Wout van Aert spent the closing laps of the World Championship road race crawling towards the finish, a long way from the front of a race he had helped tear open earlier in the day. Belgium had come to Montreal hoping that he or Remco Evenepoel could take the rainbow jersey; by the time the decisiv...

Michael Matthews stood on the World Championship podium in Montreal with silver around his neck and his wife watching nearby, barely able to believe where the previous 15 months had taken him. Only last summer, a pulmonary embolism discovered during an altitude camp had brought his season to an imme...

Mathieu van der Poel has ruled out extending his 2026 road season to Il Lombardia after signing off with bronze in an extraordinary World Championship road race in Montreal. The Dutchman had spent much of the final 70 kilometres trying to rip the race apart, repeatedly attacking on the Mont-Royal ci...

Primoz Roglic finished the World Championship road race exhausted, without a medal and still sounding as though he had enjoyed himself. For more than 30 kilometres in the second half of the race, the Slovenian had been among the riders making life difficult for the favourites, twice getting himself...

With less than half a lap remaining, Summer McNulty, ne Moak, snuck into the media tent alongside the finish line of the UCI Road World Championships in Montral to see how her husband was doing.Brandon McNulty was alone out front. There was a gap, but a small one. Behind him came the might of Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands), Michael Matthews (Australia), Mads Pedersen (Denmark), Isaac del Toro (Mexico), Tom Pidcock (Great Britain) and others."I'm so stressed out right now," Summer told Cycling Weekly.Could he do it?"I mean I hope so but I'm not going to say anything till it's finished. I'm freaking out but I hope he can do it. He deserves it."Minutes later, McNulty soloed across the line, took a hard right towards the barriers and fell into Summer's arms.That sentiment that McNulty deserved it kept coming. His American teammate Riley Sheehan said it, as did USA Cycling sports director Michael Creed. And trade teammate Tadej Pogaar, who had worn the rainbow stripes for the previous two years, took to social media to call him a king.It is not every day that a domestique gets crowned as world champion."Maybe Tadej will have to ride for me a few days," McNulty joked after the race when a journalist remarked on Pogaar post.Every domestique has his daySince joining UAE Emirates XRG in 2020, McNulty has combined the demands of riding for the most formidable talent of his generation with the occasional opportunity of his own.As a key domestique in the mountain stages, McNulty has helped Pogaar win three editions of the Tour de France, as well as one-day races like Milan-San Remo.But his own results have long made clear what he can do when the opportunity comes: a Giro d'Italia stage in 2023, a Vuelta a Espaa stage in 2024, the overall victory at the Tour de Pologne in 2025, and, notably, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montral in 2025 on the very roads where he claimed his world title today.At that Montral finish in 2025, Pogaar was beside him, the two celebrating together as McNulty crossed first. On Sunday, the American arrived alone.We knew he was in form. At GP de Montral earlier this month, McNulty a placed third. Then, in the time trial last Sunday, he had been just 12 seconds off from a medal.Speaking to Cycling Weekly earlier this week, he said: "I think there's a chance. If we do everything perfect, to have a good shot at a medal."Still, much of the pre-race attention on a potential successor from within the UAE-Emirates XRG team had centred on Isaac del Toro. The