Teams & Riders Brandon McNulty is the Next Great American Hope Thread

[Bolder]

Of course he's got more upside than Kuss.
At McNulty's age Kuss biggest result was winning a stage in the Tour de Beauce. He didn't ride a convincing GT until he was 25.

And McNulty is a much more complete rider anyway: he's a great TTer, can climb, he's a great descender/bike handler (as proven in last year's Giro di Sicilia) and packs a decent sprint. Kuss is as monodimensional as they come.

Agree. McNulty seems to have all the tools.

By the same token Kuss ought to work on his TT. He's the rare American for whom it's not a strength. To be fair I'm not sure how many tts he's done with a race on the line, either so he might be pretty good.

 

[repre]

He is looking like new Bob Jungels with a potential to be Dumoulin.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

He is looking like new Bob Jungels with a potential to be Dumoulin.

Or the new Tejay Van Garderen. Good climber, good time trialer, one day to lose half an hour.

 

[SafeBet]

At 22, none of those guys was remotely as good in GTs as McNulty has been in this Giro.

Which is obviously not necessarily predictive of future success.

 

[repre]

Or the new Tejay Van Garderen. Good climber, good time trialer, one day to lose half an hour.

That's his floor probably...

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

At 22, none of those guys was remotely as good in GTs as McNulty has been in this Giro.

Which is obviously not necessarily predictive of future success.

Not at 22, but Van Garderen was still 23 when he finished 5th at the TDF. That might be better than McNulty will ever achieve.

 

[Juan Pelota]

Wow did he *** the bed today. When did he even get dropped, I missed it.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

im not surprised tbh

 

[tobydawq]

You know it's quite an extreme day when a in the top 15 of the GC can drop half an hour, yet only lose one placing.

 

[fbjim]

Weather looks bad tomorrow so you'll all look silly when he gets 25 minutes L'Aquila 2010 style and crushes everyone by 5 in the last TT.

 

[woodburn]

Not at 22, but Van Garderen was still 23 when he finished 5th at the TDF. That might be better than McNulty will ever achieve.

That also was one of the worst Tours in recent history with 100km of TT and non-selective mountain stages. Contador and Schleck not there either.

 

[Potomac]

Strong time trial today at PN, now let's see if he can follow that up when things get vertical. Tomorrow is a hilly stage.

 

[Publiuszam]

Hard luck. It was going good for him too..white jersey on and everything.

 

[Potomac]

The pattern seems to be he can stay with the best GC contenders in the hills and mountains before a time trial. Then he delivers a strong time trial and works his way into podium or near podium position. But then falls back to earth with climbing after the TT stage. I guess he just goes too deep with the TT?

 

[Pinot's goat]

The pattern seems to be he can stay with the best GC contenders in the hills and mountains before a time trial. Then he delivers a strong time trial and works his way into podium or near podium position. But then falls back to earth with climbing after the TT stage. I guess he just goes too deep with the TT?

I think you are over complicating it, Mcnulty can't keep up on proper mountain stages regardless of when the TT is.

 

[Offline]

I think you are over complicating it, Mcnulty can't keep up on proper mountain stages regardless of when the TT is.

Same. I see him more as an domestique for Pogacar. And maybe he can win a few TT.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

The pattern seems to be he can stay with the best GC contenders in the hills and mountains before a time trial. Then he delivers a strong time trial and works his way into podium or near podium position. But then falls back to earth with climbing after the TT stage. I guess he just goes too deep with the TT?

The pattern is that he simply isn't up to it yet. Maybe he can improve, maybe he can't. He's still young, if he is a late bloomer he could get on a GT podium one day, but for the moment, i'm not seeing it.

 

[Publiuszam]

Or maybe a poor man's Tjv. Oh the humanity!

 

[JosefK]

Well, he's still young and has shown some promise and occasionally very good results. Some riders peak early while some continue to improve into their late 20s and stay at their best for several years thereafter. I have no idea where McNulty fits (or will fit) on that slope of progression, but if he continues to improve (as he should, at his age) then he could be very good.

 

[hayneplane]

He is basically a lesser version of Levi Leipheimer.

 

[SafeBet]

He is basically a lesser version of Levi Leipheimer.

That seems a bit harsh. Leipheimer wasn't even riding against pros at McNulty's current age.
Our perspective on young riders has been completely skewed by the results of Pogacar, Bernal and Evenepoel. Some riders hit their prime later after a steady development. I'm not sure it will be McNulty's case but it's a bit early to make a definitive assessment.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

In the Giro last year, McNulty looked to have a good sprint for a GC rider. i.e. he's not Leipheimer

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

That seems a bit harsh. Leipheimer wasn't even riding against pros at McNulty's current age.
Our perspective on young riders has been completely skewed by the results of Pogacar, Bernal and Evenepoel. Some riders hit their prime later after a steady development. I'm not sure it will be McNulty's case but it's a bit early to make a definitive assessment.

Indeed. However, it's not just those three. He also gets outdone by other riders his age, like Almeida, Vanhoucke, and more are on the way.

I wouldn't write him off, but he's definitely facing an uphill battle.

 

[will-10]

I know plenty of you will say "but what about Remco, Bernal, Pogacar" etc, but this forum is definitely getting a bit obsesed with judging rider's careers based on how good they are before they're 25. Yes, there's been plenty of riders winning stuff really young lately. There's also plenty of riders who don't land a big one for years and years.

McNulty, first year in the WorldTour, has a good Giro where he shows flashes of top class mixed in with off-days - this is totally normal. The fact that Pogacar is redefining what's normal doesn't mean this guy won't win a GT at 29. Thankfully, everyone develops at different rates.

 

[hayneplane]

That seems a bit harsh. Leipheimer wasn't even riding against pros at McNulty's current age.
Our perspective on young riders has been completely skewed by the results of Pogacar, Bernal and Evenepoel. Some riders hit their prime later after a steady development. I'm not sure it will be McNulty's case but it's a bit early to make a definitive assessment.

I am not suggesting his longer climb endurance will not improve and make him a contender. my take is that at this stage of his career he is a TT oriented rider who gets up there in GC but slips back when it gets really mountainous. As another poster rightly highlighted he is a far punchier rider than Leipheimer ever was.

He has some hilly classics potential based on his skillset.