Brandon McNulty wins the Veneto Classic, his first victory as world champion
The American dropped Anthon Charmig on the gravel climb of Diesel Farm with about 10 km to go and rode alone to Bassano del Grappa on 18 October, in the last race of his season.
Brandon McNulty won the Veneto Classic in Italy on 18 October, riding alone into Bassano del Grappa for his first victory since he became world road race champion in Montréal on 27 September.
The American, who rides for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, dropped his last companion, Anthon Charmig (Uno-X Mobility), on the steep gravel climb of Diesel Farm with about 10 km to go. He finished in 3 hours 32 minutes 57 seconds, with Charmig second at 1 minute 6 seconds and McNulty’s teammate Pavel Sivakov third at 1:32, according to the results reported by Sportface.
The race, about 157 km from Cittadella, closed the season for UAE Team Emirates-XRG and was one of the last road races of 2026 in Europe.
Three weeks of trying
McNulty had raced several times in the rainbow jersey since his 33 km solo win in Montréal without taking a victory. He was fifth at Il Lombardia on 10 October, his team reported.
“It’s a really nice way to finish the season,” he said in a team statement. “I’ve been enjoying racing in the rainbow jersey these past few weeks, but of course I wanted to get that first win wearing it, so to do it in the last race of the year is pretty special.”
He also said his wife had been at the finish line.
How the race was won
The Veneto Classic, first held in 2021, finishes with circuits that include the cobbled climb of La Tisa and the gravel slopes of Diesel Farm.
After several breakaway attempts came to nothing, a group of about 20 favourites went clear with around 80 km to go. McNulty had three teammates with him: Filippo Baroncini, Benoît Cosnefroy and Sivakov. Marc Hirschi (Tudor Pro Cycling), Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana), Quinten Hermans (Pinarello-Q36.5) and Charmig were also there.
McNulty and Charmig got away together with about 40 km left. With UAE riders in the group behind, the pair’s lead grew towards a minute.
McNulty tried to drop the Dane on La Tisa without success, IDL Pro Cycling reported. On Diesel Farm he managed it. He was about 20 seconds clear with 6 km to go and, putting his time-trialling strength to use, as his team put it, extended his lead on the run to the finish under the Ponte degli Alpini.
“We had a really strong team today and everyone played their part,” McNulty said. “We had good numbers in the front group, which gave us options, and when I got away with Charmig I knew I had to try to make the difference on the final climbs.”
A farewell for Sivakov
Third place was Sivakov’s last race for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, according to the team, which said the win took its total for 2026 to 78 victories.
The team described a season “marked by crashes, injuries and periods without several key riders”.
