Brandon McNulty crowned world champion after wild battle in Montreal

Brandon McNulty won the world title in Montreal after a wild battle on the repeated slopes of Mont-Royal. According to the reported account, the American, who had already won in Montreal two years ago, prevailed thanks to the outstanding work of the United States. Mathieu van der Poel and Matthews joined him on the podium, while Juan Ayuso finished 13th.

Montreal tested the riders with particular cruelty. Mont-Royal did not need an endless climb to decide the world title: its slopes, repeated lap after lap, eventually broke the legs. The same hill came again and again, until it became unrecognisable to the riders. At the end of that succession of efforts, McNulty was the man who took the rainbow jersey.

The race had started in Brossard with 273 kilometres to cover and Pogacar’s jersey left vacant. A group of riders took advantage of the peloton’s first permission to get away, extending their lead beyond eight minutes while the favourite national teams saved their energy. That calm ended when the race entered the Montreal circuit. France were the first to break the tacit agreement, with Bruno Armirail moving to the front and turning every lap into a collective ordeal.

The breakaway lost minutes and, behind them, riders with ambitions of making the finish began to lose wheels. Enric Mas saw his chances disappear more than 100 kilometres from the finish. The LaVuelta winner, one of Spain’s major hopes, cracked with more than an entire race still to be ridden. Carlos Verona and Felix Gall also suffered from the pace.

Attacks then came on every rise. Marcel Camprubí made his way into a large move alongside Mathieu van der Poel, Oscar Onley, Ben Healy and other riders capable of going a long way. The race broke into several fronts, with groups forming and splitting under successive accelerations. On Mont-Royal, riders had to respond to the man in front without knowing who was following behind.

Wout van Aert delivered one of the first serious blows, immediately followed by Van der Poel, before Primoz Roglic reached the front. Isaac del Toro then accelerated from behind, with Juan Ayuso, Remco Evenepoel and Paul Seixas on his wheel. Every effort closed one gap while opening another. Without earpieces, riders had to read the race as it unfolded, amid the crowd noise and with whatever air remained in their lungs.

Van der Poel rose out of the saddle once more. According to the reported account, he attacked on the climb with 73 kilometres remaining, with a force that reduced the road to a matter of a few metres. Only Quinn Simmons and Onley were able to follow. It was also reported that Van Aert and Roglič were in a chasing group, while Ayuso held on a little farther back with Evenepoel, Seixas, Del Toro and other contenders still trying to return to the fight.

The move appeared to force everyone else to race against time. But in Montreal, no advantage was final while laps remained. The chasers sought each other out, measured one another and attacked again. On a circuit that required riders to climb the same hill until exhaustion, McNulty was reportedly the one who still had the strength to win.

The race moved in bursts: one group caught another and, before anyone could catch their breath, a rider went again. McNulty found his opportunity in that disorder. The American survived the selection made by the circuit and conserved energy when the race began to weigh more heavily than reputations. While attention remained on Van der Poel, Van Aert or Evenepoel, he fully entered the fight for the title.

By then, the distance covered could be seen in every movement: nobody accelerated for free, and every chase could cost the effort needed on the next climb. McNulty withstood that succession of changes before imposing his race. Montreal had shared the leading roles among the favourites for kilometres, but the final chapter belonged to him. He crossed the line as world champion after a day that demanded the legs to respond, the clarity to choose when to do so and the endurance to do it once more.

For Spain, Mas’s early exit changed the plans. Ayuso became the main reference in a race that barely allowed teams to organise themselves or protect their leaders. Camprubí had given his national team representation in one of the key moves, before the race became an individual fight among increasingly exhausted riders.

The rainbow jersey found its owner after 273 kilometres and a long afternoon of attacks in Montreal: McNulty outlasted all of them. Gold thus returned to the United States, something that had not happened since Armstrong’s success. Ayuso finished 13th.