Matt Brennan furious after a chaotic day full of crashes: 'A lot of people thought they were superheroes'

Matthew Brennan was the pre-race favorite to win Stage 8 of the Vuelta a España, but the young Brit from Visma | Lease a Bike was unable to contend. He got caught up in the chaos and finished tenth. Afterward, he vented his frustration at his fellow riders, both in the sprint and throughout the day, as crashes cast a huge shadow over the stage.

Even before the start, riders were already on the ground. As a result, Diego Uriarte (Equipo Kern Pharma) and Floris Van Tricht (NSN) had to drop out. Later, things went wrong again, and this time red jersey wearer Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) had to dismount. Things also went wrong in the final kilometer: several sprinters piled up after a nasty crash.

Brennan saw it all happen and had his own thoughts on the matter. “There were a lot of crashes today. That set the tone for the day,” he told Eurosport. He took a sharp jab at his competitors. “A lot of people thought they were superheroes today. I’m willing to take some risks, but if people are happy to crash in an attempt to win, I’m not entirely comfortable with that.”

The Brit was also unable to stay on the wheel of lead-out men Christophe Laporte and Wout van Aert. “The team did their best; I tried to follow Christophe, but the riders in front of me were too aggressive. I lost the wheel and couldn’t find a good position anymore. I tried to get back, but I couldn’t get into a position to really sprint. It’s a shame, because they worked hard for me. But it is what it is.”

Brennan had some harsh words to say after missing out on a third stage win. He was absolutely not pleased with the way the race was being ridden in Spain, where dozens of riders had hit the tarmac on Saturday. “You see it all day long. For three hours, I was pedaling at 160 watts. I don’t know what people are doing, but if you’re taking risks at 160 watts, you’re a little crazy.”

Still, the 21-year-old sprinter doesn’t want to be too negative. After all, with two stage wins under his belt, his Vuelta can’t go wrong, and there’s still a long way to go. “We’ll move on to the next one. Tomorrow won’t be my day, but I’ve already won two stages, so I’m not chasing anything specific. We can try again—that’s the beauty of a Grand Tour.”