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#McNultyMagic #RainbowJerseyWin #VenetoClassic2026 #WorldChampionVictory #UAEEmiratesXRG #SoloVictory #ChaseTheJersey #PogacarPower #CyclingSeasonFinale #RainbowRoad
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Brandon McNulty claimed his first victory wearing the rainbow jersey at the 2026 Veneto Classic, a mixed‑surface, hilly‑gravel race in Italy. The newly crowned world champion (who had taken the title in Montréal the previous month) attacked decisively in the final 10 km after breaking clear of the peloton alongside Anton Charmig (Uno‑X Mobility) in the last 30 km. McNulty unleashed a powerful surge on the day’s toughest climb, dropping Charmig and soloing to the finish more than a minute ahead.
Crossing the line in his all‑white rainbow skinsuit, McNulty was greeted by his wife, Summer, and expressed relief at finally securing a win in the champion’s jersey before the season’s end. “I really wanted to win one race before the end of the year in it,” he said, noting that the Veneto Classic’s final day was his last opportunity. He attributed the success to executing a maximal effort on the hardest climb, a plan that “worked perfectly.”
McNulty’s late‑season form had already been strong: top‑10 finishes at Giro dell’Emilia, Coppa Agostoni, and Il Lombardia, and a prominent role in the “Race of the Falling Leaves” where he supported teammate Isaac de Toro. Acknowledging that the rainbow jersey makes him a marked target, he praised his UAE Emirates‑XRG teammates for their support, saying the squad “was super strong and did everything.”
The win dispelled any notion of a “curse of the rainbow jersey” and gave McNulty a morale boost ahead of a short break. He, de Toro, and superstar teammate Tadej Pogačar will reconvene in Abu Dhabi the following week to begin planning for the 2027 season, after a period of team camps and some time off.
In the Veneto Classic results, McNulty finished first, Charmig second, and the rest of the field trailed behind, underscoring the American’s dominant performance in his maiden race as world champion.
