US rider Brandon McNulty shocks favourites to take World Championships title after Ben Healy lights up race

Brandon McNulty emerged as the surprise winner of the road World Championships title on Sunday in Montreal, ending a 33-year title drought for American men in the race. The 28-year-old put his hands on his helmet in disbelief and pumped his fist after crossing the finish line in 6 hours, 17 minutes and 4 seconds. Australia's Michael Matthews was second and Mathieu van der Poel of the Netherlands was third. Ireland's Ben Healy finished 10th but lit up the race with his typical aggressive racing. McNulty, who won the Montreal Grand Prix last year, launched his attack with 32km to go and held a 50-second lead heading into the final lap. He struggled on the last significant climb and saw his lead shrink to 10 seconds with 10km left, but none of the chasers could take advantage, with Van der Poel leading an attack with 6.8 km to go that fizzled out. The absence of two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar, who is recovering from a crash he suffered last month, left the field open. The last American man to win the elite road race world title was Lance Armstrong in 1993.