"I’ll never forget these victories for the rest of my life" - Matthew Brennan overjoyed after GC win in Norway

A bit in the shadow of the third week of Giro d'Italia, the Tour of Norway took place last week. Those followed closely witnessed an absolute dominance of one man - Matthew Brennan. The sprinter gem of Visma | Lease a Bike was never worse than second over the four stages and comfortably secure a GC victory after a sprint win in last stage.

"This is beautiful," Brennan shared his impressions in a press release on a team website. The technical circuit on Sunday required more than just fast legs. "It was treacherous and super hectic in the final."

It wasn't automatically that the sprinters got to fight it out for a victory in Stavanger. A strong breakaway formed up ahead and it was only with 2 kilometers to go that their resist was broken. "Thanks to the good work of the team, we were able to sprint again."

In the finale, the Uno-X Mobility sprint train took over the front and Alexander Kristoff seemed on his way to go back-to-back in Stavanger. Until Brennan peeked from his wheel and won with a well-timed bike throw. "It was very close, but I had the feeling that I caught Kristoff at the finish. Fortunately, that turned out to be true. It was still exciting for a while, but I am happy and relieved that I was able to win today."

Next to two stage wins, Brennan also brings home the overall triumph. The 19-year-old is very grateful to his team for the support over past week. "Without them, this really wouldn’t have been possible. We rode as a close-knit team in the past few days. I think we showed some really great things. It’s my first win in a general classification as a professional rider. I’ll never forget these victories for the rest of my life."