Brandon McNulty won the 2026 World Championships men’s road race in Montréal by attacking alone with 33 kilometers to go. Twelve riders had just come together at the front, and none of them went with him. The group behind cut his lead from 53 seconds to 10 on the last lap and got no closer. He finished 13 seconds ahead of Michael Matthews and Mathieu van der Poel.
Where did Brandon McNulty attack?
The race was 273.4 kilometers long with 3,803 meters of climbing: a loop of about 100 kilometers from Brossard, then 12 laps of the 13.4-kilometer circuit over Mount Royal. Each lap climbed the Voie Camillien-Houde, 1.67 kilometers at 7.4 percent. A break of 16 riders, with Guillaume Boivin, Biniam Girmay and Andreas Leknessund in it, built a lead of eight minutes. France chased for Paul Seixas, and Bruno Armirail rode on the front for five laps.
Van der Poel then went clear with Quinn Simmons and Oscar Onley, and Primož Roglič joined them 65 kilometers from the finish. With 35 kilometers left there were twelve riders at the front. McNulty attacked two kilometers later, according to the UCI’s race report.
How close did the chase come?
McNulty had about a minute with two laps to go. At the start of the last lap he led a group of ten by 53 seconds, with Remco Evenepoel at the head of it. On the last climb of the Voie Camillien-Houde the gap fell, and with 10 kilometers left it was 10 seconds. It was 13 seconds at the line.
Two of his teammates finished in the group behind him, Simmons fourth and Matteo Jorgenson eighth, which put three Americans in the first eight. McNulty had been fourth in the time trial a week earlier, 1:25 behind Evenepoel.
It was the second American solo win of the week. Ashlin Barry had won the under-23 men’s road race two days earlier, also after riding the last 30 kilometers alone.
McNulty is the first American to win the elite men’s road race since Lance Armstrong in 1993, Escape Collective reported.
Where did the favorites finish?
Matthews took second ahead of van der Poel and Simmons, all three at 13 seconds. Isaac del Toro was fifth, one second behind them, with Mads Pedersen sixth and Tom Pidcock seventh. Evenepoel finished 12th at 25 seconds, Seixas 15th at 2:47, Roglič 21st and Wout van Aert 28th at 5:11.
Tadej Pogačar, the champion of 2024 and 2025, was not on the start list. Of the 184 riders who were entered, 58 finished. The best Canadian on home roads was Michael Leonard in 32nd.
2026 World Championships men’s road race: top 10
The UCI’s result lists McNulty first in 6:17:04.
| Place | Rider | Nation | Time / gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon McNulty | 🇺🇸 United States | 6:17:04 |
| 2 | Michael Matthews | 🇦🇺 Australia | +0:13 |
| 3 | Mathieu van der Poel | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | +0:13 |
| 4 | Quinn Simmons | 🇺🇸 United States | +0:13 |
| 5 | Isaac del Toro | 🇲🇽 Mexico | +0:14 |
| 6 | Mads Pedersen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | +0:14 |
| 7 | Tom Pidcock | 🇬🇧 Great Britain | +0:14 |
| 8 | Matteo Jorgenson | 🇺🇸 United States | +0:14 |
| 9 | Giulio Ciccone | 🇮🇹 Italy | +0:14 |
| 10 | Ben Healy | 🇮🇪 Ireland | +0:14 |
The elite men’s race page has the result and the highlights, and the page for the whole week lists every race.
What does it mean for the 2027 Worlds?
McNulty defends the title on August 29, 2027, at Sallanches in France. That course has more climbing than Montréal’s: 20 laps over the Côte de Domancy, 265 kilometers with 5,700 meters of climbing, against 3,803 meters this year. The 2027 men’s road race page has the course.