Tom Pidcock represented the best chance for Great Britain to score their first UCI Road World Championships elite men's road race title since Mark Cavendish in 2011, but the 2026 event in Montreal ended with a stunning victory for the USA's Brandon McNulty, who attacked with 32km to go and held off an elite but stop-and-go chasing group.
Tucked in the chasing group together with eventual podium finishers Michael Matthews (Australia), Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) and pre-race favourite Isaac del Toro (Mexico), Pidcock made numerous attempts to shut down the gap to McNulty, but they were continually frustrated by McNulty's teammates Matteo Jorgenson and Quinn Simmons.
Pidcock was a bitter seventh in the end, fighting back from an earlier crash and chase, but still, when asked what needed to happen to catch McNulty, he said it was very close to happening. "But yeah, Del Toro was obviously working for [UAE Team Emirates-XRG trade teammate] McNulty in the end there," Pidcock said to Cyclingnews.
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"Likewise, obviously Matteo [Jorgenson] - the Americans are a super strong team, so yeah, they were not letting anyone go."
At the start of the final lap, the last ascent of the Camillien Houde climb was realistically the final chance to bring McNulty back, who was just under a minute up the road. Pidcock and Giulio Ciccone (Italy) got to within 12 seconds of the American as they accelerated, but when the group came back to them, it was race over.
"I think if me and Cicco, if we had a little bit more of a gap and we managed to stay away, I think we would have caught McNulty. But yeah, it's how the race goes."
McNulty was an outside favourite heading into the race, but a lot of attention was on Del Toro and Paul Seixas (France) after they finished first and second in the Grand Prix de Montreal. France, with the far stronger team, pushed the pace on each of the early laps of the circuit to make the race hard enough for Seixas to attack, but in the end, the 20-year-old cramped in the last lap and faded to 15th.
"I think that was their plan. But yeah, it also cooked Paul's legs," Pidcock said. "It happens when you race for six and a half hours.
"We started the race super hard, and I think everyone at the end was pretty fucked. It was very windy as well, so it made a little bit negative racing in the end. Yeah, just generally everyone was a bit tired, a bit cooked, so you know, we could kind of attack, but not really make the difference."
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