young Mexican had won this year's GP Montral and featured prominently among the favourites for the world title. But perhaps they'd been looking at the wrong UAE teammate.A Team VictoryWhile not the all-out favourites, the Americans, as a unit, arrived as strong contender. Van der Poel said he was watching out for them, as did Evenepoel. The question was, which American rider to mark.Team USA lined up with three protected riders: McNulty, Quinn Simmons and Matteo Jorgenson. Their strength gave them options, and they used them.Simmons went ahead first. Jorgenson attacked later. When the contenders came back together, McNulty seized his moment, going clear with around 33km remaining.Once McNulty was away, his teammates kept responding to the pursuit."I know they were both just closing every move behind," McNUlty said with complete trust. But for all the tactical advantages, there was still a brutal effort to finish."I've never been so empty, McNUlty said. Meanwhile, in the media tent, Summer understood both the opportunity and the uncertainty.A former national champion on the road and record holder on the track, she had raced for Rally Cycling and won the Giro di Burnaby and Sunny King Criterium. She knew what it meant to reach the closing stages with a chance of winning.She also knew what Montral meant to her husband."He's feeling good. He's always happy on this course. I think that gives him a little bit of extra confidence."McNulty confirmed afterwards that familiarity had helped. He had learned how to race these roads over successive visits. But knowing the course also meant knowing how much remained after the final corner."I knew they were coming close, and then the gap would grow," he said. "I know how long the last 500 meters are from the last corner."He couldnt not believe it was won until roughly 50 metres remained.Only then could he accept what was happening. Matthews would take silver, Van der Poel bronze. McNulty would become the first American elite men's road world champion since 1993.Even in the press conference, the result had not quite sunk in."Has it been an hour now?" he asked. "I really don't believe it."McNulty had spent much of his cycling life working towards this moment alongside people in the American programme who had known him since he was a teenager."The men's world road race has always been the dream for everyone in the organization," he said. "It's super special to do it with people that I've known since I was really a kid."He had fulfilled that ambition in Team USA colours. In the coming week, McNulty will swap the red, white and blue for a rainbow striped UAE kit as he's scheduled to line up at the Giro dellEmilia on October 3.Whether he will actually get to race for his chances on a team that holds two of the biggest talents in the peloton has yet to be seen, but for now hell enjoy wearing the rainbows."I hope I made [Tadej Pogacar] proud by keeping the jersey in the team," McNulty said of Pogaar. "I hope he enjoyed watching."The answer was already there on social media. "The King of Montreal Proud of you @brandon_mcnulty " Pogacar penned.

Tom Pidcock left Montreal without a World Championship medal despite producing one of the strongest rides of his season, fighting back from a crash and then spending much of the finale trying to drag the chase back to eventual winner Brandon McNulty. The Briton had already been forced into a costly...

