Brennan learned from Pogacar's mistakes: "Then I knew it would be the same as last year"

In the final kilometer, it seemed like mission impossible for Matthew Brennan. The young British rider from Visma | Lease a Bike was in a lethal Alpecin-Deceuninck sandwich, with Tibor del Grosso in front of him and Kaden Groves on his wheel. But somehow, he managed to pull through and won his first WorldTour race in the first stage of the Tour of Catalonia in the pouring rain.

"The weather made it difficult today," Brennan said in the flash interview. "We did everything possible to stay in front and limit the loss. We knew the coastal road would be a critical point in the race. I managed to get in a good position there, and with a few guys around me, they were able to support me well."

Things seemed to be going very well for the 19-year-old sprinter, but with about 3 kilometers to go, Del Grosso broke away from the pack in the soaking wet descent. Behind him, Brennan had to do it all by himself because only Groves was still in his wheel: he wouldn't help his teammate. "In the end, it was such a difficult situation that I just had to go full throttle. I am so glad it ended well," said the victorious Brennan. He will start tomorrow in the leader's jersey, where another beautiful finish awaits the super talent in Figueres.

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Young but not naive: "Had to take responsibility"

The final was very similar to the first stage of last year's Tour of Catalonia: Nick Schultz of Israel - Premier Tech rode away at the same finish while his teammates allowed a gap between them. He had just enough left to hold off the fast-approaching Tadej Pogacar in the difficult uphill final kilometer. Brennan had certainly done his homework. "I watched it yesterday. When Alpecin went off the front, I knew it would be the same as last year. Then, I had to step up and take responsibility." He managed to catch up to Del Grosso in the final meters while also holding off Groves in the final meters: an outstanding performance.

Read also

Course and results Tour of Catalonia 2025 | Brennan escapes Alpecin's grip, who will stop him in stage two?

Visma's young supertalent Brennan holds off Del Grosso after thrilling finale in Catalonia

Vingegaard shares injury update, uncertainty at Visma | Lease a Bike: "Skip the Dauphiné? That’s also a possibility"

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