Double American triumph - Brandon McNulty wins Volta a Comunitat Valenciana as Will Barta suceeds in heroic breakaway on stage 5
Cycling
Will Barta won the final day of the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana after a successful breakaway. The stage saw several attacks in the main climb of the day, but race leader Brandon McNulty withstood all moves to carry the yellow jersey to the end.
The final day of racing in Valencia had only 92 kilometers in distance and it was set to be an explosive one. Last year it decided the overall classification, so race leader Brandon McNulty knew that there was no chance to relax on a day where a difficult climb could set the race on fire.
The day's breakaway was formed by Filippo Fiorelli, Will Barta, Joel Nicolau, Xavier Cañellas, Diego Pablo Sevilla and José Maria Garcia. None of these riders were a threat to the overall classification, hence UAE Team Emirates was happy to let the group go. Bahrain - Victorious and BORA - hansgrohe kept the break in check.
In the 5-kilometer ascent at 9.3% which highlighted the day the peloton was split to bits. BORA pushed the pace and Aleksandr Vlasov attacked. Pello Bilbao also made a move in the difficult ascent, but McNulty responded promptly and a small group remained at the summit of the climb. This one grew quickly afterwards.
Movistar's Will Barta in the meantime went solo in the head of the race. The peloton saw a few moves but none were able to make the difference, whilst the American sustained a gap of around a minute with 40 kilometers to go.
Lidl-Trek led a desperate but weakened chase throughout the final kilometers, but it was not enough. Barta had tremendous legs on the day and although the gap was small, he was the first to enter Valencia and to cross the finish line, taking a much needed win for the Spanish team. Jonathan Milan won the sprint for second in the peloton followed by Vito Braet. Brandon McNulty arrived at the finish safely and sealed the overall win.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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