Mens Elite Road Race ResultSunday 27 September Brossard to Montral273.4km 3,803m climbing 58 finishers of 184Parc Jeanne-Mance winners average 43.50km/hBen Healy finished tenth in the mens elite road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Montral on Sunday 27 September, as Brandon McNulty won the rainbow jersey for the United States. Jump to the Irish ridersMcNulty came home alone in 6:17:18 after 273.4km from Brossard, 13 seconds clear of Michael Matthews and Mathieu van der Poel, who took silver and bronze. Quinn Simmons was fourth on the same time to put two Americans in the first four, with Isaac del Toro fifth.Healy was tenth at 14 seconds, in the group that also contained Mads Pedersen, Tom Pidcock, Matteo Jorgenson and Giulio Ciccone. It is a second consecutive top-ten at the Worlds, after his bronze in the elite road race in Rwanda last year.Ireland raced it hard from the gun. Jamie Meehan went into the early breakaway less than 10km in, a move of seventeen riders that built a lead of more than eight minutes before being pulled back with just over 100km to go. Healy and Ryan Mullen then went to the front of the main group with 175km remaining, and Mullen abandoned after around 100km of that work.With just over 90km left Healy made another move, which was also brought back. When a further group went clear he had to bridge across, and after the attrition had whittled the front down, McNultys attack stuck. Healy tried to go after him and came home tenth as the group broke up on the final drag to the line.Gave it everything. The lads were great for me out there today and left it out on the road, something we can really be proud of, Healy said afterwards. I wanted to get out ahead of the big guns, and I feel like Ive good legs at the moment. Maybe I went too early on reflection, but like I said, left it all out there for a similar move that might have been the one that stuck.Meehan, Mullen and Darren Rafferty all abandoned. Mullen had ridden the elite time trial on the opening day, finishing 36th, and Rafferty came to Montral from his first Grand Tour at the Vuelta a Espaa.The longest and hardest race of the championships took its toll: of 184 starters from 61 nations, only 58 were classified, with 123 abandons and three non-starters over 3,803m of climbing.Irish RidersIRLIrish Riders Mens Elite Road RaceSun 27 September 2026 Montral 273.4km10Ben HEALY (129)+14DNFDarren RAFFERTY (132)DNFJamie MEEHAN (130)DNFRyan MULLEN (131)ResultRRResult Mens Elite Road RaceSun 27 September 2026 Montral 273.4km 58 classified1Brandon McNULTY (65) 6:17:042Michael MATTHEWS (80) +133Mathieu VAN DER POEL (62) +134Quinn SIMMONS (69)+135Isaac DEL TORO (86)+146Mads PEDERSEN (30)+147Tom PIDCOCK (43)+148Matteo JORGENSON (64)+149Giulio CICCONE (34)+1410Ben HEALY (129)+1411Mauro SCHMID (101)+2212Remco EVENEPOEL (9)+2513Juan AYUSO (49)+2:0814Stefan KUNG (100)+2:1915Paul SEIXAS (22)+2:4716Jorgen NORDHAGEN (75)+3:0917Oscar ONLEY (41)+3:0918Christian SCARONI (38)+3:1219Mikkel HONORE (27)+3:1420Davide PIGANZOLI (37)+3:2021Primo ROGLI (6)+3:2922Michael VALGREN (31)+4:2023Toms SKUJINS (149)+4:2524Anthon CHARMIG (26)+4:2525Tiesj BENOOT (8)+4:3126Pavel SIVAKOV (23)+4:3727Santiago BUITRAGO (102)+4:4128Wout VAN AERT (13)+5:1129Maxim VAN GILS (14)+5:1130Andreas KRON (29)+5:4631Adam YATES (47)+6:3732Michael LEONARD (136)+6:3933Tobias Halland JOHANNESSEN (73)+6:4834Guillermo SILVA (128)+6:4835Michael WOODS (137)+6:4836Jhonatan NARVAEZ (108)+6:4837Aleksandr VLASOV (151)+6:4838Georg ZIMMERMANN (95)+6:4839Byron MUNTON (152)+6:4840Michael STORER (82)+6:4841Menno HUISING (58)+6:5142Jack HAIG (78)+6:5343Igor ARRIETA (48)+6:5344Nicolas PRODHOMME (21)+6:5345Nickolas ZUKOWSKY (138)+6:5346Marcel CAMPRUBI (51)+7:0247Florian LIPOWITZ (93)+7:0448Riley SHEEHAN (67)+10:0049Corbin STRONG (111)+10:0050Michal KWIATKOWSKI (144)+10:0051Tobias FOSS (72)+10:0052Embret SVESTAD-BARDSENG (77)+10:0053Jai HINDLEY (79)+10:0054Felix GROSSSCHARTNER (113)+10:0055Lorenzo Mark FINN (35)+10:0056Nelson OLIVEIRA (123)+13:1157Lawrence WARBASSE (71)+15:3558Ivo OLIVEIRA (122)+15:35Did Not