![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/188b155d-6497-452a-bcbd-0ee8b5cbfeaa.jpg\")
<\/a>The men\u2019s peloton crossing the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge. UCI Road World Championships, Montr\u00e9al, Quebec, Canada, 27 September 2026. Photo courtesy of Mondiaux2026\/David Marcotte<\/p>\nA 16-rider break went clear early, carrying familiar faces including Canada\u2019s Guillaume Boivin, Eritrea\u2019s Biniam Girmay and Norway\u2019s Andreas Leknessund. The peloton let them go, and their lead stretched to eight minutes. That was as far as France would allow it. The French had come to Montr\u00e9al with a clear idea of how to race for Paul Seixas: make it hard, make it long, and wear down the field until only the strongest remained. As the peloton returned to the circuit, Bruno Armirail went to the front and began to grind. Over the first five laps he closed the gap almost single-handed, and when the break came back, the race was ready to break open.<\/p>\n
The favorites move early<\/p>\n
It broke open early. Wout van Aert of Belgium launched the first serious attack with 87 kilometers remaining, and the move drew a heavy group: Denmark\u2019s Anthon Charmig, Van der Poel, Slovenia\u2019s Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d, Great Britain\u2019s Oscar Onley and Simmons. For a championship race, this was the favorites committing at an unusual distance, and the American plan was already paying off. Simmons was exactly where he needed to be.<\/p>\n
Van der Poel was not content with company. He lifted the pace again and split the group, and only Simmons and Onley could stay with him. Rogli\u010d fought his way back across 65 kilometers from the line, forming a leading quartet, and with 39 kilometers to go Ireland\u2019s Ben Healy made the junction too, passing a fading Onley on the way. Through all of it Simmons sat on, doing his job, following without driving and giving the others no reason to hope he would help.<\/p>\n
Behind, the chase was relentless and ragged. Mexico\u2019s Isaac del Toro and Seixas were the most active riders in a series of reduced groups that changed shape with every acceleration, and the pair spent heavily trying to keep the front of the race within reach. Del Toro, in particular, helped drag the chasing group back into contention. Their effort was exactly what the Americans had counted on. \u201cI really think that we played the perfect race,\u201d Jorgenson said, \u201cwith Quinn able to follow that move with Wout and Van der Poel to neutralize it, and then Brandon and I were able to take advantage of Seixas and Del Toro, who spent a bunch of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alone and audacious<\/p>\n
With about 35 kilometers remaining, a group of 12 came back together at the front. Most of the riders in it had burned matches either attacking or chasing. Two of them had not. \u201cAs soon as it all came back together,\u201d Jorgenson said, \u201cwe could get one of us solo, which was the ultimate goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
McNulty went almost at once. He sprang from the elite group with 33 kilometers left, and no rival immediately followed his wheel. It was a moment of hesitation that would decide a world championship. Within 10 kilometers he had a minute. He settled into the rhythm of the time trialist he has always been, and by the time two laps remained he had stretched his advantage to 1:08.<\/p>\n
The group behind him was stacked. Seixas was there, and Van der Poel, and Great Britain\u2019s Tom Pidcock, and Remco Evenepoel of Belgium, who had won the individual time trial title the previous Sunday. On pure horsepower, they should have closed a minute on a lone rider over two laps of a circuit this hard. They never quite managed it, because they never quite rode together. Every acceleration broke whatever cooperation had formed, and the attacks kept coming. Evenepoel launched a major move just before the bell. Even so, McNulty entered the park for the final time with 53 seconds in hand over a 10-man group led by the time trial champion.<\/p>\n
Jorgenson made sure the chase stayed disorganized. Whenever a rider tried to escape the group, he followed. When Van der Poel went, Jorgenson went with him. When Switzerland\u2019s Mauro Schmid tried, Jorgenson closed that down too. He sat on wheels, refused to pull, and turned every chaser\u2019s effort into a free ride for himself. \u201cFrom there, thankfully, I had crazy legs,\u201d he said, \u201cand I was able to follow a bunch of moves, and make some guys a little bit frustrated, which really helped.\u201d<\/p>\n
The last lap<\/p>\n
The final lap nearly undid everything. Pidcock took over the chase, and his repeated surges began to bite on the Polytechnique climb. Once McNulty crested the Camillien-Houde for the last time and entered the final 10 kilometers, his lead had collapsed to barely 10 seconds. He was well and truly in view. For the first time all afternoon, the chasers could see the man they were hunting, and for a rider alone at the end of 270 kilometers, that sight usually signals the end.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t. As the riders behind began looking at one another, waiting for someone else to close the final gap, McNulty kicked again. The gap swung back out toward half a minute. He had managed his effort perfectly, the way a seasoned time trialist does, and while his chasers threw everything at the finish, they never reeled him in.<\/p>\n
Into the final kilometer, the road ramped up toward the line, and McNulty surged once more. Pain was etched across his face. By his own account he had almost nothing left. \u201cUp the last climb I was only doing zone two,\u201d he said. \u201cI was just dying, but I kept just pushing.\u201d He kept pushing the pedals all the way up the rising finish straight and crossed the line 13 seconds ahead of Matthews, who led the chasers home with Van der Poel on his wheel. The rest of the group trickled in a second later, and Evenepoel, who had led the chase at the bell, finished outside the top 10.<\/p>\n
Only then did the pain on his face turn to disbelief. \u201cUntil the last 300 meters, I really didn\u2019t even believe it,\u201d he said. \u201cI was so tired.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Brandon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-09-27-at-21.57.21.jpeg\")
<\/a>Brandon McNulty (USA) wins the 2026 UCI Road World Championships in Montr\u00e9al, Quebec, Canada on September 27, 2026. Photo courtesy UAE Team Emirates-XRG![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/AW5_2381-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a>Picture by Alex Whitehead\/SWpix.com \u2013 27\/09\/2026 \u2013 Cycling \u2013 2026 UCI Road World Championships \u2013 Montr\u00e9al, Canada \u2013 Men Elite Road Race Podium \u2013 Brandon Mcnulty (USA) wins the Gold Medal to become World Champion. Photo courtesy USA Cycling<\/p>\n