‘It’s disappointing, but there’s nothing we can do,’ says Visma | Lease a Bike after another setback for Brennan

The team summed up the day bluntly in its official statement: “Visma | Lease a Bike can’t contest for the win,” noting that although the Killer Bees brought back the breakaway, Brennan was “out of position at the crucial moment.” South African sprinter Ethan Vernon (NSN) took the stage victory, ahead of Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon) and Laurence Pithie (Red Bull).

With Filippo Fiorelli leading the lead-out this week, questions have mounted about how quickly the new riders are gelling with Brennan and the rest of the sprint squad. On Stage 2, the team still put together a decent move that delivered a narrow second place behind Andresen, but on Stage 3, Brennan could only manage twelfth. “Unfortunately Matthew went off too early on his own and other teams came around him with more speed,” the team had said after that finish.

Team director Jesper Mørkøv was realistic in his review of Stage 4 in the Tour Down Under. Rather than a cohesive sprint train staying together, he saw isolated Visma | Lease a Bike riders in the closing kilometres. “Edoardo Affini and Wout van Aert are badly needed,” some observers had already concluded on social media after two missed chances in Australia — though Mørkøv stopped short of outright criticism.

“Throughout the stage we were constantly well-positioned. You can’t fault the guys for that. But in the final kilometres we lost sight of each other. That’s disappointing, but there’s nothing we can do about it. Thankfully we still have one last sprint opportunity in this Tour Down Under tomorrow,” the Danish team leader said.