Matthew Brennan and his Visma–Lease a Bike teammates lastly nailed their timing on the Tour Down Underneath, and never a second too quickly. The win got here on the ultimate stage, which unfolded over eight laps across the robust, undulating circuit concluding on the Stirling Climb.
In a chaotic stage that included a crash brought on by kangaroos leaping onto the street, Brennan relied on his teammates and riders from different squads to navigate the ultimate uphill kilometre. When Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) moved between Brennan and his teammate, the 20-year-old neatly used the previous world champion as an impromptu leadout, putting himself completely for the ultimate run-in to the road.
It’s possible you’ll like
“We knew that we could not do a correct lead-out, so I simply adopted one or two of the blokes throughout, they usually all did their little bit. After which, we bought to the end, and Anton [Schiffer] did a very good flip, after which that left it to Per [Strand Hagenes] to complete it off. So I feel everybody timed it very well at this time, and I am very completely satisfied that I can end it off,” Brennan informed reporters after the rostrum ceremony.
Within the earlier three phases received by sprinters, both the group’s timing or positioning misfired. That left the Brit with a second place on stage 1, twelfth on stage 3 and sixteenth on stage 4.
The group sat down with directeur sportif Jasper Mørkøv to analyse the earlier finishes, what they “had been doing fallacious.”
“We watched again all of the finishes that we have achieved just lately, and to be trustworthy, it was irritating, but additionally it is a part of the method,” Brennan stated.
“For me, I discovered it additionally very uncommon to return straight again into racing [and] be as aggressive as you have to be within the peloton… A variety of these guys from right here have additionally been racing Nationals, in order that they’re type of used to the stream a bit extra and typically it simply takes a bit of little bit of time to get again into the rhythm of it.”
“I additionally needed to encourage a little bit of a more durable stage at this time. I needed the attackers to go a bit of bit extra, rolling longer, so as soon as it settled down, I used to be a bit of bit upset. However I feel in the direction of the tip, it additionally picked up a bit of bit when the breakaway bought that hole after the unlucky crash. However you recognize, you’ll be able to’t actually predict two kangaroos leaping throughout the street.”
It’s possible you’ll like
„I simply appeared to the correct, after which I simply noticed this huge animal, and I believed, oh, you are not meant to be right here,” Brennan stated of the kangaroo. “All of the Aussie boys are like, oh, all of them are available in pairs, after which impulsively the second comes alongside and decides he’ll throw himself in entrance of peloton.”
“I feel main on to the following race, the Classics positioning goes to be fairly chaotic, a bit like that was at this time, and it is good to type of open the thoughts up for issues like that,” Brennan added.
His schedule contains Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders, races which can be clearly “huge group objectives.”
“If I will also be there to be in a successful place alongside guys like Wout [van Aert], or Christophe [Laporte], then that’ll be incredible. And that is actually what we’re specializing in this yr as a group.”
Cyclingnews is on the bottom for the season-opening 2026 Tour Down Underneath, and a subscription provides you limitless entry to our unrivalled protection. From breaking information and evaluation to unique interviews and tech, we have got you coated as the brand new season will get underway in Australia. Discover out extra.
