“Maybe we took the wrong line in the final kilometre” – Matthew Brennan pays for costly mistake in Tour Down Under sprint opener

For most of the day, Visma had Stage 1 of the 2026 Tour Down Under exactly where they wanted it. By the end, they were left with the strange mix of satisfaction and frustration that only comes from getting almost everything right.

On the flat, fast circuit around Tanunda, the race came down to a bunch sprint after a lively day controlled largely by Team Visma | Lease a Bike. When the dust settled, Tobias Lund Andresen took the win for Decathlon CMA CGM Team, while Matthew Brennan finished second on the same time, edged out by a handful of bike lengths.

The difference, Brennan felt, came down to one small decision. “Maybe we took the wrong line in the final kilometre,” he said after the stage, in quotes released by Visma. “We controlled the stage from start to finish and were well positioned at the front in the closing kilometres. But overall we can be happy with our performance. The feeling is good.”

It was not a line that sounded like regret. It sounded like a rider who already knows that the engine is working.

Stage 1 followed the 3.6-kilometre prologue in Adelaide, which had already shown how sharp the field is this year. The opening road stage was always expected to suit the sprinters and fast finishers, and Visma committed early.

Three riders went clear with 110 kilometres to go, but the break never gained the sort of advantage that would seriously threaten the peloton. On the rolling roads around Tanunda, Visma were constantly visible near the front, helping to control the pace and bring the escapees back with seven kilometres remaining.

In the final kilometres, the yellow and black line stayed compact around Brennan. The positioning was good. The speed was high. But in the final rush for space, a slight misjudgement left Brennan boxed for a moment, while Lund Andresen found a cleaner path to the line. It was enough to decide the stage.

Brennan did not hide from that. “We rode a strong race as a team today,” he said. “We controlled the stage from start to finish and were well positioned at the front in the closing kilometres. The feeling is good.”

No excuses. Just analysis.

For Brennan, this was not just another sprint. At 20 years old, he is in his first full WorldTour season, and the Tour Down Under is his first major test at this level.

He had already shown promise in the prologue, and in the sprint he went head-to-head with established WorldTour winners like Sam Welsford, who finished third, and Lund Andresen, who took the ochre leader’s jersey.

Finishing second in a pure bunch sprint, on equal time with the winner, is not the sort of result that raises alarms. It is the sort that raises expectations.

That is why Brennan sounded calm rather than disappointed. “Tomorrow will be a very tough day,” he added. “But I hope to stay in contention until the finale. There are also a few opportunities later this week, which I’m looking forward to with a lot of confidence.”

Visma came to Australia with a young team and clear intentions. They did not come to hide. In the prologue they went full gas early and paid for it late. In Stage 1 they controlled the race and paid for a single imperfect choice in the final kilometre.

That pattern tells its own story. This is a team that is not afraid to take responsibility for a race, even when the reward is not guaranteed.

For Brennan, the message is simple. The speed is there. The positioning is there. The confidence is there.

What is left is precision.

And in a race like the Tour Down Under, where multiple sprint and reduced sprint finishes still lie ahead, a rider who finishes second by making one small mistake is usually not far away from winning by correcting it.