Brennan speechless after Van Aert's Vuelta victory: 'But I don't think I was very popular'

After three stage wins by Matthew Brennan, it was “finally” Wout van Aert’s turn on Day 13 of the Vuelta a España, riding for Visma | Lease a Bike. The Brit did his Belgian teammate a favour by staying on the wheels of other riders all day, thereby paving the way for his star-studded lead-out train.

"That's racing, innit?" Brennan began his interview with Eurosport after the race, speaking in his characteristic accent. He then went on to give his take on how the race unfolded, in chronological order.

"We wanted to try to get as many of our guys up front as possible. And yes, I thought I was probably the best candidate to do that," said Brennan, who also managed to get Van Aert and Bruno Armirail into the breakaway group of about 45 riders.

From that group, Brennan broke away again with a few other riders. “So yeah, I ended up in that breakaway and… well, I don’t think I was very popular in that leading group. But I knew I had a superstar behind me and that the team was working flat out to get him into the best possible position,” he says, referring to Van Aert.

Brennan, who finished third himself, neutralized all the attacks from the other riders and, in doing so, also waited for Van Aert. “So when we reached the top of the climb, I just knew: this is what we have to do. We had to take control of the race, and that’s exactly what we did. I think we really put the other guys under a lot of pressure.'

That ultimately led to a formidable finish by Van Aert, which also moved Brennan. “I’m actually a little speechless. I think it’s been a long time coming. To be able to do that work for him today… that actually feels even sweeter than a win of my own. So yes, hats off to him and kudos to everyone on the team.”

"It was special to be able to congratulate him afterward," said the Brit. "You know, he's a great guy and he works incredibly hard. He does a lot of the work for me, too. And that's who he is: he's a superstar. I'm really, really happy that I could do my part to help him secure the victory he deserves in this race. And yes, that’s another one for Team Visma | Lease a Bike.”