Dream year for Brandon McNulty ends with GC win at Cro Race - "Part of a record-breaking season for UAE Team Emirates XRG is truly something special"

This was a golden Sunday for UAE Team Emirates - XRG as Tadej Pogacar soared to victory at the European Championships, Adam Yates also rode to a solo win at the Coppa Agostoni, and at the Cro Race Brandon McNulty sealed the overall win to end his season in style.

“To finish the season like this is an incredible feeling. The CRO Race was a challenging week with rain, climbs and a very competitive race, but the team was exceptional from day one to day two," McNulty said in a statement issued by the team following the race. "After Luxembourg, I felt strong and confident, and we were able to control everything from start to finish. To close the year with another overall victory and be part of a record-breaking season for UAE Team Emirates XRG is truly something special.”

McNulty benefited from a strong solo attack on stage 4 to distance his rivals and carve a gap of over a minute over Edoardo Zambanini. The American was head and shoulders above the competition in Croatia, something which didn't come as a surprise taking into consideration the form he had shown over the previous weeks.

Out of the team's 90 wins this year, McNulty added 6, all of them from August onwards. The 27-year old had a very busy start to the season and then rode the Giro d'Italia in support of Isaac del Toro and Juan Ayuso, making it to his first career Top10 on a Grand Tour in the process.

From August onwards, after a long break, McNulty came back to competition firing all cilinders. He won the Tour de Pologne alongside its final time trial, and after a few races of a lesser performance, in Canada he once again showed his best level. He won the GP de Montréal after riding with Tadej Pogacar in the final kilometers of the race.

Only a few days later, after travelling back to Europe, McNulty rode to overall victory at the Tour de Luxembourg. With Cro Race now in the bag, it was his third overall win in the space of less than two months.