McNulty Wins the Veneto Classic in the Rainbow Jersey

Brandon McNulty of the United States won the 2026 Veneto Classic on Sunday, October 18, riding alone to the finish in Bassano del Grappa after a late attack on the Diesel Farm gravel climb. It was his first victory while wearing the world champion's rainbow jersey, which he earned by winning the world road race title in September. The course The race covered 157.6 kilometers from Cittadella to Bassano del Grappa on a route full of short, sharp climbs. Riders raced four times over the cobbled ascents of La Tisa on a 12 kilometer circuit, then faced more climbing in the final 15 kilometers. The finish came after Diesel Farm, a gravel climb 1.2 kilometers long at an average gradient of 10.2 percent.

The race

With about 80 kilometers to go the peloton split apart, leaving a front group of 21 riders. Denmark's Anthon Charmig of Uno-X Mobility attacked several times and got clear with about 40 kilometers remaining. McNulty joined him, and the two built a lead of 52 seconds on the penultimate ascent of La Tisa. Behind them, Pavel Sivakov, Clément Berthet and Quinten Hermans chased and cut the gap to 1:20 with about 18 kilometers left.

The decisive move came with about 10 kilometers to go. McNulty stood on the pedals on Diesel Farm, dropped Charmig, and rode the rest of the way alone. He crossed the line in 3:32:57. Charmig finished second, 1:06 behind, and Sivakov took third at 1:32, which gave McNulty's UAE Team Emirates-XRG team two riders on the podium.

Since his world title, McNulty had been second at Coppa Agostini and fifth at Il Lombardia before taking this win.

Top 10: 2026 Veneto Classic