Tadej Pogacar's trusted teammate, America's first men's road world champion in 33 years - How Brandon McNulty turned his 2026 season into history

Brandon McNulty arrived in Canada in September still searching for his first victory of 2026. His Tour de France had ended through illness, two spring stage races had finished with abandonments, and the American was running out of opportunities to match the success of his previous two seasons. Before the month was over, he had become the first American man in 33 years to win the elite road race world title.

For a rider who had spent much of his career helping Tadej Pogacar win cycling's biggest races at UAE Team Emirates - XRG, it was the greatest achievement of his own career. McNulty had already won Grand Tour stages, major stage races and prestigious one-day events, but nothing compared with the rainbow jersey he claimed in Montréal. He followed it with a string of strong performances in Italy, culminating in victory at the Veneto Classic, his first win as world champion.

McNulty entered 2026 with an established record of success at UAE. A junior world time trial champion in 2016 and Giro di Sicilia winner in 2019, he joined the Emirati squad in 2020 and helped Pogacar towards his second Tour de France victory the following season.

His own results had become increasingly impressive. By the beginning of 2026, McNulty had won stages at Paris-Nice, the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, claimed overall victories at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, Tour de Pologne and Tour de Luxembourg, and finished ninth at the 2025 Giro. He had also taken fifth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2023.

One of his most memorable victories came at the 2025 Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, where he and Pogacar escaped together. The Slovenian allowed his teammate to cross the line first after the pair had left their rivals well behind.

The new season opened with fifth overall at Valencia and sixth at the Figueira Champions Classic, but McNulty struggled to maintain that level through the spring. He finished 43rd at the Volta ao Algarve and abandoned Paris-Nice during stage four. At the Volta a Catalunya, fourth place on stage four was his best result on the way to 45th overall.

His difficulties continued at Itzulia Basque Country. Eighth in the opening time trial in Bilbao was followed by several days well down the standings, and he abandoned on the final stage.

Yet one of McNulty's most valuable performances of the spring had come at Milan-Sanremo, where his 28th-place finish concealed a significant contribution to Pogacar's long-awaited victory.

The Slovenian was still chasing his first win in the Italian Monument when he crashed just six kilometres before the Cipressa. Florian Vermeersch and Felix Grossschartner helped bring him back into the peloton, leaving McNulty to take over at the front.

The American guided Pogacar into position and drove the pace on the Cipressa before Isaac del Toro continued the acceleration. Pogacar attacked and eventually reached the finish alongside Tom Pidcock, beating the Briton to claim the Monument that had repeatedly escaped him.

McNulty had finished his work long before the sprint in Sanremo, but at the Tour de Suisse in June, he was back among the general classification contenders himself. He took sixth overall while Pogacar dominated the five-day race, winning three stages and the general classification. They would next line up together at the Tour de France.

Despite McNulty's reputation as one of Pogacar's trusted teammates, their calendars overlapped surprisingly little in 2026. They competed together at just three races, all significant objectives for UAE.

McNulty's selection for the Tour was nevertheless an important assignment. He had helped Pogacar win his second yellow jersey in 2021 and returned as one of UAE's established climbing domestiques, with the Slovenian pursuing a fifth overall victory.

Pogacar quickly took control of the general classification, while McNulty worked within the team and claimed fifth himself on stage 13 between Dole and Belfort.

His Tour began to unravel during the final week. McNulty was struck by a car while reconnoitring the stage 16 individual time trial and subsequently struggled with illness. Two days later, he lost contact with the peloton early on the road to Orcières-Merlette and eventually abandoned.

UAE were now without one of their established climbers ahead of two demanding stages finishing on Alpe d'Huez. Pogacar already held a commanding advantage, but acknowledged the loss of an important teammate before going on to secure his fifth Tour de France title in Paris.

For McNulty, the withdrawal meant another missed opportunity to complete his collection of Grand Tour stage wins. He had succeeded at the Giro in 2023 and the Vuelta in 2024, but the Tour remained absent from his palmarès. Almost seven weeks would pass before he returned to competition.

McNulty resumed racing at the Canadian WorldTour Classics, finishing 21st at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec before taking third in Montréal two days later. He was back on the same roads where he had celebrated victory alongside Pogacar twelve months earlier, and where the 2026 World Championships would soon take place.

Fourth place in the individual time trial left him narrowly outside the medals. Seven days later, the American national team arrived at the road race with considerably more than one potential winner.

