{"id":17707,"date":"2026-09-29T20:22:51","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T20:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=17707"},"modified":"2026-09-29T20:22:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T20:22:51","slug":"who-is-world-cycling-champion-brandon-mcnulty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=17707","title":{"rendered":"Who Is World Cycling Champion Brandon McNulty?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p>Published September 29, 2026 01:47PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>You may have seen a social media post or two celebrating an American cyclist named <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_self\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/brandon-mcnulty-takes-superb-world-championship-victory-with-inspired-solo-effort\/\">Brandon McNulty<\/a> and his wild ride on September 27 to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_self\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/usa-cycling-golden-generation-hits-its-peak\/\">win the road cycling world championships<\/a> in Montreal, Canada.<\/p>\n<p>McNulty won the elite men\u2019s road race in dramatic, edge-of-your-seat fashion. He <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_self\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/brandon-mcnulty-ends-33-year-us-drought-road-world-title\/\">broke away from the pack<\/a> with 19 miles remaining in the 170-mile race, and then somehow held off multiple attempts from the other cyclists to chase him down.<\/p>\n<p>The race\u2019s final brutal miles delivered the agonizing will-he-or-won\u2019t-he dynamic akin to a goal-line stand in the Super Bowl. On more than one occasion, the racers chasing McNulty came within a few seconds of him. At some points in the race it seemed more a question of <em>when<\/em> they\u2019d catch him, and not <em>if<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"width:100%;border:none;display:block\" title=\"Script Content\" async=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>But in each instance, McNulty, who appeared utterly exhausted, sped further ahead. When he finally crossed the finish line, his ecstatic but bewildered expression captured the vibe of everyone who was watching.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never really thought this was something possible,\u201d he told reporters after the event. \u201cIt\u2019s absolutely crazy. It was my dream to be in the WorldTour\u00a0even as a kid. But to do something like this is unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the small but passionate community of American bike fanatics, McNulty\u2019s victory is nothing short of a miracle\u2014up there with the 1980 U.S. men\u2019s Olympic hockey team beating the Russians.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s because the U.S. elite men have traditionally floundered at the world championships race, which is held every year in a new location near the end of the pro cycling season. The last U.S. elite guy to win it was Lance Armstrong in 1993, back when Nirvana\u2019s <em>In Utero<\/em> dominated F.M. radio and cyclists raced the Tour de France without helmets.<\/p>\n<p>But there are a few other elements of McNulty\u2019s victory that are worth digging into\u2014you know, beyond the historic connection to Armstrong.<\/p>\n<h2>Who Is Brandon McNulty?<\/h2>\n<p>Before joining\u00a0<em>Outside<\/em> I was the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_self\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/byline\/fred-dreier\/\">editor-in-chief at\u00a0<\/a><em>VeloNews,<\/em> a print magazine that covered pro cycling. I interviewed McNulty many times, and in 2017 I even <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_self\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/why-brandon-mcnulty-chose-to-race-in-the-u-s-not-europe\/\">wrote a lengthy profile on him<\/a> for the publication.<\/p>\n<p>Back then, Brandon McNulty was a teenager, one of a handful of\u00a0<em>wunderkind<\/em> cyclists that U.S. coaches hoped would lead the country back to the pinnacle of the sport. His dad, RJ, showed me very cute photos of Brandon mountain biking as a child near their home in Phoenix, and recounted anecdotes of his son\u2019s unusual love for cycling.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2756192\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\"><span class=\"article__caption\">Brandon McNulty celebrates with his wife, Summer<\/span> (Photo: JASPER JACOBS \/ Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Lots of little kids love to ride a bike, but few of them enjoying pushing themselves to the brink of exhaustion seemingly just for personal satisfaction.<\/p>\n<p>When Brandon was just eight years old, his dad took him on a three-mile biking loop that included a really hard climb\u2014it was too steep for the kid to ride up without getting off to push. When RJ\u00a0suggested the two go home, Brandon got upset and refused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wouldn\u2019t go home until he rode the climb,\u201d R.J.\u00a0told me. \u201cI\u2019m sure the other mountain bikers looked at me like I was some abusive dad forcing his kid to ride this hill. I was like, \u2018It\u2019s not me, it\u2019s him!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By the time I met Brandon in 2017, he was one of the best junior racers in the world, and he was on a career trajectory toward the WorldTour ranks and the Tour de France. The biggest teams in Europe were interested in signing him, because in 2016 he\u2019d won the junior world championships in the individual time trial\u2014a true sign of otherworldly talent.<\/p>\n<p>But that\u2019s when McNulty broke from his peers. Most budding pros can\u2019t say no not the big paycheck that comes from European teams. But the gap between junior racing and the European pro scene is enormous\u2014think of it like going from high school basketball to the NBA. And every year, some talented juniors dive in too soon, flounder, and quit.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2756193\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2756193\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-849002392.jpg?width=1080&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 1x, https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-849002392.jpg?width=2048&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-849002392.jpg?width=2048&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\"><span class=\"article__caption\">Brandon McNulty in 2017 at age 19 (Photo by Tim de Waele\/Corbis via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It\u2019s even harder for top American kids, because they move overseas as teenagers and deal with culture shock, language barriers, and loneliness. In McNulty\u2019s generation, several talented Americans had washed out of the European pro ranks before they ever got a chance to shine.