Analists see Brennan as stand out at troubled Visma: 'I don’t really see many true gems among them'

Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic, Olav Kooij… over the years, Visma | Lease a Bike have made plenty of big discoveries. At the Dutch team, many young or relatively unknown riders have developed into absolute top stars. But after years of succes with their own talents, a question is raised: is the famous development pathway still as strong as it used to be?

On the Kop over Kop podcast, the panel takes a closer look at Visma | Lease a Bike’s young riders. One name stands out almost immediately: Matthew Brennan. “He’s a gem,” says former Dutch cyclist Bobbie Traksel. “With his age, he’s coming through fast, so you have to be careful with this guy. But he’s not just a sprinter. In Denain, he bridged across on his own. Those are the signals that make you think: wow, what they’re doing there…”

Brennan won GP Denain, his first professional race. A few days later, he struck twice in the Volta a Catalunya, his first WorldTour victories. Nine more wins followed across a wide range of terrain: the 20-year-old Brit is hugely versatile. He can sprint, climb and handle the cobbles well - but according to Jan Hermsen, that is also where the risk lies.

“That’s kind of the problem: they don’t really know yet,” the analyst explains.“ Everyone says he’s a good sprinter, like in that first stage of Catalunya. But with him the question is whether he’s even a sprinter at all. He’s obviously very fast, but they still think he can be used for Grand Tours.” Brennan definitely showed he can climb well in the Tour of Norway, which he won.

Belgian commentator Jeroen Vanbelleghem believes that after a successful 2025, Visma | Lease a Bike will want the youngster to take the next step - and that means a Grand Tour should be on the schedule. “Visma are the only top team that haven’t announced their programme yet,” the Belgian notes. “But normally he’ll ride the Giro. He’ll have a lot of opportunities there to win stages. It’s going to be fascinating.”

Traksel, however, sees Brennan as something of an outlier inside the team. “This is a very important and necessary rider for Visma | Lease a Bike,” he says. “They have a lot of talents, but I don’t really see many true gems among them yet. And also a replacement for Vingegaard, or a Wout van Aert - who still produces great things overall, but is generally declining a bit. They need riders like this if they want to remain a top team.”

Big talents such as Tijmen Graat, Menno Huising and Niklas Behrens have not (yet) been able to make the step to the very top in 2025. “And those Scandinavian stage race-boys with mega-high VO2 max numbers who get presented as huge heroes…” Hermsen adds. “But with this guy, you can go in any direction,” he says, referring to Brennan.