Brandon McNulty is the 74th rider in history to become world champion and with his victory sealed at the finish line in Montreal he has delivered the fourth world title to the United States. A triumph achieved after a drought of 32 editions, since the last success had come in 1993 thanks to Armstrong. The first two stars and stripes victories had been conquered by LeMond, who won in 1983 and 1989.

Adding to the 4 American triumphs also the Australian one signed in 2009 by Evans, there are a total of 5 editions won by non-European riders out of 93 disputed. For the first time, however, the Old Continent remained absent from both the top two positions. The world championship was McNulty's first victory of 2026. The last rider to achieve his first seasonal victory in the world championship race was Spanish rider Freire in 1999.

Australian Matthews has collected his fourth world medal in his career (two silvers and two bronzes) and Dutch rider Van der Poel has reached three (one gold and two bronzes). Italy was a protagonist, but failed to break the long streak without prestigious results: 18 consecutive editions without a world gold medal (Ballan in 2008) and 7 since the last medal (Trentin's silver in 2019).

Source www.ciclopico.it - full article and other statistical curiosities at the link https://ciclopico.it/altre-corse/mondiali-ciclismo/campione-del-mondo-2026/