Sept 27 (Reuters) - Brandon McNulty emerged the surprise winner of the road world championships title on Sunday in Montreal to end 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 with a time of 6 hours, 17 minutes and 4 seconds.
Australia's Michael Matthews was second and Mathieu van der Poel of the Netherlands was third.
"I'm really at a loss for words. Until the last 300 metres I didn't
believe it, I was so tired," said McNulty.
He was quick to credit his teammates after securing the first road world title for American men since Lance Armstrong in 1993.
"We've said for weeks that we have a super strong team and that it's possible. We rode crazy well. We marked everything, had guys ahead," he said.
"I knew something could happen but it would take a miracle. I guess today, a miracle happened."
McNulty, who won the Montreal Grand Prix last year, launched his attack with 32 km 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 10 km left but none of the chasers were able to take advantage, with Van der Poel leading an attack with 6.8 km to go that fizzled out.
'A THING OF BEAUTY'
The absence of two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar, who is recovering from a crash he suffered last month, left the field open.
Without the Slovenian in the field, the race was chaotic and unpredictable throughout the 273.4-km course, which included 12 laps of a 13.4-km circuit that was packed with enthusiastic fans.
McNulty had not been among the pre-race favorites - unlike former world champion Remco Evenepoel or young talents Isaac del Toro and Paul Seixas.
Armstrong congratulated McNulty on his victory.
"Congratulations @BrandonMcNult on winning the World Championship in Montreal today," Armstrong posted on social media.
"Hands down the most exciting race of the year and a deserved winner. A thing of beauty".
(Reporting by Rory Carroll and Vincent Daheron; editing by Clare Fallon)
