Freshly crowned UCI World Champion Brandon McNulty has a stronger connection to Flanders than you might think. Long before his solo victory at the World Championships in Montréal, the American came to explore Flemish roads in the summer of 2014 as a junior rider. After a warm-up race in Kerniel on July 19—where he had to settle for second place behind the Dane Julius Johansen—he hit the mark three times. He won in Geel-Stelen (July 27, with compatriots Matteo Jorgensen and Tyler Stites taking second and third), Lommel (July 30), and Drieslinter (August 3). He won that last race solo, competing against a field of 97 riders. At the finish line, he looked visibly fresher than he did on Sunday in Montréal. With the winner's flowers tucked under his arm, he queued up at the payout desk to collect his prize money. While wondering aloud how he would manage to get that bouquet back to his parents in Phoenix intact, he spoke to the Flemish cycling press for the first time: "I just didn't feel my legs. It’s great to win against nearly a hundred guys. The three-week Belgian campaign is over; we’re flying back home today."


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