Results Vuelta a España 2026 stage 11 - Matthew Brennan takes Visma's third sprint win of the race

Stage 11 of the Vuelta a España has been won by Matthew Brennan. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider has taken his third stage win of the race after a leadout from Wout Van Aert and a day spent at the head of the peloton.

Domen Novak, Ethan Hayter, Sinuhé Fernandéz and Alessandro Covi formed the breakaway of the day on a stage that saw a hilly start but a mostly flat profile. The gaps were small throughout the day with Visma and Cofidis collaborating to control it.

There was an ascent of 7.8 kilometers at 4.5% which ended inside the final hour of racing, with the breakaway having been caught, and with Pinarello - Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team piling on the pressure in its toughest gradients.

Eddie Dunbar attacked towards the top of the climb but there was a ready response from Wout Van Aert, who kept control of the peloton towards the front. The Belgian took maximum KOM points at the top of the climb, whilst the team regathered and controlled a brief period of attacks shortly after.

The final kilometers featured a 180-degree corner which saw the fight for positioning grow incredibly tense. Christophe Laporte made way for Wout Van Aert, and the Belgian led out Matthew Brennan into the final sprint. The Briton was the rider with the most speed in the finishing straight and managed to finish Visma's job to take his third stage win of the race.

Brennan beat Coquard and Meeus whilst Van Aert also finished amongst the first. Enric Mas arrived safely in the peloton to maintain his red jersey on a day where Mads Pedersen abandoned the race. Van Aert in the meanwhile remains in the lead of the points classification.