Newly crowned men's world champion Brandon McNulty has said that his rainbow jersey won't affect his approach to racing or his status at UAE Team Emirates-XRG as he prepares for his race debut in his new jersey this weekend.
The American is heading to Italy to take on a host of late-season Classics to end his 2026 campaign, with Saturday's Giro dell'Emilia marking his first race in the world champion's jersey.
He'll head up a strong UAE squad with Jhonatan Narváez, Tim Wellens, Adam Yates, Filippo Baroncini, Felix Großschartner, and Igor Arrieta at the race, which marks his first time at the Italian Classics since 2021.
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"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," McNulty said.
"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."
McNulty should wear the number one dossard as team leader this weekend, though realistically any one of him, Narváez, Wellens, and Yates could contend for the hilly race in Bologna, which features five ascents of the famous San Luca hill overlooking the city.
He and his teammates will hope to keep the title within his team, as Tadej Pogačar and Isaac del Toro have won the race in the past two seasons. Other top contenders at the race include Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5), Mikel Landa (Soudal-QuickStep), and Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost).
After the Giro dell'Emilia, McNulty will round out his season with three more Italian one-dayers: the Coppa Agostoni on Sunday before racing Tre Valli Varesine on Tuesday and Il Lombardia next Saturday.
"I'm really excited to make my debut in the rainbow jersey this Saturday," McNulty said.
"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."
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