Matthew Brennan explains why he skipped the podium beer: “I’m not boring”

In the closing kilometres, Visma | Lease a Bike used their remaining riders perfectly to deliver Brennan to the front at exactly the right moment. In the team’s post-race footage, Brennan can be heard explaining how straightforward it felt once the final launch began: “Laporte went down the right, and then it was actually still easy.”

That smooth execution was no coincidence. The finishing move closely matched the plan laid out by Visma | Lease a Bike sports director Grischa Niermann before the start. “Timo (Kielich) starts it, then Christophe (Laporte) does the lead-out for Brennan,” he told the riders on the team bus.

And that is exactly how it played out, with Brennan claiming his first Belgian Classic. Celebrating with the team afterwards, he called it a collective success: “This is a real team victory — we did it together,” he said while popping the champagne.

What stood out, though, was what happened on the podium. To the disappointment of many Belgian fans, Brennan didn’t take a single sip of the traditional Kwaremont beer. While Matteo Trentin and Luca Mozzato finished theirs, Brennan only watched on — leading some to assume the team’s strict nutrition rules were behind it. But Brennan later offered a simple explanation. “I can’t have gluten,” he said afterwards to Cyclinguptodate.

The reason is medical: “No, I’m not boring. I’m celiac, so I can’t have gluten. And if I had that, then the season would be over for me. Which, yes, is a shame, because it’s always part of the moment. But unfortunately, I’d like to try to win more bike races this year.” For organisers, it’s a clear takeaway for future editions: if you want the winner to raise a glass, make sure there’s a gluten-free option ready.