Van Aert watched a mature Brennan win, even though he couldn’t help: "He rides and speaks like he’s been in the peloton for years"

Brennan was kept in good position throughout the stage by his team, but in the final kilometers he lost his domestiques and had to do it all on his own. “That’s where we lost each other a bit,” Brennan said after the finish. “But I had enough mental energy to navigate by myself.” It led to a brilliant victory, where he narrowly beat Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek).

Had Van Aert still been with him, the 20-year-old sprinter might have had an easier time. But the Belgian lost sight of his leader. Still, the lightning-fast Brit managed to pull it off. Van Aert responded humorously to the win on Instagram: “I left the man alone in the jungle, but found him just in time for the party. Chapeau, Matthew!”

On the Visma | Lease a Bike website, the all-rounder shared more thoughts about his teammate. Van Aert had nothing but praise for the winner of stage two. “Matthew is only twenty years old, but he rides and speaks like he’s been in the peloton for years. I get the feeling he barely suffered despite such an impressive effort. With this win, one of our goals for this race has already been achieved.”

And there could be more to come: the upcoming stages are tailor-made for both Brennan and Van Aert, with expectations of reduced bunch sprints. If not, a stage win might come from a breakaway, but either way, the Killer Bees will be ready.

After the finish, Van Aert wasn’t even sure if his teammate had won, as he told HLN. “Is it bingo? Looks like it. But they’re not totally sure yet.” He elaborated further on how his own stage had gone: “The plan was for me to go for some bonus seconds first. But after that, I got swamped. I never made it back to Matthew. It’s a shame I couldn’t help him.”

In the end, that help wasn’t needed. “Chapeau for how he launched that sprint. He rides and talks like he’s 30. You already feel like there’s not much left for him to learn. His strength is that he stays so cool and calm in every situation.”