New sprint and new success for Matthew Brennan at the Vuelta a España 2026. Displaying once again his unstoppable sprint finish, the talented British rider from Visma Lease a Bike has indeed won the sprint that decided the Cortegana-La Rábida. Palos de la Frontera stage of 181.1 kilometers, bringing his personal tally to four victories in his first Grand Tour.

Behind the nineteen-year-old from Darlington, perfectly launched by Wout van Aert (who finished sixth), Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) and Vito Braet (Lotto Intermarchè) crossed the line in that order, along with another major favorite of the day Jordi Meeus (Red Bull BORA hansgrohe), while Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-Easypost) and Alberto Dainese (Soudal Quick-Step) proved to be the first two Italian riders at the finish line thanks to their eighth and ninth place finishes respectively.

THE RACE

After leaving Cortegana, the stage immediately sets off at a rather sustained pace. Following an initial tentative attempt by eight riders, the breakaway that gets the day's escape going is marked by Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ United), Simon Dalby (Uno-X Mobility), Jasha Sütterlin (Jayco AlUla) and Roland Thalmann (Tudor), who, not posing a threat to the general classification leader Mas and the other major contenders, receive the "green light" from the peloton.

The latter, pulled particularly by the men of Visma Lease a Bike, controls the situation in the following kilometers to prevent the lead of the breakaway from becoming excessive, and in doing so, the advantage of the quintet at the front reaches a maximum of 2'45".

With a situation that remains crystallized for a long time, the stage flows smoothly without incident until 23.5 kilometers from the finish when the peloton, thanks to the work also done by the Cofidis and Red Bull BORA hansgrohe teams, neutralizes the action of the breakaway. After a brief moment in which Jordi Meeus's men attempt to open a gap without success, the sprinters' teams then proceed to prepare the final sprint at high speed where Wout van Aert launches Brennan impeccably and the British rider does not miss the appointment with his fourth success in this Vuelta.

For the fourth sprint finish out of six, therefore, all the rivals of the young English talent (the first rider since Fernando Gaviria at the 2017 Giro to string together four victories in his first Grand Tour) must settle for supporting positions and can only applaud from behind yet another exploit by the class of 2005 rider who tomorrow, in the Dos Hermanas-Sevilla stage of 185 kilometers, will have another opportunity to increase his tally and round out his seasonal victories to twelve.

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FINISHING ORDER

1. Matthew Brennan (GBR/Visma Lease a Bike) - 3:56:33

2. Bryan Coquard (FRA/Cofidis) - s.t.

3. Vito Braet (BEL/Lotto Intermarchè) - s.t.

4. Jordi Meeus (BEL/Red Bull BORA hansgrohe) - s.t.

5. Magnus Cort Nielsen (DAN/Uno-X Mobility) - s.t.

6. Wout Van Aert (BEL/Visma Lease a Bike) - s.t.

7. Hugo Hofstetter (FRA/NSN Cycling) - s.t.

8. Vincenzo Albanese (ITA/EF Education-EasyPost) - s.t.

9. Alberto Dainese (ITA/Soudal Quick-Step) - s.t.

10. César Macías (MES/Burgos Burpellet BH) - s.t.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Enric Mas (SPA/Movistar) - 40:31:51

2. Felix Gall (AUT/Decathlon CMA CGM) at 2:06

3. Primoz Roglic (SLO/Red Bull BORA hansgrohe) at 2:10

4. Richard Carapaz (ECU/EF Education-EasyPost) at 4:24

5. Oscar Onley (GBR/Netcompany INEOS) at 5:44

6. Jakob Omrzel (SLO/Bahrain-Victorious) at 6:14

7. Mattias Skjelmose (DAN/Lidl-Trek) at 6:49

8. Cristian Rodriguez (SPA/XDS Astana) at 7:01

9. Clément Berthet (FRA/Groupama-FDJ United) at 7:19

10. Sepp Kuss (USA/Visma Lease a Bike) at 8:55

OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS

Points Classification: Wout Van Aert (BEL/Visma Lease a Bike)

Mountain Classification: Santiago Buitrago (COL/Bahrain-Victorious)

Best Young Rider Classification: Oscar Onley (GBR/Netcompany INEOS)