McNulty stuns field to win world road race title in Montreal

Brandon McNulty claimed the biggest win of his career on Sunday, riding clear to take the men's UCI road race world championship in Montreal, according to Guardian Sport.

The 28-year-old, born in Arizona, becomes the first American to win cycling's blue riband road race title since Lance Armstrong's victory in Oslo in 1993.

McNulty rides for UAE Emirates alongside Tadej Pogacar, the reigning champion, and it was McNulty rather than his more decorated team leader who took the rainbow jersey this year, succeeding the Slovene as world champion.

Guardian Sport described the race itself as chaotic and brutal, with McNulty's eventual solo win characterised in the report as something close to a miracle given the circumstances of the day.

Remco Evenpoel had gone into the race as the pre-race favourite, but the Belgian could not add a second gold to his championship campaign, missing out on the road race title after arriving in Montreal as the man to beat.

For McNulty, the win marks a significant step up in profile. He has built a reputation within the peloton as a strong all-rounder and a key support rider for Pogacar's biggest campaigns, but a world title of his own places him in a different category entirely.

The victory also extends a rare run for American cycling at the sport's showpiece one-day event, a title that has largely been the preserve of European riders since Armstrong's win more than three decades ago.

Details of the race's closing stages, including how the winning move was formed and how far McNulty rode alone before the finish, were not fully set out in the available reporting, but the outcome itself is confirmed: McNulty in the rainbow jersey, Evenpoel among those left chasing, and a first US men's road race world title since 1993 secured in Montreal.