Van Aert might’ve won at the Vuelta, but Brennan is furious with the UCI: ‘They have the air conditioning set to 20 degrees in their office’

Visma | Lease a Bike secured yet another victory in the Vuelta a España thanks to Wout van Aert. On a sweltering day, the Belgian was the best in Córdoba, while Matthew Brennan, riding behind him, didn’t have to get involved in that battle. The Brit, however, was thoroughly displeased that the peloton had to ride at all under these inhumane conditions.

Due to the heat, the Vuelta organizers decided to shorten the fifteenth stage, bringing the distance down to 110 kilometers. But Brennan didn’t enjoy racing in 40-degree heat. “I’d rather not do that again,” he told Eurosport. “It says 41 degrees on average here,” he says, pointing to his Garmin. “That’s the average, but on the climb at the start it was 44 degrees. At that moment, you do wonder: what are we doing here?”

This isn’t the first time it’s been sweltering in Spain. For quite some time now, the Vuelta peloton has been racing in extremely hot conditions. That has already taken its toll: Arthur Kluckers (Tudor), for example, had to head home with heatstroke. Brennan, who has already won three stages in this race, would much rather not have ridden toward Córdoba and is therefore taking a sharp swipe at the UCI.

"Normal people with office jobs have their air conditioning set to 20 degrees, and I think the people at the UCI office have theirs set that way, too," said the 21-year-old Brit. "When we're here working our butts off for them, it's not pleasant. But we do it. The show must go on, but I wouldn't be surprised if several people end up being taken home by ambulance tonight with heatstroke."

Brennan’s words are pretty harsh. Luckily for him, he won’t have to get on his bike on Monday, since a rest day is scheduled. In any case, he already knows exactly what his day will look like. “I’ll do what I do best tomorrow, and that’s nothing. I’m looking forward to a day in bed, sleeping.” After that, however, there’s another sprint opportunity on the schedule—and thus a chance for the Visma | Lease a Bike sprinter.

"We need to come up with a plan," he says. "The guys are ready; we get a lot of motivation from what we do. We've won a third of all the races. Why shouldn't we aim for more—six or seven wins?" Brennan pauses, then bursts out laughing. “Some people will probably record that—or maybe not…”