Matthew Brennan claimed his fifth Vuelta stage win in Seville after Visma | Lease a Bike used Wout van Aert’s hard-earned local knowledge.
The victory extended Brennan’s remarkable Grand Tour debut and pushed Visma | Lease a Bike to seven stage wins at the 2026 Vuelta a España. That total marks the team’s best haul in any Grand Tour.
Vuelta stage win follows Van Aert’s Seville lesson
Van Aert knew the Seville finale from experience. When the Vuelta visited the city two years earlier, he launched a long sprint near the Guadalquivir. Pavel Bittner came past him at the line, leaving Van Aert second.
On Wednesday, Van Aert did not sprint for himself. Instead, he guided Brennan through the decisive run-in and helped place him for the final acceleration.
Visma discussed that 2024 finish before the stage. Brennan said the team reviewed where Van Aert had gone wrong and focused on avoiding the same mistake.
Van Aert then piloted Brennan through the finishing straight by the Guadalquivir. He delivered his teammate onto the wheel of Magnus Cort of Uno-X Mobility before Brennan waited for his moment.
Brennan then launched a sharp sprint to finish the job. He said the team needed to make sure they “crossed the line first,” and praised Van Aert for staying beside him throughout the finale.
Visma | Lease a Bike set new Grand Tour benchmark
Brennan’s win gave him five stages at this Vuelta. Van Aert had already added two victories during the second week, taking Visma’s combined total to seven.
That haul surpassed the team’s previous Grand Tour best of six stage wins. Visma had reached that mark at the 2022 Tour de France and again at this year’s Giro d’Italia.
Brennan called the achievement special and said the team saw a chance to make history. He credited the plan, the early commitment, and the full lead-out effort.
The Briton also played down his own role after another successful sprint. He said he feels he does “the easy part,” while teammates work all day to control and support the opportunity.
The race now shifts away from pure sprint terrain. A time trial and back-to-back summit finishes await across the next three days, limiting immediate chances for Brennan.
Even so, he may still have another opportunity before the race ends. The final stage in Granada on Sunday could offer him a chance to add to an already exceptional debut tally.
Brennan summed up the scale of his achievement by noting the race had not even reached stage 21. With five wins already, his Vuelta has become one of the standout sprint stories of the race.
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