<\/p>\n<p>McNulty was cautious of this pitfall. So, rather than taking a big paycheck and moving to Europe, he signed a three-year deal with a smaller American professional team that raced predominantly in North America, but also did some European events. It\u2019s as if Kobe Bryant decided to play three seasons in college before joining the Los Angeles Lakers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a really hard decision,\u201d Brandon told me. \u201cRacing full-time in Europe is something I one day want to do. I\u2019d rather do it slowly than jump into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The decision paid off. Over the next two seasons McNulty blossomed into a dynamic and very smart pro cyclist. In 2017, his results were blas\u00e9, the result of an injury. In 2018, he did better, even winning a European race. Then, in 2019, he excelled, winning a handful of events and racing up there with some of the strongest pro riders in the world.<\/p>\n<p>By staying cautious, McNulty found his way to the top. For 2020, he was hired to join the best European team in the world, the UAE Team Emirates squad of Tadej Pogacar, now a five-time Tour de France winner.<\/p>\n<h2>A Team Effort to Win the World Title<\/h2>\n<p>American great Greg LeMond won the world road racing title in 1983 and 1989, and then Armstrong took it in 1993, long before his lifetime ban for doping. After that, Team USA\u2019s elite men struggled at the race\u00a0<em>for decades.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>There are several reasons why. The world road cycling championships falls at the end of the pro cycling season, when most racers are exhausted from the Tour de France and other events. In some years, the strongest American men actually skipped the event entirely due to fatigue.<\/p>\n<p>And unlike the Tour de France and other pro races held throughout the year, the cyclists compete on national teams and not their traditional professional trade teams. On the global stage, Team USA is usually much weaker than powerhouse nations like Belgium, France, Italy, and The Netherlands.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2756194\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2756194\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2296937826.jpg?width=1080&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 1x, https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2296937826.jpg?width=2048&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2296937826.jpg?width=2048&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\"><span class=\"article__caption\">Jorgenson (left) congratulates McNulty at the finish line. (Photo: JASPER JACOBS\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>With all that said, there were signs that 2026 could be the year where the USA ended its losing streak. McNulty, who is 28, is part of a generation of super strong Americans that\u2019s hitting its stride. Idahoan Matteo Jorgenson, 27, and Coloradan Quinn Simmons, 25, are both regulars at the Tour de France. Riley Sheehan, 26, Kevin Vermaerke, 25, and Sean Quinn, 26, are also veterans of the WorldTour.<\/p>\n<p>Still, in order to win, Team USA needed to ride as a cohesive squad, and that means having individual riders sacrifice their chance at winning to help a teammate take victory. I won\u2019t get too deep into the nuances of bicycle racing tactics other than to confirm that Team USA raced with both brains and brawn.<\/p>\n<p>With 45 miles to go, Simmons followed what appeared to be the winning attack from Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel, and stayed glued to his wheel in the perfect position to win. When the group chased Simmons and van der Poel down, McNulty made his winning move.<\/p>\n<p>As McNulty rode on by himself, Simmons and Jorgenson chased down any cyclist who tried to bridge across the gap. I suggest <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=obK7tbfw-dI\">watching the highlight video<\/a> of the race to see how Jorgenson and Simmons sacrificed their chances to win in order to protect McNulty\u2019s advantage. Their strategy was road bike racing 101, and it worked, and ended a 33-year-old losing streak.<\/p>\n<h2>What\u2019s Next for McNulty?<\/h2>\n<p>Winning the road world championships comes with its own super cool prize: the rainbow jersey. For the next calendar year, McNulty will compete in this eye-catching white kit that will make him easily distinguishable in the colorful peloton (see below).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2756196\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2756196\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2296900168.jpg?width=1080&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 1x, https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2296900168.jpg?width=2048&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2296900168.jpg?width=2048&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\"><span class=\"article__caption\">McNulty will race in 2027 wearing the rainbow jersey (Photo by Andrej Ivanov\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Beyond that, I\u2019m doubtful that the big win will alter McNulty\u2019s job that much in 2027. Like many cyclists, he is a worker bee, a <em>domestique, <\/em>in the peloton. His primary job is to help the sport\u2019s biggest star, Tadej Pogacar, win the Tour de France.<\/p>\n<p>During the Tour, McNulty rides at the front of the peloton up the longest climbs in the Alps and the Pyrenees, setting a pace that most cyclists simply cannot match. When he runs out of gas, Pogacar accelerates away to win.<\/p>\n<p>My prediction is that McNulty\u2019s job will remain the same for the foreseeable future. Perhaps he may be given the green light to lead Team UAE at smaller one-week races, or to compete for his own results at other races. But at the Tour, he will still serve as the primary pace-setter for Pogacar.<\/p>\n<p>But McNulty\u2019s result on September 27 will have greater ramifications far beyond his day job. He\u2019s etched his name into pro cycling\u2019s history books in a major way. The UCI road world championships date back to 1927, when they were held on the Nurnburgring auto racetrack in Germany.<\/p>\n<p>European cyclists have dominated the event. In fact, just three non-Europeans had ever won it prior to 2026: LeMond, Armstrong, and Cadel Evans in 2009.<\/p>\n<p>McNulty is just the fourth. And that alone is worth one helluva celebration.<\/p>\n<p><span hidden=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/outdoor-adventure\/biking\/brandon-mcnulty-cycling\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Published September 29, 2026 01:47PM You may have seen a social media post or two celebrating an American cyclist named Brandon McNulty and his wild ride on September 27 to win the road cycling world championships in Montreal, Canada. McNulty won the elite men\u2019s road race in dramatic, edge-of-your-seat fashion. He broke away from the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wild-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}