With Pogačar sidelined, UAE teammate Brandon McNulty has a genuine shot at the World Championships for Team USA

Brandon McNulty finished third at the GP Montréal last Sunday, on the exact roads where the World Championship road race will be decided on September 27. The result, against a field packed with rainbow jersey contenders, confirmed what many had already suspected: Pogačar's most reliable UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate is more than capable of rising for himself.

For most of his career at UAE Team Emirates-XRG, McNulty has served as one of Tadej Pogačar's most trusted domestiques. At last year's GP Montréal, the dynamic played out for all to see. The pair broke away together with two laps to go, and Pogačar let McNulty cross the line first. "He waited for me, and he was kind enough to give me the win," McNulty said afterward through the team's official channels.

That loyalty has long defined McNulty's role. As recently as March, after helping orchestrate Pogačar's Milan-Sanremo victory, McNulty summed up his position. "It's always an honour to ride for Tadej," he said, as reported by CyclingUpToDate.

But everything changed in August. Pogačar crashed out of the Vuelta a España and will miss the rest of the 2026 season, meaning he cannot defend his rainbow jersey in Montréal. For the first time in years, McNulty heads into a major championship without his leader casting a shadow over the race. The 28-year-old from Phoenix, Arizona, is no longer just a support rider.

The GP Montréal carried far more weight than usual this year The World Championship road race uses the same city circuit, with the defining feature being a 1.6-kilometre climb called the Voie Camillien-Houde that snakes up through Mount Royal Park.

McNulty's UAE teammate Isaac del Toro won Sunday's race after escaping with France's Paul Seixas on the final ascent, as reported by PezCyclingNews. McNulty, the defending champion, completed the podium 27 seconds later, according to ProCyclingUK. Quinn Simmons was fourth, Remco Evenepoel fifth and Tom Pidcock sixth.

In an analysis published this week, Cycling Weekly argued that McNulty should be considered a genuine favourite, not merely a dark horse, writing that "Team USA has its best chance of winning in decades." It is a bold claim, but the evidence from Montréal is difficult to dismiss.

McNulty will not be alone when he swaps his UAE jersey for American stars and stripes. When the roster was announced, USA Cycling has assembled a strong eight-man squad. Three-time national champion Quinn Simmons headlines the team, alongside Matteo Jorgenson, Neilson Powless and Sean Quinn.

The tactical advantage could prove significant. At GP Montréal, UAE's team structure allowed del Toro to sit in while Adam Yates covered early moves and McNulty bridged to the front. That infrastructure dissolves at the World Championships, where del Toro races for Mexico and Yates for Great Britain.

But Team USA can replicate the approach with Simmons and Jorgenson covering attacks and setting up the finale. The last American man to win the elite road race was Lance Armstrong in 1993.

The men's road race takes place on September 27. McNulty, the man who has spent years helping Pogačar become Pogačar, will line up knowing the course suits him, the form is there, and for once, the race is his own.