McNulty wins world road race, first US winner in 33 years — SkimNews
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- Brandon McNulty became the first American winner of the men's road race world title in 33 years, taking the victory in Montreal ahead of Australia's Michael Matthews (second) and former champion Mathieu van der Poel of the Netherlands (third).
- The 28-year-old completed the 273.4km course in six hours and 17 minutes, crossing the line 13 seconds clear of the chasing pack after putting his hands on his head in disbelief.
- McNulty launched his decisive attack with 30km remaining, opened a 50-second gap entering the final lap, and held on as his lead shrank to just 10 seconds on the final climb.
- The last American to win the title was Lance Armstrong in 1993, meaning McNulty ended a drought spanning more than three decades.
- McNulty is a time triallist and longtime domestique to Tadej Pogacar — who was injured and absent — making his solo win an upset over pre-race favorites van der Poel, Remco Evenepoel, Wout van Aert, Paul Seixas, and Tom Pidcock.
- Britain's Tom Pidcock finished seventh, Ireland's Ben Healy 10th, and Belgium's Remco Evenepoel 12th in the monumentally long race.
- "Until the last 800m I didn't believe, I was so tired," McNulty said, adding that it "would take a miracle and I guess today a miracle happened."
Why it matters: McNulty's win ends a 33-year American drought in the sport's premier one-day event, and the source explicitly frames it as an upset: he is a domestique and time triallist by trade, not a pre-race favorite, and the article stresses that timing — not power — decided the race as every marquee attacker burned their move too early.
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