'It's massive' – Matthew Brennan sprints to third victory at Vuelta a España on stage 11

Matthew Brennan celebrating a victory at the Vuelta a España — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Matthew Brennan continued his impressive Grand Tour debut on Wednesday, when he took his third victory in 11 days at the Vuelta a España.

The Visma-Lease a Bike rider was guided by his team-mate Wout van Aert through stage 11's finale in Lorca, where he kicked ahead with 150m to go and won comfortably ahead of Bryan Coquard (Cofidis).

Brennan, who also won on stages two and five, celebrated his hat-trick by pointing three fingers into the sky – one for each victory.

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The last rider to win three times in their first Grand Tour was Tadej Pogačar, who did so at the Vuelta in 2019.

"It's massive," said Brennan, after pulling off the same feat. "I’m with a team full of massive champions. You’ve got guys who have been on podiums in Grand Tours, and won them as well. You’ve also got guys who’ve won big Classics and some huge races, and the fact that they go for me each time is an amazing opportunity. I’m really thankful that they go full gas for me.”

Describing the run-in to the finish, the 21-year-old praised his Visma-Lease a Bike team, who he said "took the initiative" and "pulled as hard as they could".

"Coming into the final, we really held or own place, and knew that we were strong enough to get to where we wanted to be," he said.

"The boys did a fantastic job within that last 10km to really keep us in the right place, in the right position, out of trouble. And we crossed the line first, so [I’m] super-happy.”

There were no changes in the top 10 of the general classification on stage 11; Enric Mas (Movistar) continues to lead the Vuelta by one minute and 18 seconds ahead of Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe). Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) is third, another 21 seconds behind.

Wout van Aert and Visma-Lease a Bike in the peloton at the Vuelta a Espa&ntilde;a

Contained within the southeastern region of Murcia, stage 11 took the riders inland from the coastal city of Cartagena.

The day began with news of the withdrawal of Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), who abandoned ahead of the roll-out due to illness.

The first 110km of racing then passed uneventfully. Attempts to form a breakaway were short-lived on the flat route, and the peloton trundled mostly together to the intermediate sprint in Totana, with 42km remaining.

There, an escaped duo of Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) and Larry Warbasse (Tudor Pro Cycling) rolled through in tandem for maximum points. They were followed promptly by green jersey wearer Van Aert, who picked up the scraps for his runaway tally in the points classification.

The Belgian then pushed on over the category-three Alto de Aledo, the only climb of the day (pitched at 4.5% over 7.8km), to claim the KOM points, too. After the summit, barely 150 climbing metres remained in the final 30km, which tipped downhill to the line.

Speeds stayed in excess of 55kph on the road into Lorca. Into the final 5km, Visma-Lease a Bike spearheaded the peloton, and despite losing their position momentarily, led again through a U-turn bend inside 500m to go.

Van Aert then threaded Brennan onto the finishing straight, releasing him along the righthand barrier to charge to another victory.

The Briton has now collected 22 professional wins since stepping up to Visma's WorldTour squad at the beginning of 2025. It's a tally that puts him among the most prolific riders in the world.

Results

Vuelta a España 2026, stage 11: Cartagena > Lorca (153.8km)

1. Matthew Brennan (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike, in 3:17:18
2. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Cofidis
3. Jordi Meeus (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe
4. Magnus Cort (Den) Uno-X Mobility
5. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike
6. Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) NSN Cycling Team
7. Bastien Tronchon (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United
8. Alessandro Romele (Ita) XDS Astana
9. Mavež Govekar (Slo) Bahrain-Victorious
10. Orluis Aular (Ven) Movistar, all at same time

General classification after stage 11

1. Enric Mas (Spa) Movistar Team, in 35:59:02
2. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +1:18
3. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon CMA CGM, +1:39
4. Oscar Onley (GBr) Netcompany-Ineos, +2:20
5. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, +3:26
6. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, +3:55
7. Sepp Kuss (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +4:09
8. Harold Tejada (Col) XDS-Astana, +4:39
9. Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Decathlon CMA CGM, +7:33
10. Jakob Omrzel (Slo) Bahrain-Victorious, +8:05

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Tom joined Cycling Weekly as a news and features writer in the summer of 2022, having previously contributed as a freelancer and been host of the TT Podcast. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and holds a master's degree in International Journalism.

An enthusiastic cyclist himself, Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill, and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides. His best result is 28th in a hill-climb competition, albeit out of 40 entrants.