TakeWorlds2 weeks ago
Mount Royal's 12-lap circuit has no single climb to define it — just the same 269 metres of gain, repeated until nobody can hide. That's why no team could control the race the way UAE Team Emirates usually does, and why Brandon McNulty ended America's wait for a rainbow jersey since Lance Armstrong in 1993.
Each 13.4km lap forces riders back onto Voie Camillien-Houde, Chemin de la Polytechnique and Avenue du Parc, wearing down strength rather than rewarding one decisive attack. That structure is inherited from the 1974 World Championships Montréal, and it broke apart the infrastructure UAE Team Emirates had used just two weeks earlier at Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal 2026 — Isaac del Toro and Adam Yates scattered to Mexico Cycling and Great Britain Cycling once trade-team lines dissolved. Into that vacuum rode USA Cycling: Quinn Simmons marked Mathieu van der Poel, Matteo Jorgenson rode to stifle cooperation, and McNulty's attack held on by under 15 seconds.
Sources
The Secret to the Wildest Road Worlds in Years Was a Course Nobody Could Own2026 UCI Road Worlds Course: Inside Montréal's Mighty Mount RoyalMcNulty finished 3rd on the Worlds course, and without Pogačar, his rainbow jersey shot is very real2026 UCI Road World Championships course guide: Montréal routes, climbs and full schedule
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