{"id":1871556,"date":"2026-04-07T06:42:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T03:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1871556"},"modified":"2026-04-07T06:42:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T03:42:02","slug":"top-american-tour-de-france-prospect-stays-in-pogacar-orbit-rather-than-go-solo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1871556","title":{"rendered":"Top American Tour de France Prospect Stays in Poga\u010dar Orbit Rather Than Go Solo"},"content":{"rendered":"
Brandon McNulty is committing his long-term future with UAE Emirates-XRG and has extended his contract through 2030 in a move that keeps him alongside world No. 1 Tadej Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n
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The 28-year-old \u2014 widely regarded as one of American cycling\u2019s top general classification prospects \u2014 has opted to remain in a support role rather than pursue what might have been leadership opportunities on a rival team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a nice prospect to continue racing with UAE Emirates-XRG for the foreseeable future,\u201d McNulty said Tuesday. \u201cI\u2019ve been with the team for several years now, and it\u2019s a place where I\u2019ve been able to grow a lot as a rider and as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n
A rider like McNulty has the results where he could be the outright leader on another team, but then he would be racing against Poga\u010dar and the Emirati super team rather than with them.<\/p>\n
In an era when American GC depth remains thin, McNulty\u2019s decision to stay put doesn\u2019t mean he won\u2019t see chances to lead across the racing calendar.<\/p>\n
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The Arizonan clearly saw no good reason to leave.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve achieved some great things together, and I feel like I have the right balance here, I feel at home,\u201d he said Tuesday. \u201cSigning through 2030 gives me a lot of confidence and motivation to keep working hard and reaching goals with this team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finding his space<\/h2>\nMcNulty celebrates Milan-San Remo with Poga\u010dar. <\/span> (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
McNulty joined the squad in 2020 and has since evolved into a key rider across stage races and grand tours.<\/p>\n
Even with Poga\u010dar at the center of the team\u2019s ambition, McNulty still sees plenty of chances to lead. This week, for example, he is co-leader at Itzulia Basque Country in Spain.<\/p>\n
A powerful time trialist who can climb with the best, he\u2019s won 22 pro races, including stage wins at both the Giro d\u2019Italia and Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, as well as a breakthrough one-day victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montr\u00e9al in 2025.<\/p>\n
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Last year, he hit a career-best ninth at the Giro while riding to help Isaac del Toro.<\/p>\n
His engine and consistency have made him a key lieutenant in UAE\u2019s stage-race stranglehold, particularly in the service of Poga\u010dar\u2019s grand tour ambitions.<\/p>\n
At Milan-San Remo, he took a huge pull to put Poga\u010dar into a perfect spot to launch the race-winning attack on the Cipressa.<\/p>\n
For 2026, McNulty is on the long list to return to the Tour de France this summer to help Poga\u010dar chase a record-tying fifth yellow jersey.<\/p>\n
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Waiting for America\u2019s next Tour winner<\/h2>\nMcNulty and Poga\u010dar underlined their growing trust when they went 1-2 in Montr\u00e9al. (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
It\u2019s not known if McNulty entertained offers from other teams, but why go anywhere else?<\/p>\n
That certainly crossed his mind during negotiations. At UAE, he still has a quality calendar with the world-class support on the peloton\u2019s richest team.<\/p>\n
Racing alongside superstar Poga\u010dar adds another layer of experiences both on and off the bike.<\/p>\n
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McNulty already boasts six GC titles in one-week stage races or shorter, and at UAE, he will see chances to keep developing his GC upside. UAE brass do a good job at spreading the wealth among its superstar roster.<\/p>\n
The contract extension comes as American cycling is still looking for its next big GC rider.<\/p>\n
Sepp Kuss is the last U.S. male to win a grand tour with the 2023 Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a as part of Visma\u2019s sweep of all three grand tours. The Coloradan climber has since reverted to his preferred role as a climbing domesqitue and stage hunter.<\/p>\n
Matteo Jorgenson also has untapped GC potential and is seeing a return to the Tour de France this summer in a key role to help Jonas Vingegaard take on Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n
Second at the 2024 Dauphine and a top-10 at the Tour that summer, the Idahoan won back-to-back Paris-Nice titles and was second at Tirreno-Adriatico in March. This month, he takes on the Ardennes classics and will face off against Poga\u010dar at the Tour de Suisse.<\/p>\n
Will this UAE deal help or stall McNulty\u2019s GC upside? We\u2019ll find out.<\/p>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/mcuty2026.jpg”] Andrew Hood Updated April 7, 2026 06:51AM Brandon McNulty is committing his long-term future with UAE Emirates-XRG and has extended his contract through 2030 in a move that keeps him alongside world No. 1 Tadej Poga\u010dar. The 28-year-old \u2014 widely regarded as one of American cycling\u2019s top general classification prospects \u2014 has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-1871556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1871556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1871556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1871556\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1871556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1871556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1871556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"McNulty](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2267699288-720x480.jpg?width=1920&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")
![\"McNulty](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2234897097-720x506.jpg?width=1920&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")