"When you have Laporte, Van Aert and Brennan, there is not much you can do" - Visma's star sprint train continues to dominate Vuelta sprints
Cycling
Another bunch sprint, and it's once again Visma's Matthew Brennan who bathes in glory. The British rider was set up perfectly by his teammates and found now problems finishing the job, ahead of Bryan Coquard and Jordi Meeus. It is his third sprint victory at this Vuelta a Espana.
The weight of pressure was evenly distributed among Visma | Lease a Bike and Cofidis today. The French team, motivated by Coquard's stage 8 triumph, searched for more success on Wednesday, but the final leadout from the Dutch team was simply superb, Coquard had to admit afterwards:
"There was nothing better to do," the Cofidis rider told Eurosport after the finish. "When you have Laporte, Van Aert and Brennan, there is not much you can do."
Coquard admits that Brennan is too strong
Coquard succeeded in placing himself right on Brennan’s wheel in the final stretch, but the young Brit was simply so strong that Coquard could not even come out of his wheel, and only controlled a second place on the day.
Still, a second podium finish for Coquard further underlines his successful Vuelta. "Brennan didn’t let me in [Wout Van Aert's wheel] and he is simply faster," Coquard said. "We always want to win, but today was not our day."
Meeus applauds Visma's fine lead-outs
Whereas Coquard can take pride in a second place, the same cannot quite be said about today's third place Jordi Meeus. The Belgian sprinter joined the race as perhaps the highest-profile sprinter, but so far did not find the legs to compete against Matthew Brennan at all. And stage 11 was no breakthrough in that regard.
Jordi Meeus speaks to the media after winning Le Samyn 2026
"I was pushed a little towards the barriers coming out of the corner. I still managed to get out, but I didn’t have the legs anymore," Meeus described the final hundreds of meters.
But rather than complaining about his own level, Meeus applauded the dominant leadout of Visma which made any counterplay impossible. "My form and my legs are very good, but it’s difficult to compete against a team like that," he complimented Brennan's sprint train.
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The Belgian compared the finale to stage 5, where the short finishing straight played into the card of more explosive Brennan who immediately got a gap on Meeus off the last corner. "Especially in a technical finale like this, because it was a bit like the fifth stage. There was also such a short finishing straight then."
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.
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