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

Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike) won the first stage of the Tour of Catalonia in Sant Feliu de Guixols. In unfavorable conditions, he bested Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin-Deceuninck) on the slightly uphill finish strip on the Catalan coast following a furious descent.

Barely two days after Milan-Sanremo, the next WorldTour race was scheduled: the Tour of Catalonia, a seven-day event in northeastern Spain. Fan favorite Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) had to withdraw from the race after suffering a concussion and a hand contusion in Paris-Nice. However, with riders such as Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Juan Ayuso (UAE Emirates-XRG), plenty of good riders remained.

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Bad weather affects riders in Catalonia

For another year in a row, the first day of the race included a stage in and around Sant Feliu de Guixols, which often becomes a contest between sprinters who climb better and climbers who sprint better. In 2025, a new factor was added: the weather. It rained non-stop in Catalonia all day, making it very dreary.

The conditions did not deter four riders. The peloton gave Jan Castellon (Caja Rural), José Luis Faura (Burgos BH), Nicolas Alustiza, and Dutch rider Danny van der Tuuk (both Euskaltel-Euskadi) a lead, while Alpecin-Deceuninck (for Kaden Groves and Tibor Del Grosso) and Picnic PostNL (with Nils Eekhoff and Pavel Bittner in the ranks) took control.

In the hilly zone before the first passage in Sant Feliu de Guixols, INEOS Grenadiers moved. This caused the necessary cracks to form in the peloton in the descents, and the leading group was caught with sixty kilometers to go. Afterward, the British riders realized it was foolish and let a large part of the group return.

Mas and Roglic grab seconds, Del Grosso impresses

With 45 kilometers to go, there was an intermediate sprint in which Roglic gained a second. The top prize went to Enric Mas, leader of Movistar. Afterward, the sprint teams moved to the front again, with Alpecin-Deceuninck at the front: Del Grosso, in short sleeves, was one of the men who set the pace. Downhill, the GC teams took over again, which once again caused fractures in the large group.

Pablo Torres was the main instigator, with team leader Ayuso in his wake. This also opened the door at the back, although it was difficult to see exactly who was still with them due to the rain jackets' presence. Sepp Kuss (Visma | Lease a Bike) was reported as having been dropped; otherwise, everything was unclear.

The GC teams kept things together on the descent to Sant Feliu de Guixols until Del Grosso came from the front. His teammates could barely hold his wheel, with Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike) taking Groves' wheel. The British rider had to work hard to close the gap to Del Grosso. Brennan continued to do so despite Groves being on his wheel. However, the Aussie could not find a way out, so the 19-year-old British rider won.

Stage 1 Tour of Catalonia 2025 

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