Visma's Matthew Brennan becomes youngest rider to ever finish on the podium of a World Tour race
Cycling
Team Visma | Lease a Bike have a good eye for young talents but this does not only apply to climbers and classics riders. They seemed to have signed a golden sprinter in Matthew Brennan who, in his first ever World Tour race, became the youngest rider to ever finish on the podium of a race at the highest level.
“It's a fantastic result and I'm very happy. I have to thank the team, who worked hard for me all day. In the last kilometers we wanted to take the opportunity to see how close we could get," Brennan, who was second to Sam Welsford both at the Down Under Classic and today at the Tour Down Under, said in a post-race interview.
In 2024 with the team's development squad, he took a few quality wins and proved to be worthy of joining the elite team already. The Briton, born in 2005, travelled to Australia and impressed with a second place last weekend. Now, he further impressed by becoming the youngest rider to ever finish on the podium of a World Tour race.
Read also
According to Cycling Statistics, he is the youngest rider since 1931 to finish on the podium of a top-level race. However, since the inception of the World Tour in 2009, no other rider has done this at a younger age. He dislodged Juan Ayuso from the top of this interesting statistic.
But Brennan admits that he could've actually won this Tuesday. "I spotted a gap on the left side of the road and decided to go for it. I think I had a strong sprint, but in the end I couldn’t get through," he explains. "At this level, there’s no shame in that. Before the race, I would have happily signed up for a podium in my first WorldTour event. Of course, it stings a bit to lose the win by such a small margin".
Still, he was rewarded with a youth classification jersey, which he will be wearing tomorrow in a more difficult stage. "But it’s great to start tomorrow in the white jersey. It’s been a hectic season opener, but one I’ll remember for a long time. This second place gives me a lot of confidence. I think we’ve started this Tour Down Under on the right foot as a team.”
Read also
🇦🇺 #TourDownUnder
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) January 21, 2025
POV: you participate in you first WorldTour event 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ltWVxlAVeZ
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.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- If you go watch some races from last season other riders that have never caught Jonas...are now catching him. Some are just riding away from him and he can't hold the wheelmd197514-11-2026
- He just doesn't have the desire anymore. I read an article earlier today that said he almost retired last year. His reasoning was he is away from home to much. Visma was able to keep him riding by allowing him to skip certain camps. So, while currently Visma is doing altitude work...Jonas is at home. Which means 2 things. 1- He maybe fresher than other riders. But, not the condition. 2-Is a somewhat slap in the face to others on the team that are supposed to help him win. Yet feel like he hasn't done what they have so perhaps they don't provide as good of protection or they ride more for theme (which the team may not notice).md197514-11-2026
- Roglic could not have won anyway, after Jonas followed him when Roglic decided it was his turn for a stage win. Jonas had already attacked Kuss twice, so it was Jonas who was within seconds of taking the lead before Kuss was 'gifted' the win. It felt a bit like Roglic was being thrown under the bus when the team made his unhappiness public.Hills3314-11-2026
- POG1, another nice doc about our favourite, I watched most of it with a big smile on my face (except for the bits about his crashes 😢 obvs!).Lozza14-11-2026
- Martinez had a good year! 5th at the Tour was a great result for him, albeit largely through getting in successful breaks, but he held it better than Pidcock who’d done the same.Lozza14-11-2026
- guess what Valgren, you're 34, and no you're not good enough. sorry to say.mij14-11-2026
- I'm a sepp fan and like to think he earned that LOL, indulge me : ) I think Jonas was fine. Roglic did not want to concede to Sepp. and I don't think you ever attack your own teammate in the leaders jersey if he is holding his own, which Sepp just about was.mij14-11-2026
- enough time? he's 24 years old. He's won 10 races over the last 2 years and some are significant. I won't argue about his attitude being good - it needs to improve. But with some coaching and mentorship he has a lot of winning ahead of him and has plenty of time to win a GT. I don't think he will ever beat Tadej, but everyone else is fair game Look at Mas and Valverde - they were 31 and 29, respectively, when they won the Vuelta.mij14-11-2026
- Pogacar has a fine head on his shoulders.Careful investments and a couple of coffee shops sounds like a wonderful way to chill after an intense career.Stay healthy GOAT.
Brucegel14-11-2026 - I live in Maribor.PogiSloFans14-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment