“I think it’s the best day of my cycling life” – Marco Brenner overcomes sickness and crash to deny Santiago Buitrago for maiden Vuelta win
Cycling
Marco Brenner described his victory on Sierra de la Pandera as the best day of his cycling life after overcoming illness and a crash to claim his maiden Grand Tour stage win.
The Tudor Pro Cycling Team rider defeated Santiago Buitrago by one second at the end of Stage 14 of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana, recovering after twice appearing to lose contact with the Colombian before producing the stronger finish.
“I think it’s the best day of my cycling life, but I cannot really believe it yet,” Brenner said after the finish. “I was not feeling like myself, and I was struggling with some sickness early in the race and I had a crash.”
Brenner had entered the day without having shown the level he expected of himself during the opening two weeks. La Pandera transformed that difficult Vuelta into the biggest result of his professional career.
Tudor strength inside 44-man break
Brenner joined the 44-rider breakaway alongside Tudor teammates Will Barta and Larry Warbasse. Their presence gave the German support during a relentless stage containing more than 4,000 metres of climbing. “But I really wanted to show myself, but also my teammates who have been working really hard for me the whole time, that I can be up there,” he explained. “Also today I had 2 guys with me in the breakaway that did a super job.”
Kevin Vermaerke spent much of the final 50 kilometres alone before being caught as the road steepened. The large escape then fractured into smaller groups, with Brenner and Filippo Zana bridging across during the opening half of the climb to Sierra de la Pandera.
Mario Aparicio attacked from the front group with five kilometres remaining and built a lead of approximately 40 seconds. Brenner, Buitrago and Cristian Rodriguez emerged as his closest pursuers, while Valentin Paret-Peintre and Ivan Ramiro Sosa also remained in contention.
As several earlier favourites began to fade, Brenner felt his condition improving. “On the final climb I could actually feel that I have the kick today,” he said. “I felt better and better throughout the day. And then in the end I started believing in it.”
Brenner refuses to surrender to Buitrago
Buitrago caught Aparicio on a ramp touching 16 per cent and immediately attempted to ride Brenner off his wheel. The Colombian opened a gap, but Brenner limited the damage and returned with approximately two kilometres remaining.
Rodriguez and Sosa also regained contact, creating a four-rider contest before the final kilometre. Buitrago accelerated again beneath the flamme rouge and briefly appeared to have secured the separation he needed.
Brenner was the only rider capable of closing him down. “I made the move and Santiago passed me, but I could catch up,” he explained. “And then in the end, I could beat him on the sprint.”
Read also
Once the gradient eased towards the summit, Brenner launched past Buitrago to claim the stage. Rodriguez completed the podium at 11 seconds, followed by Sosa and Paret-Peintre. “You live for days like today, I guess,” Brenner added. “There’s not many cyclists who achieve a stage win in a Grand Tour, and to add this to my palmares is really amazing.”
The victory added a first Vuelta a Espana stage and a first Grand Tour success to Brenner’s professional palmares.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
- I'm picking .... .... Never mind 🫥flyer07-11-2026
- If Tiberi has a better and more consistent 2027 I somehow doubt it will be because of this victorious warning. Unless his preparation has been off, cycling isn't football.flyer07-11-2026
- Love this guy. He is such a pure racer.mij07-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment