Jorgenson's 'insanely good legs' were worth their weight in gold to McNulty: 'We put our egos aside'

Eurosport reporter Anders Mielke therefore calls him the “MVP” (Most Valuable Player). “I’ll take that. Brandon was probably the MVP, but Quinn and I rode a great race. We came up with a plan last night and put our egos aside. We just wanted an American to win this race. We rode the perfect race, with Quinn following Wout and Van der Poel.”

Behind them, the other Americans were able to bide their time. “Brandon and I were able to keep up with Seixas and Del Toro, who were pushing the pace hard. When it came down to it, we were able to get someone to go solo, which was the goal. From there, my legs felt incredibly strong, and I was able to respond to the breakaways and frustrate the other riders—that helped a lot. I can’t wait for the party tonight,” he laughs.

While McNulty was out on his own, Jorgenson had to pull out all the stops to keep the other favorites from catching up. They came within a hair’s breadth, but every time, the red-haired American was right there. And so, the race fell silent once again. McNulty may be the one to show off the rainbow jersey next year, but Jorgenson also deserves a special tribute.

He is, in fact, immensely proud of this achievement. “It might just be my greatest victory. It might be easy to say now, but I’ve thought about it a lot. I analyzed for myself what the team usually does. We came up with a great plan and put our egos aside. I’m proud to be part of this team—it’s really cool.”