Brandon McNulty set to make debut in rainbow jersey for UAE Team Emirates-XRG

UAE Team Emirates-XRG is delighted to confirm that Brandon McNulty will make his debut as the reigning world champion in Italy. There, the American will proudly display his new rainbow jersey for the first time at the Giro dell’Emilia on Saturday, 3 October.

Over the coming week, McNulty will line up for UAE Team Emirates-XRG at the Giro dell’Emilia, Coppa Agostoni, and Tre Valli Varesine.

It is the first time that the 28-year-old will ride the late-season Italian Classics since 2021, his second year as a WorldTour professional with the Emirati squad. Five years on, McNulty will return sporting the rainbow jersey as the newly crowned UCI World Road Race Champion.

The American won the honour in last Sunday’s race in Montréal, Canada.

In what has widely been described as one of the most thrilling World Championships of the 21st century, McNulty took a flyer more than 30km out from the finish and rode alone to the line in Mount Royal. Holding off an elite group of chasers, the American rider brought home his country’s first title in the men’s race for more than three decades.

The crowning moment of McNulty’s career sees the 28-year-old succeed his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Tadej Pogačar in the rainbow jersey. At the Giro dell’Emilia, he will have his first opportunity to pin a number on the hallowed prize.

The world champion is raring to go.

McNulty: “I’m really excited to make my debut in the rainbow jersey this Saturday. The win in Montreal has definitely been something massive for me and I am still coming to terms with it a bit and letting it sink in.

“I still have a lot of racing left this season and I’m excited for it. We have a strong group for these races, and we’ll be aggressive as always.

“While I’m honoured to wear the rainbow jersey, it doesn’t change my approach. We’ll continue to race as we always do. Whether that’s attacking or helping my teammates – I know my role pretty well, and we have a great understanding of what works, so we’ll keep it that way.”

Over the coming week, UAE Team Emirates-XRG will line up at the Giro dell’Emilia, Coppa Agostoni, Coppa Bernocchi, and Tre Valli Varesine.

The Giro dell’Emilia is up first, on Saturday 3 October, and McNulty will be joined on the start line by his teammates Igor Arrieta, Filippo Baroncini, Felix Großschartner, Jhonatan Narváez, Tim Wellens, and Adam Yates.

The Sports Directors for UAE Team Emirates-XRG will be compatriots Fabio Baldato and Marco Marzano, who will each bring their years of experience to their national roads.

For the Emirati squad, the Giro dell’Emilia holds fond memories, with the team winning the past two editions through Isaac del Toro (2025) and Pogačar, respectively. Indeed, there has only been one edition in the past six that UAE Team Emirates-XRG has not placed a rider on the final podium.

A new start in Ferrara awaits the peloton on Saturday, before the traditional finish on the San Luca climb in Bologna. Before this picturesque and often grandstand finish, the riders will tackle a new 1.5km-long climb at Pianoro, with an average gradient of 11%, before tackling the San Luca ascent on five occasions.

It will be at the end of this fifth and final ascent that this year’s winner is crowned, having mastered the eye-watering slopes that linger between 15% and 20%.

There is a race every day during this next block for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with the Coppa Agostoni following the Giro dell’Emilia on Sunday, 4 October. There, the Emirati squad has in fact won the last three editions, through Adam Yates (2025), Marc Hirschi (2024) and Davide Formolo (2023).

Yates will return as the defending champion and be joined on the start line in Lissone by teammates Igor Arrieta, Benoît Cosnefroy, Luca Giaimi, Felix Großschartner, Brandon McNulty, and Jhonatan Narváez.

Last year, Yates won the race with an imperious 17.5km-long solo effort, and the British climber showed good form in the recent Canadian one-day races. There will certainly be enough climbing for the 34-year-old and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG to make the racing hard on Sunday afternoon.

Starting out from Lissone, the Coppa Agostoni will feature more than 3,000m of climbing, the vast majority of which is contained in the 28km Lissolo circuit. The peloton will ride this circuit for four laps, and each lap contains three climbs: Sirtori (1.5km at 4.9%), Colle Brianza (3.8km at 6%), and Lissolo (5.4km at 4.3%).

With this succession of climbs in the legs, the riders will leave the circuit some 35km before the finish. From here to the line in Lissone is mostly flat terrain, where tension and drama will prevail as various groups look to move themselves into a winning position.

On Monday, 5 October, it will be the 107th edition of the Coppa Bernocchi. Last season’s race was the only edition in UAE Team Emirates-XRG history in which the Emirati squad did not place a rider inside the top 10, so no doubt the team will be out to set things right this time out.

Fabio Baldato and Marco Marzano will continue to give directions from the Sports Directors’ team car, whilst the seven-man squad will contain Igor Arrieta, Filippo Baroncini, Luca Giaimi, Jhonatan Narváez, Tim Wellens, Adam Yates and Gen Z talent Ugo Fabries.

Raced to and from Legnano, the Coppa Bernocchi is a somewhat easier route with a little under 2,000 of climbing spread across 178.3km.

A flat first 35km of racing will bring the peloton onto the Valle Olona circuit, which will be raced seven times before a flat final 25km that takes the bunch into Legnano for the finish.

Each lap of the circuit will feature the climbs of San Pancrazio, Piccolo Stelvio and Caramamma, and it will have to be on these laps that the climbers of the peloton make the difference. The approach into Legnano is straightforward and pan-flat.

To continue the Italian campaign, Tre Valli Varesine will run its 105th edition on Tuesday, 6 October. Last year’s race was memorable for a sparkling Tadej Pogačar victory, with the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider making good on his promise to return to the race after a curtailed 2024 instalment.

That was Pogačar’s second title at Tre Valli Varesine, but it will be up to his teammates to defend his crown this season. Brandon McNulty will be in attendance as the freshly crowned world champion, with the American joined by Filippo Baroncini, Benoît Cosnefroy, Luca Giaimi, Jhonatan Narváez, Pavel Sivakov and Tim Wellens.

Starting out in Busto Arsizio, Tre Valli Varesine charts a course of 198.3km to Varese, and once more it is a city circuit that will come to define the day.

Tre Valli Varesine is a far hillier affair than Coppa Bernocchi, with a little under 3,000m of climbing to be tackled by the peloton. Included on the route is the traditional Ronchi climb, alongside tough tests such as Cinque Piante, Luvinate and Casciago.

The race will come to a close after six laps of a circuit, with the winner to be crowned on the Via Sacco in the centre of Varese.