FinishDNFNon-finishers123 abandons and three non-startersDNFDarren RAFFERTY (132)DNFBart LEMMEN (59)DNFQuinten HERMANS (10)DNFAlberto BETTIOL (32)DNFHarold TEJADA (107)DNFMaximilian SCHACHMANN (94)DNFIvan ROMEO (54)DNFMarc HIRSCHI (99)DNFAntonio MORGADO (124)DNFEder FRAYRE (88)DNFAnders SKAARSETH (76)DNFPier-Andre COTE (134)DNFEdgar David CADENA (84)DNFAndreas LEKNESSUND (74)DNFHenok MULUEBERHAN (118)DNFGianni VERMEERSCH (15)DNFGiulio PELLIZZARI (36)DNFDaan HOOLE (57)DNFBauke MOLLEMA (60)DNFFred WRIGHT (46)DNFCallum THORNLEY (45)DNFMark DONOVAN (40)DNFHugo HOULE (135)DNFJamie MEEHAN (130)DNFJames SHAW (44)DNFKevin VERMAERKE (70)DNFSergio HIGUITA (103)DNFThibau NYS (11)DNFPiotr PKALA (145)DNFJordan LABROSSE (19)DNFAlex BAUDIN (17)DNFJordan JEGAT (18)DNFLuke TUCKWELL (83)DNFAndrea MIFSUD (178)DNFHenrique AVANCINI (156)DNFTiago ANTUNES (120)DNFArno WALLENBORN (166)DNFMerhawi KUDUS (117)DNFEmils LIEPINS (147)DNFKasper ASGREEN (24)DNFPatrick KONRAD (114)DNFSoren KRAGH ANDERSEN (28)DNFJan CHRISTEN (98)DNFNairo QUINTANA (105)DNFGal GLIVAR (2)DNFMikkel Norsgaard BJERG (25)DNFJoao ALMEIDA (119)DNFMathias VACEK (127)DNFCarlos VERONA (55)DNFLaurence PITHIE (110)DNFFelix GALL (112)DNFBrandon RIVERA (106)DNFArtem SHMIDT (68)DNFMateusz GAJDULEWICZ (142)DNFMatev GOVEKAR (3)DNFBen OCONNOR (81)DNFValentin PARET PEINTRE (20)DNFMarco BRENNER (90)DNFKaden HOPKINS (176)DNFMatteo TRENTIN (39)DNFMadis MIHKELS (150)DNFFabio CHRISTEN (97)DNFStefan BISSEGGER (96)DNFJakob SODERQVIST (160)DNFFinlay PICKERING (42)DNFMihajlo STOLI (155)DNFTim VAN DIJKE (63)DNFPascal EENKHOORN (56)DNFNadav RAISBERG (167)DNFEnric MAS (53)DNFSean QUINN (66)DNFBen OLIVER (109)DNFBruno ARMIRAIL (16)DNFFelix ENGELHARDT (92)DNFBiniam GIRMAY (116)DNFMarkel BELOKI (50)DNFAttila VALTER (164)DNFMattia CATTANEO (33)DNFJakub KACZMAREK (143)DNFAndreas MILTIADIS (174)DNFAlexandre MAYER (169)DNFHeorhii ANTONENKO (153)DNFTilen FINKT (1)DNFGuillaume BOIVIN (133)DNFAmir ANSARI (184)DNFRaul GARCIA PIERNA (52)DNFCristofer JURADO (158)DNFMatej MOHORIC (5)DNFJan TRATNIK (7)DNFJo HASHIKAWA (172)DNFNicholas NARRAWAY (177)DNFIustin-Ioan VAIDIAN (170)DNFVicente ROJAS (175)DNFVictor LANGELLOTTI (181)DNFPavel NOVAK (125)DNFJose Antonio ESCARCEGA (87)DNFUlises CASTILLO (85)DNFJuan Mardoqueo VASQUEZ (163)DNFYou LI (168)DNFBaptiste POULARD (173)DNFMathijs PAASSCHENS (61)DNFAfonso EULALIO (121)DNFAnton KUZMIN (140)DNFDaniil MARUKHIN (141)DNFNico DENZ (91)DNFLuka MEZGEC (4)DNFAlec SEGAERT (12)DNFMartin PLUTO (148)DNFNikiforos ARVANITOU (165)DNFManuel RODAS (162)DNFCarlos Alfonso GARCIA (89)DNFDerrick CHAVARRIA (171)DNFKristians BELOHVOSCIKS (146)DNFOussama Abdellah MIMOUNI (157)DNFSamandar JANIKULOV (161)DNFFredd MATUTE (180)DNFJakub OTRUBA (126)DNFMaral-Erdene BATMUNKH (159)DNFKohath BARON (182)DNFRyan MULLEN (131)DNFVladimir KOVAIK (139)DNFLuis Daniel OSES (154)DNFAli AL SHAIKHAHMED (183)DNSWilmar PAREDES (104)DNSAmanuel GHEBREIGZABHIER (115)DNSGil GOMES (179)Medal TableThirteen world titles were decided over eight days in Montral. Spain finished top of the table with three golds, all from the junior and under-23 races, ahead of the Netherlands on two. The United States also took two, Brandon McNultys on Sunday following Ashlin Barrys in the under-23 road race on Friday.MEDMedal Table Montral 2026All thirteen events 39 medals 16 nations1Spain 3 1 152Netherlands 2 1 143United States 2 0 024Italy 1 3 155Belgium 1 2 256Australia 1 1 027Poland 1 1 028Switzerland 1 0 239Slovakia 1 0 0110France 0 2 1311Great Britain 0 1 1212Canada 0 1 0113Denmark 0 0 1114Germany 0 0 1115Norway 0 0 1116Sweden 0 0 11PhotosPhotography by B Sutton IrishCyclingNews.comThe post Results : Elite Mens World Championships Road Race 2026 appeared first on IrishCyclingNews.com | Irish Cycling News | IrishCycling.

