I first noticed Brandon McNulty back in 2016. He was just a first-year Junior, and both of us were competing in the Valley of the Sun Stage Race, which started out with a 14.5-mile out-and-back time trial across the pan-flat, Arizona desert. I competed in the Cat 2 race, and was allowed full aero equipment; Brandon, competing in the Juniors, was limited to Merckx-style equipment for the time trial. I had the full TT bike setup: aero bar extensions, disc wheel, and a front tri-spoke; Brandon had a road bike with spoked wheels and ‘invisible aero bars’ (i.e. ‘nothing’) – In a 30-minute time trial, he beat me by two and a half minutes. Not only that, but his time would have put him 10th in the Pro/1 field. He beat 85 riders in the Pro/1 field, on a freaking road bike.
This kid has something special.
A few months later I watched him climb onto the top step of the podium at the UCI Road World Championships – he had just won the Junior Time Trial. A year later he was on the podium again, this time taking 3rd in the U23 World Championships at just 19 years old – This guy is on another level.
Racing against him in the US is almost sad. Not for McNulty, but for everyone else. I remember the 2016 North Star Grand Prix as the perfect example. It was a 95-mile road race, and we had just begun the first of three finishing circuits. Each circuit was about 3 miles, twisting and rolling on a tight course through a Minnesota neighborhood. Seeing two laps to go, we flew through the start/finish line at 30 mph, sprinting up am 8% hill, trying to catch an early breakaway. That breakaway was strong – a well-represented group of at least 15 riders – and the field couldn’t close the gap. The next time we came around, I was deep in the pain cave, drooling on my stem in the middle of a longgg, single-file line of US pro riders. But when I looked up, I saw Brandon attacking out of the field. He was bridging across to the breakaway, solo. He was going 32 mph again, all by himself, on a road bike. Remember Valley of the Sun…. He caught the break in about 2 seconds (or maybe 30 – I was pretty delirious). Almost instantly, all the other riders in the breakaway sat up – no one wanted to pull Brandon to the finish line; they would all be sprinting for 2nd.
Brandon would go on to take 2nd Overall in that race (he won the opening TT, too), but only to his own teammate, Colin Joyce. But Brandon’s solo attack stuck out in my mind. I have seen some incredible performances, but rarely have I seen such special performances. Brandon is something special.
Less than a year later, my heart broke for him as I watched him get caught less than 50 meters from the finish line on Stage 4 of the Abu Dhabi Tour. Thousands of Americans were watching and rooting for him, and he was oh so close. But it wasn’t meant to be – his season didn’t end there, however; it was only getting started. Still only 20 years old, Brandon scored a number of Top 15, then Top 10, and then Top 5 results at UCI 1.1 and 2.1 races in Europe. He came back to the US to finish in the Top 10 at the US Pro Road Championships (in the road race and time trial), and 7th Overall at the Tour of California. All signs were pointing towards a strong end of the season for McNulty; and they still are.
He nearly won a stage at the Tour de l’Avenir (“Race of the Future” – or U23 Tour de France) and would have been in the Top 10 Overall but for a costly mechanical near the end of the stage race. As a pre-World’s tune-up, he finished in the front group of less than 30 riders in both UCI World Tour races in Canada contested by the best riders in the world – you just can’t stop him.
Living up to expectations is difficult, if not impossible, when you are touted as “the future of American cycling.” But 7th place in the World’s time trial was a disappointment for McNulty, who admitted that he just wasn’t fast enough.
I think the U23 Road Race is better suited to McNulty, however. The time trial was long, mostly flat, and super fast. Not that he’s a bad time-trialist (he’s not), but I think he’s an even better climber, especially against the U23 field. Many are picking Ivan Sosa (Columbia) to win, but I think McNulty and Eddie Dunbar (Ireland) are the men to watch. Dunbar recently signed with Team Sky, and already finished 8th at one of the world’s hardest road races, the UCI 1.1 Memorial Marco Pantani. Whatever happens, expect to see McNulty and Dunbar at the front of the U23 road race, attacking the climbs and whittling down the front group until there’s less than 20 riders left.
With Kate Courtney winning the Elite Women’s MTB World Championship, and Ashton Lambie setting a new World Record in the Individual Pursuit, it’s already been quite a year for American cycling. I think Brandon will continue that trend in this year’s U23 World Championships Road Race.