TakeWorlds2 weeks ago
McNulty's "solo" win was a Team USA blockade
Team USA coach Michael Creed set a pre-race rule: hold at least 10 per cent of the front group at all times. Behind McNulty's attack, Quinn Simmons marked and neutralized a move from Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, while Matteo Jorgenson followed and disrupted attacks so the chasing group could not organize. The team had agreed the night before that they simply wanted an American to win the race.
Jorgenson said the team made the call as a group: «We set our egos aside a little bit, and we decided, we just wanted an American to win this race.» That plan is offered as the reason the chase behind McNulty could not organize, even carrying Michael Matthews, Mathieu van der Poel and Isaac del Toro. Jorgenson then sat on the chase and broke its rhythm rather than riding it down, the same disruptive role that let McNulty's gap hold. Three Americans finished in the top ten — McNulty first, Simmons fourth, Jorgenson eighth — which is the shape of a team result dressed up as one man's escape.
Sources
'Underestimated and the numbers to prove people wrong': How Team USA upset the favourites at WorldsHow McNulty and Team USA Won the 2026 Road World TitleBrandon McNulty and Team USA Take Historic World Title… | USA Cycling2026 UCI Road World Championships: McNulty caps off memorable Montréal week | UCIUCI Road World Championships: Brandon McNulty shocks the favourites to win solo and claim first elite men's road race world title for USA since 1993 in all-time epic edition
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