"I feel like the races pass faster" - Rainbow mood carries Brandon McNulty onto a podium in Italy
Cycling
One week has passed since Brandon McNulty's fantastic ride into the rainbow jersey in Montréal, but the American continues to carry himself on a high. After a top-10 in Giro dell'Emilia, the new world champion climbed onto the podium at Coppa Agostoni (1.1), coming short of only Paul Lapeira.
Last Sunday, McNulty had become United States' first world champion since Lance Armstrong's (tainted, but not stripped) title in 1993. Or if you prefer, since Greg Lemond's second victory in 1989. For it to happen on North American soil made the triumph all the more sweet.
"For sure it is still settling in, with the jersey and everything," McNulty said on team website after Coppa Agostoni.
The Italian one-day race was opened with long-range attacks very early. Eventually, a compact group formed up the road and navigated the race towards a six-way sprint where French puncheur Paul Lapeira was the fastest ahead of McNulty and Andera Raccagni Noviero.
Afterwards, McNulty admitted that the kilometers in the saddle during 2026 season (~8,500 to the day) are finally starting to be felt in his legs, but that he wishes to finish the season off at Il Lombardia in style.
"Today was good, I am still a bit fatigued from last week and also yesterday I went super hard. It was a really hard race and I was happy to be there in the final, and then sprints can go one way or the other, so I am happy with the efforts today."
Rainbow wings
In any case, McNulty describes the rainbow jersey as having brought some extra energy into the final push of the season. Suddenly, hours in the saddle feel a bit easier than in the past months.
"It is super special [being the world champion]. I feel like the races pass faster, I don’t really think about kilometres to go anymore. Hopefully that continues! Perhaps it will wear off and I will go back to suffering, but the last two days have been so special. Everybody has been very supportive and I have had so many people come up to me to congratulate me, so I want to say thank you to everybody."
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Barring late changes, McNulty's season should include two more starts. First comes Tre Valli Varesine on Tuesday where he'll be joined by Jhonatan Narváez. And finally on Saturday, the highlight of October arrives in the form of Il Lombardia.
Without Tadej Pogacar among their ranks, UAE will have to rely on other men to defend the Slovenian's five consecutive titles. Next to McNulty, we should see Isaac del Toro spearhead the nomination for "the Classic of Fallen leafs".
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- I hope he rides a bitmij15-11-2026
- Greatest athlete this world has ever produced ! LOL ... you definitely are a comdian ! Cycling is so sprecialized and you think he's the greatest athlete ever ! Still laughing !frieders315-11-2026
- b.s. headline. Jonas wasn't told anything, it is just a pundit telling him what to do. the actual article is not even close to the insinuation of the headline.mij15-11-2026
- I think Roglic could have beaten Sepp. not Jonas. I was referring to Sepp.mij15-11-2026
- I'm deeply sick of this guy and his unwillingness to race seriously for more than a month or two. I'll never respect riders who do that. Seixas will be stronger than him next season, and maybe Del Toro as well. I don't even think he'll finish on the podium at any GT where Pogi, Seixas, and Del Toro are racing.megasmacky15-11-2026
- Not a chance in hell.megasmacky15-11-2026
- If you go watch some races from last season other riders that have never caught Jonas...are now catching him. Some are just riding away from him and he can't hold the wheelmd197514-11-2026
- He just doesn't have the desire anymore. I read an article earlier today that said he almost retired last year. His reasoning was he is away from home to much. Visma was able to keep him riding by allowing him to skip certain camps. So, while currently Visma is doing altitude work...Jonas is at home. Which means 2 things. 1- He maybe fresher than other riders. But, not the condition. 2-Is a somewhat slap in the face to others on the team that are supposed to help him win. Yet feel like he hasn't done what they have so perhaps they don't provide as good of protection or they ride more for theme (which the team may not notice).md197514-11-2026
- Roglic could not have won anyway, after Jonas followed him when Roglic decided it was his turn for a stage win. Jonas had already attacked Kuss twice, so it was Jonas who was within seconds of taking the lead before Kuss was 'gifted' the win. It felt a bit like Roglic was being thrown under the bus when the team made his unhappiness public.Hills3314-11-2026
- POG1, another nice doc about our favourite, I watched most of it with a big smile on my face (except for the bits about his crashes 😢 obvs!).Lozza14-11-2026
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