinn able to follow that move with Wout and Van der Poel and neutralize it.”

McNulty jumped with just over 30km to go, but his lead shrunk from 54 seconds with one lap to go to 15 seconds over the final climb on the Mount Royal circuit.

“Then Brandon and I were able to take advantage of Seixas and Del Toro, who spent a bunch of energy,” Jorgenson said. “As soon as it all came back together we could get one of us solo, which was the ultimate goal.”

Simmons was fourth and Jorgenson eighth to put three Americans in the top 10.

‘Until the last 100 meters I didn’t believe it’

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.

McNulty still held 24 seconds with five kilometers to go and put his time trialing legs to work on the final run.

“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 100 meters I really didn’t even believe it.”

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.

“It’s been a long ride, I never really thought this was something possible. It’s fucking crazy,” McNulty said.

“I was my dream to be in the WorldTour even as a kid. I didn’t think it would be possible, and I came through the juniors, and I was decent enough to get a contract,” he to Eurosport.

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.

But he’s much more than a domestique. McNulty’s won some big races in his career and there is nothing fluky about what 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.

‘This is unbelievable’

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.

“I’ve been able to wins some races in my career, but I’ve never been a superstar. It’s always been special to be part of races and be with Tadej winning monuments,” McNulty said. “To do something like this is unbelievable.”

On Sunday, he won the big one.

US elite road world champions