MCNULTY BECOMES FIRST AMERICAN WORLD ROAD RACE CHAMPION SINCE 1993

Brandon McNulty won the men's elite road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Montreal, becoming the first American to take the title since Lance Armstrong in 1993. He completed the 273.4km course in six hours and 17 minutes, finishing 13 seconds clear of the chasing group. Michael Matthews of Australia took second, with the Netherlands' Mathieu van der Poel third. McNulty said he had not believed he could win until close to the finish, though reports differ on the exact distance remaining. "I'm at a loss for words," he said. "I knew something could happen but it would take a miracle, and I guess today a miracle happened."

McNulty, a time triallist by trade, launched his winning attack around 30km from the finish and built a lead of 50 seconds heading into the final lap. His advantage narrowed to 10 seconds on the last significant climb, but the chasing group, including van der Poel, who led a late attack with 6.8km remaining, could not catch him. The race took place without two-time defending champion Tadej Pogačar, who has been recovering from a crash sustained last month. Belgium's Remco Evenepoel had been among the pre-race favourites but finished 12th.

McNulty credited his team for the victory, saying they had ridden well and marked rivals throughout the race. Armstrong, the last American to win the title before McNulty, congratulated him on social media, describing the race as "the most exciting race of the year" and calling him "a deserved winner". The course consisted of 12 laps of a 13.4km circuit through Montreal. McNulty had not been among the pre-race favourites before his late attack secured the title.