"It's special to be the one" - Brandon McNulty secures the record-breaking victory for UAE Emirates
Cycling
Brandon McNulty has been on fire in the last period of the 2025 season. Following his time-trial and GC victory at the Tour of Pologne, and a gifted GP Montreal, the American comfortably secured his overall victory at the Tour de Luxembourg. Not the flashiest trophy in his own palmares, nor his team's, but it's one that will be remembered for a long time.
It has been long time coming, but eventually UAE Team Emirates - XRG achieved their big goal for the 2025 season - to break the record of most victories by a team within one season, previously held by Team Columbia - HTC who scored 85 times in 2009. A large part of their success back then went to the unbeatable sprint train with Mark Cavendish to finish off the job. The Manx missile contributed to 24 victories that year (including team time trials).
UAE's success is underlined by the fact that the Emirati team barely competes in bunch sprints with team's fastest man Juan Sebastian Molano adding only two victories to the total amount of 86. Contrary to the iconic American team, they had a completely different approach, winning multiple hilly one-day races and mountain stages, including general classifications. That's also how their 86th triumph came around.
"It’s very special to be part of the team to break the record and even more special to be the one to do it," said McNulty in a team press release.
McNulty jumped into the race's lead following stage 4 time-trial. The American came 27 seconds short of Ethan Hayter, but put a lot of time into his other GC rivals and thus only a large coup could've prevented the 27-year-old's imminent overall victory. In the final stage, a strong duo Romain Grégoire and Ben Healy steered clear to win with a 55-second margin over main pack, but fortunately for McNulty neither of the two directly threatened his lead.
"It was a hard final day," McNulty looked back at the fifth stage. "The rain always makes it a bit more stressful but the team rode well and defended the jersey well. This season has been amazing for us and we’ll aim to finish it off strongly also."
Mauro Gianetti
The team CEO Mauro Gianetti also shared his few thoughts about the achievement: "Reaching 86 victories in one season is an extraordinary milestone, and it reflects the incredible commitment and unity of everyone in this organisation – from our leaders in the UAE to our riders, staff, sponsors, and supporters."
"This record is not just about numbers, but about the consistency, the sacrifices, and the belief that have carried us through every race. I am immensely proud of what we have achieved together, and this moment will stand as a reference point in the history of our team and of cycling. We will enjoy it, but also remain motivated to keep pushing for more."
There is still a nearly full month left on the 2025 season, leaving some opportunities for UAE to score especially in the Italian one-day races with Tadej Pogacar on a mission to win his fifth Il Lombardia in a row.
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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