Brandon McNulty won the 12.1 km time trial at the UAE Tour, beating teammates Jay Vine and Mikkel Bjerg to give UAE Team Emirates a 1-2-3 in their home race.
McNulty also took the overall race lead before the first mountain finish on Jebel Jais on Wednesday and is now a contender for overall victory when the UAE Tour is decided on the Jebel Hafeet climb on Sunday.
The American national time trial champion set a time of 13:27 for the 12.1 km course around Hudayriyat Island, at an average speed of close to 54 km/h. Vine was just two seconds slower at 13:29, with Mikkel Bjerg setting 13:31.
McNulty and Vine now have a significant lead on their overall rivals. However, a slight risk of crosswinds and daily time bonuses perhaps keep the race open.
UAE Team Emirates also have Adam Yates in their powerful squad. The Briton lost 28 seconds to McNulty but is perhaps the better climber in the peloton if the race explodes on the mountain finishes or if McNulty cracks.
Tobias Foss (Ineos Grenadiers) is now their closest rival. The former World time trial Champion lost 14 seconds to McNulty but is a good climber and suited to tomorrow's Jebel Jais finish. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) can also not be ruled out. He lost 19 seconds and was fourth overall last year.
“This is huge,” McNulty said, smiling under his growing moustache. “I had my first GC win a couple of weeks ago and now my first WorldTour time trial. It’s been a good month.
“Personally I was good. I wasn’t sure how I was feeling because the power wasn’t reading quite right but I had good speed for the whole TT. I have to be satisfied because I won.”
UAE Team Emirates looked at every possible detail of the time trial.
“The team has put so much into the time trial set-up, it’s really paid off for everyone,” McNulty said.
“We looked at the wind and it looked like it would pick up a little bit throughout the day, so we put our best three guys to start first. I guess it paid off.”
McNulty and UAE Team Emirate will now begin their defence of the race leader’s red jersey. Wednesday's third stage is in the north of the UAE, with the 176 km stage finishing atop Jebel Jais.
The climb is officially 21.6km long but on smooth and wide roads. The first part is at 4.4%, a long middle section is at 5.7%, while the final three kilometres are at 7.1%, suiting power climbers like McNulty.
Sunday’s final stage to Jebel Hafeet is steeper and likely to be decisive.
“It’s tough to say,” McNulty said modestly when asked if he can defend the race lead.
“We have a hard day tomorrow (Wednesday) and Jebel Hafeet is a tough climb. But we are in a good position. Adam Yates is also one of the best on this climb, so I think we have a good chance.”
How it unfolded
A strong 20 km/h breeze was blowing across Hudayriyat Island on Tuesday, adding extra difficulty to the high-speed, high-power race against the clock.
The 12.1 m time trial loop was on a bike track around the man-made island south of Abu Dhabi and so riders faced an early ride into the warm headwind before a fast, tailwind-assisted ride back to the finish on a more twisting route.
McNulty was one of the early riders to start, his stars and stripes jersey indicating he was the US national champion and a clear contender for victory. He lived up to expectations.
The 25-year-old from Phoenix was a junior world time trial champion in 2016 and has a superb time trial position. He went out hard into the head wind and reached the time split at 5.5km in 6:36. He used the tailwind to blast back to the finish and stopped the clock in 13:27. That put him in the hot seat, with the time for everyone else to beat.
Winner of the Critéium du Dauphiné ITT in 2022, McNulty's teammate Bjerg went close with a similarly skilled ride but the Dane was four seconds slower at 13:31.
Jay Vine was also fast, taking some risk along the edge of the road surface, to set a time of 13:29 and give UAE Team Emirates a 1-2-3.
Adam Yates was not chasing the stage victory but was hoping to limit any time losses to his GC rivals. He tried to emulate McNulty and Vine and also started early, but fought in his aero tuck to set a time of 13:55, 28 seconds down on McNulty.
Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) is an overall threat thanks to his climbing skills and excellent race tactics. He set a time of 13:46, to gain nine seconds on Yates and sit 18 seconds down on McNulty.
Britain’s Max Poole (dsm-firmenich PostNL) crashed in the stage 1 sprint but fought the pain of his road rash to finish 27 seconds down. Ben O’connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) can also not be ruled out. The Australian lost 22 seconds but can climb well and is on form having won the recent Vuelta Murcia with a solo attack.
Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal-Quick Step) could also be a threat. He was sixth in the time trial and is sixth overall at 17 seconds, also moving him into the young rider's white jersey.
Foss is fourth overall at 14 seconds on his debut with Ineos Grenadiers but it is now up to UAE Team Emirates to control the race and defend their dominant position in the GC with McNulty and Vine.
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