{"id":2170058,"date":"2026-09-28T14:17:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T11:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2170058"},"modified":"2026-09-28T14:17:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T11:17:17","slug":"did-isaac-del-toro-work-for-brandon-mcnulty-losing-rivals-call-out-uae-team-alliances-at-road-worlds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2170058","title":{"rendered":"Did Isaac Del Toro Work For Brandon McNulty? Losing Rivals Call out UAE Team ‘Alliances’ at Road Worlds"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2297380125.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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Updated September 28, 2026 08:39AM<\/div>\n
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Tom Pidcock and Michael Matthews were left questioning if Brandon McNulty\u2019s \u201cmiracle\u201d ride to victory at the Montr\u00e9al road worlds was such a marvel, after all.<\/p>\n

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Speaking at the finish Sunday, Pidcock and Matthews both implied the American benefited from a cross-border alliance with his UAE Emirates-XRG trade teammate, Isaac del Toro.<\/p>\n

The Mexican had been on the move all through the final two hours of the wild Montr\u00e9al road race.<\/p>\n

But when McNulty launched his audacious 32km raid for the rainbow jersey, Del Toro hesitated on the front of the group.<\/p>\n

It was a moment that shaped the world championships.<\/p>\n

The race then descended into a messy chase of half-committed riders spoiling their own, and their rivals\u2019, chances.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, McNulty was left free to pedal squares \u2013 he admitted he was so gassed that he \u201ccould only manage zone two\u201d \u2013 as he rode toward USA\u2019s first elite men\u2019s rainbow jersey in 33 years.<\/p>\n

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Pidcock questions Del Toro\u2019s commitment<\/h2>\n
Pidcock was one of the few to chase hard after McNulty\u2019s attack but couldn\u2019t make the difference as the chase group malfunctioned. (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pidcock was one of the few to go all-in on the pursuit in the final laps of Montr\u00e9al, but ultimately finished seventh.<\/p>\n

The Brit suggested after the race that McNulty didn\u2019t only have USA\u2019s Matteo Jorgenson and Quinn Simmons playing defense for him in the final loops around Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was hard to make the difference. To get the gap with the wind the way it was, with the USA team and with Matteo, he was super strong once Brandon attacked. And obviously Isaac is on the same team as well,\u201d Pidcock told Cycling Pro Net<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was always going to be difficult to make a difference there after six hours,\u201d Pidcock added.<\/p>\n

Accusations of underhand trade vs national team alliances always come up at road worlds.<\/p>\n

Tim Wellens even ruled himself out of riding for Belgium at Sunday\u2019s race out of fear he\u2019d either have to chase his UAE teammate Tadej Poga\u010dar, or get slated for shirking his duties.<\/p>\n

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\u26a0\ufe0fThe breakaway has been caught \u26a0\ufe0f<\/p>\n

Brandon McNulty \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 launches a big attack and no one follows! \ud83d\udd25#Montr\u00e9al2026 pic.twitter.com\/8AoKQMh4eS<\/p>\n

\u2014 UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 27, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Social media explodes with team vs. country debate<\/h2>\n

Pidcock dived headfirst into the<\/em> team vs. country debate of this year\u2019s race.<\/p>\n

He was adamant the USA gained a State on Sunday: Mexico.<\/p>\n

Del Toro and McNulty have raced together at the UAE super squad since 2024. They\u2019ve teamed up to support Poga\u010dar multiple times in recent years, including at the recent Tour de France.<\/p>\n

They even shared leadership for UAE at the Canadian GPs, just weeks before the Montr\u00e9al road worlds. They\u2019re bike-riding bros.<\/p>\n

\u201cDel Toro was obviously working for McNulty in the end there,\u201d Pidcock told Cyclingnews<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And Pidcock wasn\u2019t the only one questioning Del Toro\u2019s allegiances Sunday.<\/p>\n

Belgian TV commentators kicked off when Del Toro and McNulty were seen chatting at the back of their group in the kilometers before the Arizonan made his decisive move.<\/p>\n

Threads on X\/Twitter, Bluesky, and Reddit have been filled with speculation in the time since.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re not rabbit holes we dare dive into, but there\u2019s no question Del Toro had looked the strongest rider in the race up to the moment his legs left him when McNulty blasted up the road.<\/p>\n

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Spending 50km towing the chase group most likely burned out Del Toro\u2019s motor.<\/p>\n

Or, as some believe, the 22-year-old was metaphorically \u00a0\u201cbought out\u201d by Team USA.<\/p>\n

\u2018We would have caught McNulty if fewer teams raced across national borders\u2019<\/h2>\n
\"Matthews
Matthews sprinted to second after he felt the chase was stymied by some dubious alliances.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Matthews \u2013 who started the race as even more of a wildcard than McNulty \u2013 joined Pidcock in questioning what he saw in the chase group Sunday.<\/p>\n

The Aussie didn\u2019t directly call out Del Toro and McNulty, but the inference was there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a little bit of teamwork between certain riders,\u201d Matthews told Sporza<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were riding a little bit together,\u201d Matthews said Sunday. \u201cIf fewer teams had ridden together across national borders, then we would have caught him. It is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthews won the sprint for silver in Montr\u00e9al, 13 seconds back on McNulty. It marked a stunning comeback from months of injury and illness.<\/p>\n

The ageless veteran might have been wondering if he could have achieved more in his 14th start at road worlds.<\/p>\n

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Whether Del Toro\u2019s perceived reluctance to chase robbed him of a rainbow jersey is another matter.<\/p>\n

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Updated September 28, 2026 08:39AM<\/div>\n
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[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/del-toro-slated-for-helping-usas-mcnulty-at-worlds\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2297380125.jpg”] Updated September 28, 2026 08:39AM Tom Pidcock and Michael Matthews were left questioning if Brandon McNulty\u2019s \u201cmiracle\u201d ride to victory at the Montr\u00e9al road worlds was such a marvel, after all. Speaking at the finish Sunday, Pidcock and Matthews both implied the American benefited from a cross-border alliance with his UAE Emirates-XRG […]<\/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-2170058","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\/2170058","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=2170058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2170058\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2170058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2170058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2170058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}