As has been pointed out before, professional cycling is a relentless exercise. Brandon McNulty's tire slipped on the descent of Puerto de Lemeras on stage 13 of the Vuelta a España, sending him sliding under a guardrail and deep into the bushes.

McNulty stopped sliding and immediately scrambled up a grass bank, scrambled over a guardrail, and immediately looked for his bike; before UAE Team Emirates sport director Manuele Mori could identify the rider, McNulty was on the move again and back in the race.

“I was scared to go under the guardrail, but I knew right away that I was okay.

“But to be honest, I've been hurt worse in crashes at roundabouts or something, so I was pretty lucky.”

Despite a cut arm and a bloody face, McNulty's physical injuries were relatively minor, at least by the standards of such accidents. Often overlooked, however, is the psychological aspect of such accidents. McNulty, who was leading the race down that descent, was in perfect harmony with his machine. Later, rider and machine endured a more deliberate relationship as they tackled one rain-soaked, fog-covered descent after another in Asturias.

“That was the hardest part,” said the rider. 'I was used to leaning over and being one with the bike, but the next day it was like something else. It was hard to regain my confidence, but I'm slowly getting it back.”

On stage 18 in the Basque Country, McNulty felt pain in his right Achilles tendon and had to abandon the stage. The effects of his crash in Rumelas may have shown up late, but he hoped the symptoms would improve for the Vuelta's closing race in Madrid on Sunday.

“I started having problems with my Achilles tendon while braking,” he said. 'I was in a lot of pain, so it was best to stop and take it easy. I fixed some things on Thursday night, so hopefully I'll be in better shape for the time trial.”

With so many time trials in this year's Vuelta, McNulty is likely to achieve the rare feat of winning both the first and final stages of the same grand tour. He took the race's first red jersey in Oulem on the first night of the Vuelta and is among the favorites to win Sunday evening's 24.6-km flat test in Madrid.

“My legs are good, and as long as my Achilles tendon is okay, I should be able to ride well,” McNulty said.

“It's the nine-tenths rule that if you want to win a time trial on the final weekend of a Grand Tour, you have to have some energy left.

“I didn't see it in person, but I saw enough to look at the Vélobiewer. It's stage 21, so it's also about what's left.”

McNulty's 2024 season will conclude with the CRO race in early October. Before that, he will compete in the World Championships in Zurich, where he will take part in time trials, mixed relays, and road races.

The September 22 time trial is, of course, McNulty's main goal in Switzerland; at the under-23 junior level, he has won time trial medals at four world championships, including the rainbow jersey in Doha in 2016. As an elite rider, he was one step short of a podium finish at the world championships, finishing fourth at last year's Glasgow World Championships and fifth at the recent Paris Olympics.

At 46 km, the Zurich course is 15 km longer than the Paris Olympics time trial. However, the run he showed at the same distance circuit in Glasgow a year ago gave him a lot of confidence.

“I wasn't sure how I would do on the longer course, but in Glasgow it was almost an hour and I think I was actually better. 'I think with the legs it's going to be a good course. But two weeks after the Grand Tour is tough.”

For example, McNulty, who competed in the Tour de France just before the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, finished a tiring 24th in the time trial, but the three weeks of racing seemed good preparation for the road where he finished sixth.

“For me, it's completely random,” he said. 'The 2021 Olympic road race was the week after the Tour. Some riders, like Lemko [Evenpole], have done well in the TT after riding the Tour this year, but he's obviously a different rider than I am. For me, it's a roll of the dice.”

“After the Vuelta, I have three or four days to recover, then I get back into shape. I'm a little bit concerned about who's going to the Worlds and who's not, but in the end it's up to me, it doesn't matter who's going to the Worlds.”

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