At the 2026 UCI Road World Championships in Montréal, Brandon McNulty of UAE Team Emirates XRG finished just 12 seconds away from an individual time trial medal on September 21, 2026, placing fourth behind winner Remco Evenepoel. The opening test of the championships set the stage for upcoming tactical battles, leaving the American squad optimistic about their depth and numbers heading into the road race.
How Remco Evenepoel Dominated the Montréal Time Trial
Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull – Bora – hansgrohe claimed his fourth consecutive individual time trial title on the Montréal circuit. Brandon McNulty held a temporary spot in the hot seat before final contenders pushed the American out of the medals by a narrow 12-second margin. McNulty told Cycling Weekly that he felt satisfied with his physical condition despite missing the podium. “12 seconds from the medal is not bad,” McNulty said, adding that the ride confirmed his training progress was paying off.
Fellow American Artem Schmidt, competing for Netcompany INEOS at age 22, finished 18th in the time trial. Schmidt told Cycling Weekly that pacing required careful calculation on a course made difficult by road conditions. “I think I left mostly everything out there,” Schmidt said, noting that losing momentum on potholes made regaining speed challenging.
American Squad Prepares Numbers for the Road Race
Attention now shifts from the individual time trial to the tactical demands of the road race. Brandon McNulty described the current U.S. roster as the best team the nation has fielded, pointing to past successes on local roads. McNulty won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal in 2025, where teammate Quinn Simmons finished third, and both riders placed in the top four at the same race earlier in September 2026.
“I think there’s a chance. He acknowledged formidable competition from riders like Evenepoel and the Netherlands’ Mathieu van der Poel, stating that the American squad intends to race aggressively by utilizing team depth. Artem Schmidt confirmed he will transition into a support role for the road race, noting that his threshold and one-hour power will assist the leaders on a course he described as a completely different type of beast compared to the time trial.”
Keep reading