Matthew Brennan makes comeback in Visma development squad, alongside two other WorldTour riders

Much of the cycling world's attention is fixed on the Giro d'Italia right now — but racing is happening elsewhere in Europe too. The Tour of Hungary is one example; in Luxembourg, the Flèche du Sud has also just got under way. Visma | Lease a Bike's development team is there, though notably joined by three riders from the WorldTour squad.

The Flèche du Sud — a 2.2-level stage race — kicked off on Wednesday with a 94-kilometre stage around Stadtbredimus. Pim Ronhaar is among those on the start list, but so is the Visma | Lease a Bike development team.

The Dutch squad's entry includes development riders Matisse Van Kerckhove, Cedric Keppens and Elliot Rowe, alongside three WorldTour riders. Anton Schiffer, who joined the team this winter, is one; Tijmen Graat — who finished 17th at the UAE Tour earlier this year — is another; and remarkably, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne winner Matthew Brennan is the third.

Brennan became the first British winner of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne since Mark Cavendish in 2015, but his 2026 has been a season of sharp highs and frustrating interruptions. Having taken a remarkable 14 wins in 2025, the 20-year-old began 2026 in brilliant form — first winning the final stage of the Tour Down Under, then bouncing back brilliantly from a crash in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad to win Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. But illness subsequently knocked him back.

In the races that remained through the Flemish spring, Brennan picked up no results. He was an important contributor in Paris-Roubaix — working to position Wout van Aert perfectly for the Arenberg Forest sector — but was unable to figure in the race himself. He also withdrew from Milan-San Remo due to illness.

After the Classics, Brennan took a break, but races like Eschborn-Frankfurt and Tro Bro Leon — for which he had originally been scheduled — came too soon for him to be ready. His return is now happening at the Flèche du Sud — where a few of the development riders will no doubt do a double-take when the winner of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne rolls up alongside them in the peloton.