UAE Team Emirates – XRG is a team absolutely stacked with talents and Grand Tour contenders. However, even besides Tadej Pogacar, Juan Ayuso, João Almeida, Isaac del Toro; and it’s young riders in development… Brandon McNulty could also still turn into a weapon for the Emirati team for the future, as confirmed by himself as team DS Mauro Gianetti.“He’s an extraordinary rider, and we’ve been enthusiastic about him in the team ever since he came to us. We believe in him, and he’s always shown his quality,” Gianetti said in words to Domestique. “This year, he did an extraordinary Giro d’Italia in the service of Juan Ayuso and Isaac del Toro”.
At the Corsa Rosa the American rode to a ninth place at the Giro d’Italia, for the first time finishing in the Top10 whilst being a domestique within the team – supporting both Del Toro and Ayuso for all of the race, and splitting mountain help duties with Adam Yates, making him perhaps only the fourth priority in the mountains. McNulty is a tremendous time-trialist and experienced stage-racer, and at the 2022 Tour de France he put his climbing skills on display by dropping everyone but Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard in the final mountain stages of the race.
But consistency for three weeks is a different challenge. However in one-week races, he has thrived and this week’s Tour de Pologne victory consolidates his position in the team further. “Then here, he’s had the chance to do GC, and he didn’t miss. He’s a rider who still has margin to improve, he can still grow. Winning a race as important as the Tour de Pologne will give him confidence for the future, and we could see him as a protagonist in a Grand Tour.”
It seems difficult for the 27-year old to ever get a leading position at a Grand Tour during his stay in the star-filled UAE team however as was the case this year, through strong performances he may feature amongst the best and could also be used as a tactical weapon for the team to use against their rivals.
“I feel like after one Grand Tour, I’ll think ‘there’s no way’ and then other times I show some signs of hope. I don’t know. It’s such a different ball game compared to seven days here or to any one-week race. I feel I get better every year, and gain that endurance for three weeks, but I don’t know. We’ll see,” the American says of his own chances. However for the time being, he is happy with the chances he gets within the team.
“That’s just kind of how this team is: you have guys that are crazy talented all over that I’m happy to work for and when my turn comes, I try to take it. it’s nice to seize opportunities, for sure. It’s obvious when there are guys who are super good like Tadej and Isaac, so it’s a pleasure to ride for them. But everyone has their opportunity. We have a lot of victories as a team but also a lot of different riders winning. They manage it well, I think,” he concluded.