Phoenix's Brandon McNulty finishes 5th in time trial for cycling at 2024 Paris Olympics

In about the opposite setting he left Phoenix, Brandon McNulty rode through persistent rain, nearly 90% humidity and wet roads in the men’s individual time trial for road cycling Saturday at the 2024 Paris Olympics. McNulty, a Phoenix native who attended Glendale Deer Valley High, was fifth in the race.

On the 20.1-mile course, McNulty finished in 37:16.60.

McNulty finished sixth in the road race at the Tokyo Olympics.

In Paris, he was the highest-placing American in the event. McNulty improved significantly on his finish from the time trial at Tokyo, where he came in 24th.

Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel won the race in 36:12.16. McNulty's teammate, Magnus Sheffield, took a hard fall early on during the race. It wasn't shown when it happened on the broadcast, but Sheffield appeared with ripped shorts. The same thing happened to Sheffield in Tokyo.

Watching at his home in north Phoenix was Barney King, one of the first coaches who worked with McNulty when he was a teenager.

"The conditions weren't the best for sure, but the conditions are the conditions and they are the same for everybody, so everybody has to sort it out the best they can and do what they think is right," King said. "In this particular instance, it rained all day long. It rained for the women's race, the men's race. A lot of the women crashed and there were men who crashed.

"All those white strips across the road are very slick when they get wet. To finish fifth is good. I don't think there is much different that he could have done given that all circumstances were the same."

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He was in the mix with riders such as Evenepoel (world champion), Italy's Filippo Ganna (world champion) and Belgium's Wout van Aert (world champion).

"I have no question that Brandon belongs in the top echelon of those guys. A guy like Evenepoel — he's a special rider," King said. "I'm proud of him. I'm always proud of the effort he puts in. Effort is something you can control. Winning and losing, not so much.

"You sometimes get lucky and you win, other times you have great legs and you win and other times you do everything right and still don't win. The only thing you can count on is the effort."

McNulty got off to a solid start to begin the time trial. He was seventh at the first time check at 8.1 miles in 14:45.09, 13 seconds off the leader, Evenepoel. Through the first time check, McNulty averaged 33.1 miles per hour.

He then made a big surge in the next segment of the race. McNulty moved to fifth at the second time check at 13.6 miles in 25:30.05, closing the gap to the leaders. He averaged 32.1 miles per hour through the second time check.

That left the last stretch of the race, 6.5 miles, for McNulty to try to move up to medal position. And initially, he did.

McNulty came through the finish line in third at 37:16, and for a brief moment, he was on the virtual medal podium. But he was bumped down to fifth as the final riders came in. For the race, McNulty averaged 32.4 miles per hour.

Coming into the 2024 Paris Olympics, McNulty had the largest gap in between his last race day and the time trial at 69 days. The next closest competitors were Denmark’s Mattias Skjelmose, Czechia's Mathias Vacek and Hungary’s Attila Valter at 34 days.

McNulty still has one more opportunity to get a medal in Paris. He has one week to recover for the road race, the event he challenged for a gold medal in at Tokyo three years ago.

The road race is Saturday, Aug. 3 at 2 a.m. MST. Riders will compete over 169.4 miles for a chance at a medal. The route will cover iconic monuments and locations such as the Palace of Versailles, the Chevreuse Valley, the Bois de Vincennes, the Invalides and the Eiffel Tower.

In the road race, McNulty will be riding alongside fellow Team USA members Matteo Jorgensen (whom King also used to coach) and Sheffield. While the Olympic road race is different from professional cycling in the sense that riders don't have their usual teammates to work with, the three can still work with one another in Paris.

"Hopefully, he'll stay healthy. The biggest fear when guys that have been out racing in the rain is that they catch a bug," said King, formerly the national and regional director of junior development for USA Cycling. "Sometimes, a race prior to another race will give you better legs in the road race. I hope that Magnus is not hurt and he can be full gas. I hope Matteo can be effective after doing the Tour (de France).

"And then Brandon -- you have three very good bike racers on the American squad. With that in mind, all it takes is one of them to get in the right move, the right situation, or to be able let other guys waste all their energy, and they may be OK. I would give them pretty good odds at doing well."

Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe .

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix's Brandon McNulty finishes 5th in time trial for cycling at 2024 Paris Olympics