"The Tour is a completely different story" - Will Matthew Brennan convince Visma to make Tour de France debut in 2027?
CyclingWednesday, 09 September 2026 at 11:18
The 2026 Vuelta a España has seen the confirmation that Matthew Brennan is not just a sprinter, but also a rider who can handle a Grand Tour very well until its pointy end. With four victories achieved already, will the Briton actually be able to convince Team Visma | Lease a Bike to make his Tour de France debut next year?
The British Grand Depart is a big reason for it, and the confident Brennan put it out there after taking his fourth win at the Vuelta, where he appears unmatched in the sprints - as well as having the form for the hilly stages.
“Two years ago, I heard about the start in Great Britain. Back then, I said to the team: it would be amazing to be at the start there, preferably with Wout [Van Aert] and Christophe [Laporte] there. It would be fantastic to take the yellow jersey on the opening day there.”
Visma has, this year, put Jonas Vingegaard racing the Giro-Tour combination; and has put more emphasis on the monuments. Hence, spreading the priorities around, and shedding the pressure away from the Tour de France.
With the sprinters able to take the yellow jersey in 2027, and with both Van Aert and Laporte as regulars in the Tour lineup, Brennan could find himself in a lineup that shares duties between supporting Jonas Vingegaard - who is more distant from aiming for overall victory than before - and Brennan's sprinting ambitions.
Knetemann questions Brennan's ability for Tour de France sprints
"I’m quite curious. He is genuinely the fastest man in a bunch sprint here, but if you put him in the Tour, I wonder if he could come out on top there too," Roxanne Knetemann said in the Het Wiel podcast.
"Against the truly fastest men in the peloton, and it feels strange to say this, I think he lacks the necessary speed. I think he’s more in the mold of Arnaud De Lie; a bit like Van Aert’s style."
At the Vuelta, the Briton has lacked the competition that he would face in other Grand Tours or top-level stage-races, however his string of results and consistency, at age 21, proves he is as complete of a rider as the Dutch team could hope for.
"If you look at his results as a junior, he certainly posted performances that would make you want to scout him, but there had to be more to it to justify signing him. Results tell you something, of course, but not the whole story. When you see how he has developed compared to the guys he used to race against—they are nowhere near that level yet."
Matthew Brennan is looking to make his Tour de France debut in Great Britain
Matthew Brennan wants what Olav Kooij didn't get
In the past however, Olav Kooij had the same ambition. At the time, for years, the Dutchman didn't get the opportunity to race the Tour de France due to the team's GC ambitions. This summer he finally made his debut with Decathlon, winning the very first sprint of the race.
"I’m curious to see if they’ll do things differently this time. This Vuelta is straightforward: all eyes are on stage wins. But the Tour is a completely different story. The last Tour really drove home the point that they have absolutely no intention of giving up the fight against Pogacar with Vingegaard".
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That is quite possible to change after the team's splitting of objectives and Vingegaard's recent withdrawal, signaling that a victory against Tadej Pogacar at the Tour is very unlikely, and potentially not a goal worth sacrificing the entire team for.
Split ambitions between GC and sprinting have proven successful amongst several teams this year such as Lidl-Trek with Mads Pedersen, Mattias Skjelmose and Juan Ayuso; and of course Decathlon with Paul Seixas and Olav Kooij himself.
But Knetemann is convinced that Brennan will not get that opportunity either. "If Visma were interested in that sort of thing, they’d be taking Dutch riders to the Tour as well. The sporting side comes first; if they want to win the Tour again, the fact that it starts in England doesn't matter. So they won’t do it—really, they won’t.'
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- maybe if he wins every race left on the calendar offering UCI pointswrsty09-09-2026
- agreed. they have 2 cards depending on what the opposition does and who is strong that daymij09-09-2026
- First see how Wout does in Granada. It is a very similar course
Rafionain-Glas09-09-2026 - WVA to follow MVDP, Remco to follow Del Toro/Sexias. Simple. otherwise attack at different pointsabstractengineer09-09-2026
- All riders think they can become World Champion now Pogacar is not there. That could be fun. 😁
DareDevil09-09-2026 - Is Remco theoretically able to jump over Pogacar? By winning the World Championships, Lombardia, maybe something extra?DareDevil09-09-2026
- On paper there are 2 captains, but Evenepoel is the only real captain.DareDevil09-09-2026
- God, I’d love to see this. I can genuinely see him as the next Sagan, he has the humour for it.anonymouscyclist08-09-2026
- Time moves on. I feel no sorrow or dejection towards Ineos’ lack of dominance, like its old Sky days. Cycling is at its best when it's unpredictable, chaotic, and tense. Seeing generational talents clash across different jerseys, backgrounds, and nationalities is far more thrilling than watching a single train control a race. Back then it was Britain; now it’s Slovenia, Denmark, and beyond. Its jeopardy that makes us watch.anonymouscyclist08-09-2026
- Silly prediction I’ve said before and will say again: after he wins all the races and sets the records he wants to set, he bulks up and becomes a sprinter.RidesHills08-09-2026
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