McNulty and Vollering win road race world titles in Montreal

McNulty's winning move

Brandon McNulty attacked with 30km to go, held a 50-second lead at the start of the last lap, and finished 13 seconds clear of Michael Matthews to win the men's elite road race in Montreal, The Guardian reported. Matthews won the sprint for second, while Mathieu van der Poel took third.

McNulty is the first American to win the event since Lance Armstrong in 1993. The 28-year-old from Arizona, a teammate of Tadej Pogačar at UAE Team Emirates, crossed the line after 273.4 kilometres in six hours and 17 minutes.

"Until the last hundred metres, I didn't believe it, I was so tired," McNulty said. He added that he knew before the race it would take a miracle. Tom Pidcock finished seventh, Remco Evenepoel 12th.

Vollering wins the women's race

In the women's race, Demi Vollering beat Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney in a two-rider sprint. Elisa Longo Borghini was third, four seconds behind. The race covered 180km, the longest in women's world championship history.

Vollering attacked 38km from the finish and rode solo for 22km before Niewiadoma-Phinney and Longo Borghini caught her. Switzerland's Marlen Reusser, the time trial champion, finished fourth, four seconds from bronze.

"Your greatest competitors are also your greatest motivation," Vollering said of Niewiadoma-Phinney. The UCI later fined Vollering 1,000 Swiss francs (about $1,100), deducted points and showed her a yellow card for a "non-compliant" riding position. The result was not affected.

How Team USA planned the win

Early in the race, the US team stayed quiet. Quinn Simmons followed the key move, while McNulty and Matteo Jorgenson waited for the race to come back together, according to Escape Collective's report on the team's strategy. Team director Mike Creed said the goal was to keep more than 10% of the lead group in American colors.

That plan paid off when McNulty made his winning move.