Brandon McNulty crossed the finish line alone in Montral. But behind him, Team USA had spent the day making sure he would not have to win the world championship on his own.There were teammates to launch attacks, teammates to cover the response and teammates still finding their way back into contention when the race seemed to have exhausted everyone. For sports director Michael Creed, the plan had been simple enough: "Numbers, numbers, numbers."McNulty's victory delivered the United States its first elite men's road world title since 1993. It was an upset for the favourites, but Creed was careful about what that said about his team. Asked whether the Americans had been underdogs, he rejected the description."I don't think we were the underdog. I think we were about on par," he said.Underestimated, though? That drew an unequivocal yes."But that's fine," Creed said. "That's a privileged place to be. There's no better zone to be than underestimated and have the fitness to prove people wrong."Team USA had come to Montral with one of the strongest teams it had fielded in decades. It lined up with three protected leaders WorldTour riders McNulty, Quinn Simmons and Matteo Jorgenson and five experienced domestiques also all from the top tier of the sport: Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost), Artem Shmidt (Netcompany INEOS), Larry Warbasse (Tudor Pro Cycling) and Riley Sheehan (NSN Cycling)."We all know that we're very capable riders and capable of winning on any given day. If we do everything perfect, we have a good shot at a medal," McNulty had said before the race. Creed had paired that talent with a strategy built around keeping enough of them in contention to give the team options deep into the race.In the team meeting, Creed had given them a specific target: always account for more than 10 per cent of the lead group."We're going to win by numbers," he said.That ambition depended on something no sports director can guarantee."You don't expect everyone to have good legs on the same day, and everyone had great legs [today]," Creed said. "I'm sure if it came back, Matteo could've won."In the press conference with the rainbow jersey and gold medal draped over his neck and should, McNulty recounted how the team's numbers led to the winning move. Simmons had been out front first, allowing McNulty and Jorgenson to play off his presence ahead. When the race came back together, McNulty took his opportunity."When it came together, I chose the moment to go," he said. "I know they were both just closing every move behind, and make sure the group is constantly starting and stopping, which favours a rider ahead."That was the value of having several potential winners. With McNulty up the road, Jorgenson and Simmons could follow attacks without helping the chase. Every acceleration their rivals made risked bringing another strong American closer to the front.And even deep into the finale, the U.S. numbers kept replenishing. Creed could scarcely believe it when Quinn Simmons returned on the last lap."How the hell did he come back?"It was another American body in a race where each one mattered. As Creed described it, the climbs left riders too exhausted to commit fully to the chase. The effort required to bring McNulty closer also made it harder to finish the job."They go so hard on the climbs that everyone's gassed and no one can commit," he said.Still, in the team car, Creed's nerves were anything but settled. "That was a rollercoaster in the van," Creed said, who still felt like throwing up when he addressed the media. McNulty's smooth style made him difficult to read, but the speed felt wrong. The gap eventually fell to just 10 seconds. What had looked like a winning margin was suddenly almost gone.McNulty was living the same uncertainty from the other side of the windscreen. Familiarity with the circuit had given him confidence in how to race it, but also an uncomfortable knowledge of how much road remained after the final corner."I knew they were coming close, and then the gap would grow, and then I know how long the last 500 meters are," he said.He only accepted that he would win with 50 metres remaining. Around an hour later, at the press conference, he was still struggling to believe it."I knew if everything was perfect a medal was possible today," he said. "I didn't really think the jersey was something that could genuinely happen. It was my dream, my big hope."For Riley Sheehan, that commitment had roots far beyond a national-team meeting."We've all raced with each other since juniors. We all know each other so well," he said. "We've all put everything into it, and it's incredible to have a guy like Brandon win. I couldn't be more happy."They spend most of the season riding for different trade teams. Here, their familiarity helped turn a group of individual talents into a team willing to work for whichever rider could deliver the jersey.McNulty described a connection that extended to the people behind the team. He had entered the USA Cycling programme at 15 or 16 and grown up around staff who were still involved. He and Simmons had won junior world titles, but the elite men's road race remained the prize everyone