News | Il Lombardia | Team • October 10, 2026
Brandon McNulty battles hard to fifth place in Il Lombardia
World champion picks up his best result in a Monument to date, with the American continuing to demonstrate the power of the rainbow jersey
Brandon McNulty rode to a career-best result in a Monument at Il Lombardia on Saturday afternoon, with the world champion sprinting to fifth place in Como.
The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider has been in fine form since winning the UCI World Road Race Championships in Montréal, and continued to impress in the rainbow jersey. Although the day’s podium proved out of reach, McNulty battled hard for almost six hours in the saddle to pick up his third top-10 result of the past week.
Ultimately, Paul Seixas of Decathlon CMA CGM dropped all of his rivals on the penultimate climb of the day, with his solo effort making him the youngest-ever winner of this historic race. Saturday’s instalment was the 120th edition of Il Lombardia, and UAE Team Emirates-XRG headed into the race as defending champions.
As such, the team rode a hard pace at the front of the peloton for much of the day, in the hopes of setting up McNulty and Isaac del Toro for success. Pavel Sivakov and Adam Yates were omnipresent at the front of the bunch as the toughest climbs reared their heads, ensuring that no contender had an easy go of things before the finale.
As it was, Seixas proved the strongest in the Race of the Falling Leaves, but McNulty can take plenty of confidence in the final week of racing, with the American hoping to take his first victory in the rainbow jersey.
McNulty: “It was nice, it was a super hard race as always at Il Lombardia. But the team rode strong and we survived in the final, then I did the best sprint I could. I am happy with fifth, it is actually my best Monument result ever so I am quite happy. It was pretty cool to get to wear the rainbow jersey with the white shorts, so I’m happy the legs responded to the new look.
“There are two more chances to get a victory in the rainbow jersey, so we’ll go all in with everything that I have left.”
Il Lombardia 2026 results:
1. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) 5:49:28
2. Enric Mas (Movistar) +48″
3. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) +1:05
5. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +1:20
