Brennan hopes 4th Vuelta stage win is enough for home Tour de France start in 2027: 'Win the yellow jersey on day one'

Five opportunities, four stage wins for Matthew Brennan. The British rider from Visma | Lease a Bike is nearly unbeatable when the Vuelta a España comes down to a sprint. But when you have a lead-out men like Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte, the 21-year-old sprinter is already dreaming out loud of something much bigger than a Vuelta stage win in 2027.

After the rest day, there was another opportunity for the sprinters. Of course, everyone was watching Brennan, who has capitalised on nearly every sprint opportunity so far. Naturally, Visma | Lease a Bike took charge and guided Brennan to his fourth stage victory. The last rider to accomplish that in his debut at a Grand Tour was Fernando Gaviria, who also won four stages at the 2017 Giro d’Italia.

But for Brennan, number four is just as special as that first one. “It’s unbelievable,” he exclaims in the flash interview. “Four wins here—the plan was to get just one. And as a team, we’re now up to six, I think. I’ve lost count; we’ve won so many. During the races we wanted to win, we always stuck to the plan. We saw the guys all day—they pushed really hard. To finish it off like this, with Wout guiding me through the final, that was perfect.”

He has nothing but praise for the green jersey wearer, whom he calls the best lead-out man in the world. “I don’t think anyone comes close. It’s a shame we lost Christophe, but it’s still incredible what we can do in these kinds of situations with one less rider. I trusted Wout and followed him all the way to the finish. It’s unbelievable that he can get me into a perfect position in such a chaotic race.”

Back to Gaviria. The Colombian won no fewer than four times in his first Grand Tour, and a year later he also shone in the Tour de France with two stage victories. The first came in the opening stage, allowing the sprinter to don the yellow jersey. Is that also in store for Brennan?

He’s dreaming of it. Because the Tour de France starts in a special place. “A start in the United Kingdom next year. I told the team two years ago, when it was announced: I’d love to be at the start. With Wout and Christophe, we could really try to replicate what we’re doing here, and hopefully win the yellow jersey on day one.”