Matthew Brennan is the real surprise of Manosque. The young British rider has secured his first victory at the Vuelta a Espana and also his first victory in a Grand Tour. It seemed everything was set up for a duel between the big names. Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogacar had made their move, they had taken the front of the group and at the Manosque finish line seemed destined to fight it out for victory, like a remake of last April's Paris-Roubaix. Then, just when all attention was on them, came the surprise. Matthew Brennan emerged from the group, just 21 years old, capable of perfectly exploiting the work of Visma | Lease a Bike and claiming a victory that's worth double: it is indeed the first success for the young British rider in a Grand Tour.

A day that Brennan will hardly forget and that once again confirms how much talent this British rider possesses, already considered one of the great promises of world cycling.

The surprise, however, was only for those watching the race from the outside. For Visma | Lease a Bike, the Manosque stage was a carefully prepared plan. Van Aert was supposed to be the man tasked with putting opponents in difficulty in the final and attempting to win from a distance, while Brennan would remain ready to exploit any favorable situation.

And in the end, exactly what the team had imagined happened. "Yes. It all started with the ambition to win the stage and also the red jersey. We told ourselves: 'Ok, there's a great opportunity to attack in the finale'. And Wout was really enthusiastic about the idea, so yes, we had that plan and I would always stay back to sprint in case the situation stabilized," Brennan explained after the stage.

Van Aert and Pogacar thus drew all the attention to themselves, while the British rider waited for the right moment. A perfect strategy, because at the decisive moment Brennan still had the strength to launch his own sprint and surprise everyone.

Behind every great victory there is also the work of the team. And that of Visma | Lease a Bike was a day constructed to perfection.

"The guys moved to the front and Christophe Laporte did excellent work guiding me through the chaos of the sprint. And yes, I'm thrilled to have secured my first victory in a Grand Tour. It was much anticipated," Brennan explained.

However, the British rider doesn't want to stop here. "Well, I hope this isn't the last victory, because it's a great satisfaction. I think the guys went really well all day and gave 100%. They believed in both of us and that we could achieve something positive today. And yes, I'm really happy to start the Vuelta this way," he said.

Words that perfectly capture the significance of this success. Brennan hadn't come to the Vuelta just to gain experience. Visma believed in him, gave him space and put him in a position to race alongside men of the caliber of Van Aert and Pogacar, and he responded in the best possible way. Brennan has just turned 21 and is already able to compete for a victory in a Grand Tour against some of the strongest riders in the world.

He's not just a promise. At Manosque, the British rider proved he can be a protagonist even at the highest levels. "Yes, I want to say that I think everything is working so far. When the guys manage to somehow make this easier and allow me to show a bit of myself, I can only be grateful to the entire team for believing in me and giving me this great opportunity," Brennan concluded.

A great opportunity that the young British rider transformed into a great victory. The Vuelta started in Monaco with the spotlight on Pogacar, Van Aert, Roglic and the other big names in the race. At Manosque, however, the stage belonged entirely to Matthew Brennan. Twenty-one years old, a team behind him, and a first Grand Tour victory that could be just the beginning.