wanted."It's super special to do it with people that I've known since I was really a kid," McNulty said.Sheehan's assignment was to support the trio of leaders, help set up Simmons' initial move and stay useful for as long as his legs allowed.Sheehan has initially been left out of the team selection an omission that had not passed quietly. He took to social media and spoke to our sister site, Cyclingnews, that he was disappointed and confused as he believed he "could have been a really vital asset" to the American team. When Neilson Powless withdrew due to illness, Sheehan got his call-up after all. When asked about this turn of events, Sheehan said a world championship in North America felt almost like a home race, and the course was one he wanted to race."I saw that we have a winning team," he said. "I wanted to be a part of this, and I know I can make a dent in it and support the guys."His conviction was rewarded with a teammate in the rainbow jersey and all three protected leaders in the top 10: McNulty first, Simmons fourth and Jorgenson eighth.For McNulty, those results proved that team's strategy had worked."If I go solo and there are two guys that are that strong, they're going to mark moves, and it's going to make it work," he said. "Really incredible from all three of us and the whole team, all eight of us."For Creed, being underestimated had offered a freedom he knew would be harder to find after a performance like this."It's such an amazing position because everything is so much harder afterwards," he said.The next time this group lines up together, its rivals will have a reason to count the American jerseys as carefully as Creed did.

Remco Evenepoel's hopes of completing an extraordinary second road race-time trial double ended in disappointment at the 2026 World Championships in Montreal, with the Belgian admitting afterwards that he knew from the opening lap that he was not on one of his best days. After dominating the individ...

A new article by economist Colm McCarthy against the planned 19km MetroLink from central Dublin to Swords has prompted a call for newspapers to fact-check their columnists.Councillor Feljin Jose, the Green Partys spokesperson on transport, made the call after McCarthy wrongly claimed in the Sunday Business Post today that The only available evaluation of MetroLinks costs and benefits was released as part of the TIIs preliminary assessment in 2022.Cllr Jose said: Newspapers should be required to fact-check their columnists. Anti-train columnist Colm McCarthy claims that the only publicly available cost-benefit analysis of MetroLink is from a preliminary assessment in 2022. An updated cost-benefit analysis was published last week.The MetroLink Detailed Business Case Submission to the National Transport Authority dated September 2026 was published online and has been the subject of much reporting in the last week. The cost-estimated figures from that were used in McCarthys latest article, which wrongly claims the last assessment was published years ago.McCarthy has previously argued against Luas and Dart. In the Business Post today, he wrote that the current cost estmate is around 16 billion when compared to an initial estimate of just 2 billion when the project was revived over twenty years ago and to 3 billion as recently as 2018, Today he also wrote that Cities cited as examples for Dublin include London, Paris and several others with far higher populations, greater traffic densities and fixed-line public transport inherited from the nineteenth century. But as IrishCycle.com covered late last year, 57 metro rail systems across Europe serve cities of varying sizes, many similar in size to Dublin.He has in this article and previous ones also claimed that Dublin has a low population density, but metro systems have been built in cities with a similar population density.McCarthy spends a large part of his most recent article focused on Dublin Airport when it is just one of 16 stations on the planned line. The proposed line is roughly parallel to the Dublin Port Tunnel, built and paid for, host to frequent bus services to both Dublin Airport and Swords. Critics of MetroLink fear that airport traffic will be pointlessly diverted to a rail line costing 16 billion which offers no improvement on current 25 minute bus journey times, direct to the terminals. Where precisely are the benefits? said McCarthy, as if the route was only being built for the airport, and the bus routes which go via the Port Tunnel are not also subject to congestion at both ends.Away from very limited trips between the quays and Dublin Airport, even express buses to the airport are much slower than MetroLink will be. For example, from St Stephens Green to the airport, Dublin Express is timetabled at 50 minutes; MetroLink is expected to take around 25-30 minutes for the same trip, and around 20 minutes from OConnell Street to the airport. Unlike the Port Tunnel routes, MetroLink will have a number of stops and connections in Dublin City inside the M50, where 10 of the 16 stations will be located. MetroLink will also connect to the planned Dart+ West and South West lines at a new interchange station in Glasneven.