“Five stage wins is crazy... and we’re not even on Stage 21 yet!” - Matthew Brennan makes history as Visma reaches team-record seven wins at La Vuelta

Matthew Brennan admitted that five victories on his Grand Tour debut felt almost impossible to comprehend after winning Stage 17 of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana in Sevilla. His latest success also delivered Team Visma | Lease a Bike a seventh stage of the race, the highest total the team has achieved at a single Grand Tour.

The 21-year-old defeated Jordi Meeus and Magnus Cort after Uno-X Mobility had controlled the approach to the final kilometre. Alessandro Romele finished fourth, ahead of Steffen De Schuyteneer and Axel Laurance.

Brennan opened his sprint with approximately 300 metres remaining and once again defeated every rival in a direct finish. He had now won all five bunch or reduced sprints he had contested during the Vuelta.

“It’s fantastic to win here,” Brennan said afterwards. “We’re a long way into this race now and we knew we had another chance today. The team pulled full. We did everything in our power to make the best of this opportunity.”

Visma’s preparation included a detailed examination of the previous Vuelta finish in Sevilla. Van Aert had contested the same arrival in 2024 but launched too early and was beaten by Pavel Bittner.

Brennan and Van Aert revisited that sprint before Stage 17, identifying what the Belgian could have handled differently on the wide approach beside the Guadalquivir. “We discussed this morning the sprint in Seville in La Vuelta ’24 and what went wrong for Wout van Aert,” Brennan explained. “We didn’t want to repeat that today. We wanted to cross the line first, we did, and he was there by my side the whole way. It was fantastic to see and I’m very thankful for the support.”

Van Aert remained alongside Brennan into the finale and responded when Ivo Oliveira attacked with four kilometres remaining. Once the UAE Team Emirates – XRG rider had been caught, Uno-X sent its entire train forward for Cort.

The Norwegian team led beneath the flamme rouge, but Brennan waited until the final 300 metres before beginning his sprint. Meeus took second for Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, with Cort unable to convert his team’s numerical strength into victory.

Brennan’s win followed earlier successes in Manosque, Roquetes, Lorca and La Rabida. Combined with Van Aert’s victories on Stages 13 and 15, it took Visma beyond its previous Grand Tour best of six.

“Five stage wins is crazy. And we’re not even on Stage 21 yet!” Brennan said. “It’s incredible. I feel like I just do the easy part; the guys are working hard all day. I’m forever grateful for that.”

The latest victory followed another sustained collective effort. Steven Kruijswijk and Bruno Armirail spent long periods controlling Enzo Paleni and Sinuhe Fernandez, whose advantage briefly exceeded five minutes after the sprint teams hesitated over responsibility for the chase.

Paleni dropped Fernandez with 15 kilometres remaining and carried a lead of around one minute towards Sevilla. Armirail then accelerated the pursuit before Uno-X completed the catch with three kilometres to go.

Brennan converted that work into his fifth personal victory and Visma’s seventh, establishing a new team record with four stages of the Vuelta still remaining.