Matthew Brennan finishes ahead of race leader Tadej Pogačar to win stage 2 of Spanish Vuelta
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
MANOSQUE, France (AP) — Young British rider Matthew Brennan finished strongly to win the second and longest stage of the Spanish Vuelta ahead of race leader Tadej Pogačar on Sunday.
The 21-year-old Brennan capitalized on good work from Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Wout van Aert in an uphill sprint and got ahead of second-place Pau Miquel and third-place Pogačar to complete the 214.3-kilometer (133.1 mile) hilly trek through Provence in southern France in 4 hours, 47 minutes, 47 seconds.
Pogačar, who edged Ethan Hayter by 0.09 seconds in the opening time trial on Saturday, kept the race leader’s red jersey by finishing with the same time as the stage winner.
The Slovenian leads the general classification by 9 seconds from Van Aert, with Brennan another second behind in third.
Long slog from Monaco
There were attacks from the start Sunday before Hayter, Koen Bouwman, Diego Uriarte, and Sinuhé Fernandez got away from the main bunch.
They stayed in front but could never get far enough ahead of the peloton. Hayter, thinking of the red jersey, went solo with just under 50 kilometers to go. The British rider was caught, however, and Pogačar was at the front of the peloton with 34 kilometers remaining, when it looked ever more likely to end in a sprint finish.
Teams jostled for position on the wide road as the kilometers slipped by, with UAE Emirates XRG, Visma-Lease a Bike, Lidl-Trek, Groupama-FDJ United and Netcompany Ineos all getting their leaders to the front for the grand finale to come.
Van Aert attacked with just under 2 kilometers to go, followed by Pogačar. They were joined by Alessandro Romele, then others, before Brennan emerged to take his first stage victory on his Grand Tour debut just over two weeks after his 21st birthday.
Pogačar on a quest
Pogačar was 20 when he made his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta in 2019. He won three stages and finished third at the time, then didn’t race the Vuelta again till he returned on Saturday.
The Slovenian won the Tour de France for the third time straight time and fifth overall in July, while his Giro d’Italia win in 2024 puts him in position to become just the ninth male rider to win all three Grand Tours after Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Alberto Contador, Chris Froome, Vincenzo Nibali and Jonas Vingegaard.
First casualties before the mountains
Guatemalan rider Sergio Chumil was the first to abandon the race after a bad crash. Cian Uijtdebroeks crashed earlier Sunday but he managed to get back on his bike.
Monday will see the riders tackle the first mountain stage of the 81st edition, a tough 174-kilometer (108-mile) route from Gruissan-Aude past the city of Perpignan before the climb to the ski resort of Font Romeu in the Pyrenees.
The Vuelta finishes in the southern Spanish city of Granada on Sept. 13.
___
See full AP coverage of European sports here