After fourth Vuelta victory, British Tour de France start is Matthew Brennan's big goal - "It would be fantastic to take the yellow jersey on the opening day there"
CyclingTuesday, 08 September 2026 at 18:03
Matthew Brennan is in his Grand Tour debut, but has already won on four different occasions at the ongoing Vuelta a España. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider is the strongest sprinter in the race, and has declared his goal to race at next year's Tour de France.
Stage 16 presented another opportunity for the sprinters to perform, with a flat and non-technical finale into La Rábida. The almost pan-flat course could see the breakaway threaten the peloton, but the Dutch team kept the race under tight control.
Cofidis also assisted in the case, but at the end of the day, Visma ere racing against themselves in what was the first stage of the final week. In the final kilometer, the Dutch team had Wout Van Aert in place and ready to launch Matthew Brennan to victory.
As he had done on three occasions previously in this race, the Briton soared to a sprint win that looked unchallenged by his rivals.
“It is incredible. A stage win was the plan. With the team, we are now at six," the Briton said in a post-race interivew. "In the stages we had selected, we really committed fully to the plan. Today, too. Everyone saw the guys catching the wind.”
Matthew Brennan won stage 16 of the Vuelta a España
Perfect leadout from Wout Van Aert
Brennan has been able to benefit from the work of Wout Van Aert once again, who has also virtually secured the green jersey through a consistent race in which he's achieved a lot already.
“To finish it off like this, with Wout delivering me like that in such a chaotic finale, is truly perfect," Brennan admitted. "I trusted Wout completely. It is a shame that we lost Christophe, but even without him, we are capable of great things.”
Tour de France in Brennan's view
The Briton's sprinting ability was not doubted, whilst his climbing ability has also been on display throughout the past few weeks. But with this performance, Brennan proves that he is well within his limits as the race enters its third week.
Dominating the sprints at La Vuelta is perhaps a way of proving that he is ready to take part in bigger races. Starting in Great Britain, he declared his goal of taking part in the 2027 Tour de France at Team Visma | Lease a Bike.
“Two years ago, I heard about the start in Great Britain. Back then, I said to the team: it would be amazing to be at the start there, preferably with Wout and Christophe there," he revealed. "It would be fantastic to take the yellow jersey on the opening day there.”
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- Watching Wout lead out Brennan gives massive flashbacks to Van der Poel launching Philipsen to four stage wins back in 2023. Six wins (currently) for Visma this year is an incredible return, but for Brennan to do this on his Tour debut is on another level entirely. Genuinely unbelievable to watch, proper proud British moment.anonymouscyclist08-09-2026
- They are in cyberspace, belongs to no-one, yet.Jumpyjohn08-09-2026
- Psst, wrsty... and other Pogi haters: A Bob Dylan song: A remake PogiSloFans How many watts can one man push Before the Garmin starts to scream? How many climbs can Pogi crush Before the Tour becomes a dream? He rolls out smiling in the Alps, The rivals whisper, “Not today…” Then Pogi stands and hits the gas And suddenly he’s miles away. The answer, my friends Is blowin' in the wind The answer is blowin' in the wind. He attacks before the cameras blink, He attacks again for fun, He attacks because the road looks nice, Then attacks because he’s won. “Just follow him!” the team cars shout— A bold plan lasting half a mile. Then Pogi launches up the hill And waves goodbye with that famous smile. The answer, my friends Is blowin' in the wind The answer is blowin' in the wind. Everyone rides for second... While Pogi rides for glory.PogiSloFans08-09-2026
- He's 22, another young rider signed for 3 years. Again, where is the impending doom? They have won 5 stages at the Vuelta, 3 by Matthew Brennan, a 21 year old. Their superstar has 2 stages and the points jersey. They will exit the Vuelta with a jersey - as they did at the Giro. 2 out of 3 GTs with a jersey and stage winners in each is a great season, plus monuments, classics, and one week races. While some of the best riders were recovering during various times of the year. I just don't see this team collapsing as much as some seem to wish it was. And this will barely end up a "down year".mij08-09-2026
- Pogi is not racing he crashed out lol🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣paultryan200208-09-2026
- Even Britain did better at leaving than you. You just can’t resist can you. There’s a word for that. Actually, you can choose from a few.Jumpyjohn08-09-2026
- C’mon man, we got your point (even if not everyone agrees) but don’t make yourself look silly by insisting. According to the listing here (which no-one so far has called out for being wrong or incomplete, I’m not going to check), by my calculations we are at 11200CHF after 15 stages, 8 of them had zero, there is only doubt about stages 8 and 11 but it won’t make much difference. How on earth do you think they’ll get to 63k, there aren’t enough commissaires and hours to write fines for every rider?Jumpyjohn08-09-2026
- Sometimes I can still hear Mou's voice on the wind..wrsty08-09-2026
- If he never won another race he'd still be worth his weight in gold to the team as a fan favourite to trot out, so I'm sure they aren't worried about anythingwrsty08-09-2026
- Yes, I guess they will have done that. But Pog having to sign it less than a week after a severe concussion, with initial recovery interrupted by a lengthy operation, the timing seems wrong to me. But that's just my feeling/opinion.Hills3308-09-2026
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