"Suffering more than I thought possible" - Brandon McNulty on leaving Tour de France, Pogacar and UAE
CyclingFriday, 24 July 2026 at 10:30
UAE Team Emirates - XRG has lost Brandon McNulty, their first rider at the Tour de France to withdraw from the race. The illness that is moving through the UAE team is currently one of the main points at the Grand Boucle; and the American has written about his decision to abandon the race.
McNulty rode until he couldn't
Whilst the focus was all on Adam Yates, it was McNulty who struggled early on stage 18. He was already losing vast amounts of time by the time the riders reached the intermediate sprint, and later on abandoned the race, unable to continue.
"And that’s all she wrote. What seemed like a small cold two days ago turned into suffering more than I thought possible just to make it through yesterday," Brandon McNulty wrote in an Instagram post.
The long move through the hilly day in the Alps was complicated and the American rider looked to suffer in the same way Yates had done the previous day. "Today, I pedaled until I physically couldn’t anymore".
Brandon McNulty crossing the intermediate sprint by himself, before withdrawing from the Tour de France
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The end to a strong Tour
The American was sixth at the Tour de Suisse despite the work he did for Tadej Pogacar and, after a brilliant performance at Milano-Sanremo, his versatility and quality as a domestique had been proven. Right on the opening day, his time trialing abilities were crucial to help the team reduce losses to Visma at the team time trial.
But he has been a rider that has spent time working in the mountains and hills, setting up the team to victories all throughout the Tour. With Adam Yates ill and Felix Grossschartner having crashed hard on stage 15; his importance in the lineup was greater than ever.
"From Barcelona to, well… the start of the Alps, it’s been an amazing Tour, and I’m beyond thankful to have been part of this group," he concluded. "I wish the UAE Team Emirates - XRG boys the best of luck over the next three days to bring this thing home. No matter what happens, we’ll still arrive in Paris together to celebrate".
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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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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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Front24224-07-2026 - UAE have always been like that. When Juan Ayuso was a naive 19-year-old racing the Vuelta, he said after the time trial that he couldn't understand why he felt so sick; turns out he had Covid. But UAE got permission for him to continue, claiming a low viral load. That was risking a lifetime of problems for one result, and Ayuso struggled with health problems after that.Hills3324-07-2026
- Side splitting comments about JV . Fab win by Carapaz and more importantly (lets keep it up) no French winner yet of a stage. 🤣🤣🤣🤣paultryan200224-07-2026
- Was pointless to bring it up, what support can you expect gambling on a breakaway, it’s the whole definition of a breakaway in general where you have to hope on collaboration from other teams because it’s unlikely you’ll get a teammate, and Mads was in exactly the same situation in some of the breakaways.Jumpyjohn24-07-2026
- Especially without the old regime, funny how people called up Walsh opinion on the cleanliness of today’s peleton without considering he now refuses to put his hand in the fire regarding past Ineos.Jumpyjohn24-07-2026
- I prefer food for thought to stick a head in the sand predictable cheerleader comments so please don’t take the liberty of speaking for all, especially seeing how little you yourself contribute. To me it (this particular post) seemed like sarcasm, maybe you’re American and have no sensitivity to forms of humour others recognise as obvious?Jumpyjohn24-07-2026
- Can't stay on top forever.Veganpotter24-07-2026
- so stoked for him - what a great guymij24-07-2026
- the reaction to these comments seem a bit overblown - he stated the obvious - that the team is here to support Mads, but then says he's ok with that too and it is a special thing.mij24-07-2026
- At age 20? Know refugees that i grew up with that fled their country at age 12 and they grew up well adjusted, civil and courteous. Ripped away? From the USA?
Andrew24-07-2026
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