"We adapted well to the situation" - Matthew Brennan celebrates second stage win at Vuelta a Burgos
CyclingSaturday, 08 August 2026 at 06:00
The 2026 Vuelta a Burgos seems to be Matthew Brennan's playground as the young Brit wins his second (sprint) stage. His run-in for the finish in Briviesca was not ideal, however the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader did not panic and convincingly triumphed ahead of Laurence Pithie (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) and David González (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling).
It has been quite a chaotic finish where Astana's asian champion Yevgeniy Fedorov ultimately launched the sprint, but it was Marius Mayrhofer whose acceleration from his wheel seemed very promising for a while. However in final meters, Pithie slipped past the German by barriers while Brennan launch from far out to overcome everyone on the finish line.
"Coming into the finale, the plan was to come up the right, but we ultimately had to switch to the left. We adapted well to the change. It was crucial to be well-positioned before the final corners, and the guys did an exceptional job," said Brennan afterwards.
"In the last 400 meters, I might have found myself a little too far back, which was quite risky. Fortunately, I managed to find an opening to launch my sprint. I trusted my legs, and it paid off."
Read also
One thing that has been bothering riders in (not only) Spain the last few weeks has been the scorching heat. And the situation is not different in Castilla y León. In Briviesca, the thermometer showed up to 35°C today, thus even the relatively kind parcours became quite the challenge. Especially for a rider from UK.
"I felt like I was cooking from the inside out ," he joked. "I'm happy to have been able to finish with a victory, because it was a very difficult day with this heat. It felt like we were riding in a desert from start to finish. But this week has already been a great success with the whole team."
The final fifth stage starts in Caleruega and finishes atop the race's traditional summit Lagunas de Neila where Giulio Ciccone triumphed in 2025 and Sepp Kuss two years prior.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 3visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- I assume Kasia is right b.c. she is more feminine.whkman09-08-2026
- "partner" ...drinkwhkman09-08-2026
- Clown statement from a CLOWN !frieders309-08-2026
- Was that Mouse next to him ? Trying to hold his hand?frieders309-08-2026
- A question: chasing back to Vollering’s wheel after being cut off doesn’t take any energy, does it? Of course it does. The complaint is very clearly that she was forced to chase and waste energy exactly in the way that let Vollering pull away. Given how she was positioned before the turn and after the turn, I see her anger. Also, racing is a team sport, and teams use all sorts of tricks to isolate riders. This is one of them. She has every right to be angry and lose respect for them, as well. Sometimes it’s appropriate to believe two things at once.RidesHills09-08-2026
- That is honestly adorable. Anyone who gives Vingegaard grief for focusing on his family should look at this and eat their words. What exactly is wrong with loving the people you love? Her caption, his delight, the way he runs with her, c’mon, it’s adorable and human and private but we get to see some of it and that’s cute.RidesHills09-08-2026
- you forgot the 😉Ketterechts09-08-2026
- yes. that could already be seen during the tour. he was unable to ride away from the likes of del toro, seixas, remco and lipo in the last stages he did ...Ketterechts09-08-2026
- I think there is something to what Kasia is saying because when Demi attacked, Kasia was SO far out of position. I was wondering how she let that happen. but if she had to stop pedaling, well, that would explain it. of course that doesn’t mean it was bad racing by FDJ. maybe Kasia should have been positioned better to start with. The easiest way to prevent an attack is to do what she did yesterday - start the attack.mij09-08-2026
- I lost respect of Kasia with this whining. IF she was cutoff, it was the least of her concerns as she had no energy to keep up regardless.onegear2908-08-2026
Loading
Write a comment