National road director Tanner Putt had designated McNulty and Quinn Simmons as co-leaders, with Matteo Jorgenson also entrusted with leadership responsibilities while primarily supporting the pair in the decisive stages.

Pogacar's absence through injury had removed the defending champion and one of the overwhelming favourites, but the 273.4-kilometre race still featured Remco Evenepoel, Mathieu van der Poel, Isaac del Toro and Paul Seixas among its leading contenders.

The Americans helped force the selection rather than waiting for those riders to dictate the racing. Simmons was particularly aggressive as the field began to break apart, putting rival teams under pressure and opening opportunities for his teammates.

With 33 kilometres remaining, McNulty attacked alone. His advantage grew beyond a minute, but the pursuit became increasingly threatening on the final lap. The chasing group continued to attack, and McNulty's lead fell towards ten seconds as he tackled the closing climbs of Mont-Royal.

He held on, crossing the line 13 seconds ahead of Michael Matthews, with Van der Poel taking bronze. Simmons finished fourth and Jorgenson eighth, completing an outstanding collective performance from the United States.

McNulty had become only the third American man to win the elite road race world title, following Greg LeMond in 1983 and 1989 and Lance Armstrong in 1993. His victory ended a 33-year wait, exactly a decade after he had been crowned junior world time trial champion in Doha.

Unlike his Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal triumph the previous year, there had been no Pogacar alongside him in the finale. McNulty had been one of the American team's designated leaders and finished the job with a solo attack against some of cycling's biggest names.

He carried that form into the final weeks of the season in Italy, finishing tenth at the Giro dell'Emilia, second at Coppa Agostoni and fifth at Il Lombardia, where Seixas claimed his first Monument victory.

McNulty also contested Tre Valli Varesine, Gran Piemonte and the Giro del Veneto before lining up at the Veneto Classic on 18 October. There, he escaped with Anthon Charmig before dropping the Dane on the gravel climb at Diesel Farm with around ten kilometres remaining. The rainbow jersey crossed the finish line alone in Bassano del Grappa, more than a minute ahead of the nearest challenger.

It was McNulty's first victory as world champion, completing an autumn in which he had gone from searching for his opening win of the season to taking the biggest one-day title in cycling and another solo success on Italian roads.

McNulty's future was settled well before his breakthrough in Canada. He signed a contract extension in April keeping him at UAE Team Emirates - XRG until the end of 2030, committing himself to a squad where Pogacar, Isaac del Toro, Joao Almeida and Adam Yates provide considerable competition for leadership.

His new status has already brought a commitment from the team to give him more opportunities. UAE manager Mauro Gianetti confirmed in October that McNulty would receive greater responsibility in 2027, although the team are wary of placing excessive expectations on their new world champion.

McNulty has his own priorities, and becoming a full-time Grand Tour leader does not appear to be foremost among them. In an October interview with L'Équipe, he identified winning a Tour de France stage as a leading objective for 2027. He also acknowledged that an overall Grand Tour victory was probably beyond his capabilities, while even reaching the final podium would demand an enormous commitment.

His strongest results have come across shorter stage races, time trials and demanding one-day events, although ninth overall at the Giro and sixth at the Tour de Suisse have shown that he can compete for high general classification placings.

The Ardennes Classics remain an attractive possibility. McNulty has already finished fifth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and the repeated climbing of races such as Amstel Gold Race suits the sustained efforts that have brought him success elsewhere.

Gianetti has not ruled out testing McNulty's potential over three weeks, but UAE have several established options for Grand Tour leadership. Pogacar will again command much of the team's attention, while Del Toro and Almeida are also capable of leading major stage races.

The Tour de France presents the biggest question. McNulty has identified a stage victory as one of his main targets for 2027, having already won at both the Giro and Vuelta. Yet his previous appearances alongside Pogacar have largely been devoted to helping the Slovenian chase yellow, leaving little freedom to pursue his own results.

UAE manager Mauro Gianetti has promised McNulty greater leadership opportunities next season, but the American's Tour ambitions will depend on how the team distributes those chances. After spending much of 2026 supporting Pogacar before claiming the rainbow jersey for himself, McNulty now has a world title and a clear personal target. Whether UAE can accommodate both his ambitions and those of its five-time Tour winner will be an important part of his first full season in the rainbow jersey.