Brandon McNulty eyeing team and individual success at UAE Tour: "The TT always plays into my hands"

The UAE Tour have a clear favourite: UAE Team Emirates. The home team has put in big resources to win the second World Tour stage-race of the year, and Brandon McNulty is a big part of the plan to seek overall success.

“I'd like to help Adam and then see where I can go. I think it's nice that we can have two cards as well, so I can play off him because everyone will look at him," McNulty told GCN. "The TT always plays into my hands because it's one of my strengths and we'll try to stay safe and see how the last day goes.”

The race will be marked by the desert racing and strong winds which can every day make the difference in the race. However, most likely it will be the time-trial and ascents to Jebel Jais and Jebel Hafeet to seal the deal. After an impressive victory at the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana, the American has proven to be in great form.

Alongside him is Tour of Oman winner and last year's runner-up Adam Yates who has a history of performing in this race, having taken wins and finished on the final podium several times over the past year; and Jay Vine who starts his season here but finds very suiting terrain in the single-climb stages. The team is without a doubt at the top of the charts when it comes to favourites to win the general classification.

“He is flying. It can be always be a little bit stressful with the possibility of crosswinds and crashes, it's a really hard race actually. It might look a bit easy on paper, but it's actually really stressful to be here and we just need to keep him out of trouble," UAE's Mikkel Bjerg said of Adam Yates, who seems to be the number one card for the week.

"He has shown before he can do it, also when he was with Ineos, so we just need to get him to the Jebel Hafeet climb healthy and with fresh water bottles, and he will do the rest.”