ITALY — World champion Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) scored his first victory in the rainbow bands on Sunday, winning solo at the Veneto Classic over 157.6km in 3:32:57. The American delivered a dominant time-trial effort to cap the final race of the European road season with his first win since claiming the men's road race world title in September.
McNulty put in a major acceleration with 10km remaining and escaped to the front on a single-handed charge that proved decisive. His former breakaway partner Anthon Charmig (Uno-X Mobility) pursued but could not close the gap, finishing second at 1:06, while McNulty's teammate Pavel Sivakov emerged from a small group of chasers to complete the podium at 1:32.
Clément Berthet (Groupama-FDJ United) finished fourth at 1:53 and Marc Hirschi (Tudor Pro Cycling) was fifth at 2:02, as the late solo move settled the 157.6km contest. Charmig was left to chase the world champion's sustained effort all the way to the line.
Since winning the rainbow jersey in September, McNulty has raced a packed October programme of Italian one-day races, finishing second at Coppa Agostini and fifth at Il Lombardia before punctuating his season with victory in Veneto.