Meeus misses chance for victory once again, Coquard laments Visma's dominance: 'There was nothing I could do'

Matthew Brennan claimed his third stage victory at the Vuelta a España with a commanding performance. Behind him, the somewhat expected names on the podium were Bryan Coquard and Jordi Meeus. The Frenchman from Cofidis was unable to repeat his earlier feat, while the Belgian from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe just can’t seem to pull off a perfect sprint.

For Meeus, this was already his third podium finish in this Vuelta. Given the course, it might have been his best chance so far, but he got caught up in the pack during the final kilometer. By the time Brennan launched his sprint, it was already too late for the sprinter riding for the German team. Third place was the best he could manage.

"Those last six kilometers were incredibly hectic," he tells Eurosport. "I was surprised there wasn't more pressure from behind—that didn't come until there were 2.5 kilometers to go. I was on Brennan's wheel, but I got pushed aside a bit. Because of that, I wasn't in the perfect position. In the end, I was also a bit stuck in the pack during that acceleration in the final 400 meters.” There was one last sharp turn there.

It was a shame, because my legs were in great shape. “I felt good all day, and I was even able to hold back a little on the climb. After that, I fell back a bit; I saw that my power was high, but I still felt good. I just lacked a little something in the final stretch.” Meeus still has two more chances, but he’ll have to wait until the start of the third week.

Coquard finished just ahead of the Belgian, but still well behind the winner. “I couldn’t have done any better than that. We worked hard all day, together with Visma. The team had confidence in me, so we took control. We finished well, but when you’re up against Laporte, Van Aert, and Brennan, that’s as good as it gets. I tried to be smart and got on Brennan’s wheel. Maybe he didn’t notice, but he kept it under control.”

For the French sprinter, who had already struck in Stage 8, missing out on the opportunity on Tuesday was a bitter pill to swallow. That’s why he was eager to achieve a better result. “We had our sights set on the win. Yesterday I almost crashed near the finish, so it’s good that I’m back and gave it another try. You always want to win, but there was nothing I could do. Hopefully I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”