Published September 30, 2026 07:43AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Brandon McNulty<\/a> might be carrying water bottles next season racing in the rainbow jersey, and he\u2019s just fine with that.<\/p>\n Everything changed for McNulty when he won UCI road world championships<\/a> Sunday in Montr\u00e9al, but it won\u2019t change his role of helping Tadej Poga\u010dar<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, Tadej\u2019s still the best rider. So now it\u2019ll be fun me riding the front of races for him in the jersey,\u201d McNulty said after winning Sunday. \u201cIt will be really cool to race with him [Poga\u010dar] for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n Back at his day job with UAE Emirates-XRG, the newly minted world champion knows<\/a> he will still ride for the Slovenian superstar in his rainbow jersey season.<\/p>\n Whether everyone else can get used to seeing the rainbow jersey stuffed with water bottles is another matter.<\/p>\n Former pro Michael Rasmussen choked on his bidon<\/em> at the prospect of a world champion returning to water bottle duty for UAE\u2019s bigger names.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to look incredibly uncool seeing him in the world championship jersey, sitting third-to-last in the UAE line-up with his pockets stuffed with water bottles, then peeling off just as the team\u2019s two stars are about to race for the win,\u201d he told Viaplay Sport News<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he\u2019s lucky, he\u2019ll be given a chance to see if he can win the Tour de Pologne in the world champion\u2019s jersey. Otherwise, it\u2019s going to be a bit bizarre.\u201d<\/p>\n The scene of the world champion on domestique<\/em> duties might be a shocker, but that shows just how deep UAE\u2019s roster truly is. <\/p>\n McNulty and Team USA are still buzzing from Sunday\u2019s historic ride<\/a> to win America\u2019s first elite men\u2019s road world title in 33 years.<\/p>\n But the wheel quickly turns back to the pro team responsibilities.<\/p>\n McNulty\u2019s world title keeps the rainbow jersey inside UAE after Poga\u010dar\u2019s victories in 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n Everyone\u2019s happy about that, especially team boss Mauro Gianetti, who was waiting at the line in Montr\u00e9al to celebrate.<\/p>\n Wearing the prized tunic next season won\u2019t reset the Arizonan\u2019s place within the UAE\u2019s hierarchy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Poga\u010dar is still the boss.<\/p>\n The world No. 1 missed Montr\u00e9al after crashing out of the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a and won\u2019t race again this season<\/a>. If he returns anywhere close to top Pogi-peak form in 2027, McNulty will again slot into the trusted helper role.<\/p>\n Yes, that means we might see the world champion pulling at the front or shuttling up water bottles.<\/p>\n McNulty is happy with the mixed role at UAE of helping Poga\u010dar in the world\u2019s biggest races and getting the occasional shot to win.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been able to win some races in my career, but I\u2019ve never been a superstar,\u201d McNulty said Sunday. \u201cIt was more about having special moments to be part of races and be with Tadej winning monuments. I hope I made him proud.\u201d<\/p>\n Even with the stripes, McNulty will also remain behind Isaac del Toro<\/a> and Jo\u00e3o Almeida for grand tour leadership.<\/p>\n McNulty has yet to prove he can challenge for a grand tour podium, and his career best remains ninth overall in the 2025 Giro d\u2019Italia<\/a>, when he rode to support Del Toro\u2019s second place.<\/p>\n UAE still hasn\u2019t outlined how the title crown will impact his 2027 program, but Joxean Matxin Fernandez told Velo<\/em> that McNulty\u2019s remains invaluable among the team\u2019s crowded roster.<\/p>\n \u201cBrandon for me is a super, super rider and we believe a lot in him,\u201d Matxin Fernandez told Velo<\/em> during the Tour de France. \u201cHe is a super-class rider who combines the ability to climb and to time trial. For us he is both a super helper and a leader.\u201d<\/p>\n McNulty might be back to helper duties, but he\u2019s not a front-line rider who\u2019s taking pulls on the flats or fetching water bottles all day.<\/p>\n He\u2019s one of the peloton\u2019s top \u201csuper domestiques\u201d in the bunch, and UAE knows it. <\/p>\n McNulty joins the club of talented outsiders like Alessandro Ballan, Rui Costa, and Micha\u0142 Kwiatkowski, who beat more heavily favored rivals to win the world title.<\/p>\n McNulty\u2019s victory Sunday was his first win in 2026 because he had the legs, Team USA nailed its tactics<\/a>, and the riders behind him couldn\u2019t organize a chase strong enough to bring him back<\/a>.<\/p>\n He won\u2019t have to wait long to find out how racing in rainbow feels<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cTo start with the jersey will be special. Hopefully, I can show with decent legs,\u201d McNulty said of this weekend in Italy.<\/p>\n His Italian schedule opens Saturday at the Giro dell\u2019Emilia, followed by Coppa Agostoni, Tre Valli Varesine, Gran Piemonte, Il Lombardia, and Giro del Veneto, UAE officials confirmed to Velo<\/em>.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the specter of the \u201crainbow curse.\u201d<\/p>\n Every men\u2019s world champion since 2006 has won at least one race in the stripes \u2014 Poga\u010dar won 23 this season \u2014 so McNulty is hoping for some luck.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe next week in Il Lombardia or maybe a stage in the Tour de France next year in the jersey,\u201d he told Sporza<\/em> on Sunday. \u201cIf I could do that I would be satisfied with my career.\u201d<\/p>\n That jack-of-all-trades role has been central to McNulty\u2019s seven-year career at UAE.<\/p>\n He can empty the tank for Poga\u010dar, like he did with an epic pull at Milan-San Remo<\/a>, and then go for wins when the calendar opens up.<\/p>\n The stripes could strengthen his case for more opportunities, but UAE\u2019s 2027 calendars still need to be worked out at the winter camps.<\/p>\n How much more McNulty wants the leadership spotlight also depends on him.<\/p>\nWill the stripes change UAE\u2019s pecking order?<\/h2>\n
Racing in the stripes<\/h2>\n
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