Britain’s Brennan sprints to second victory at VueltaImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Matthew Brennan is competing in his first Grand TourBySteve SutcliffeBBC Sport journalistPublished3 minutes agoBritain’s Matthew Brennan claimed his second win at the Vuelta a Espana in a sprint finish on stage five. The 21-year-old Visma–Lease a Bike rider comfortably held off Belgium’s Jordi Meeus and Italy’s Vincenzo Albanese on the run in to the line at the end of the 173.3km route into Roquetes Terres de l’Ebre.Tadej Pogacar, who is aiming to complete the full set of Grand Tour victories, finished inside the main bunch to retain a healthy overall race lead. The Slovenian, who won a record-equalling fifth Tour de France earlier this year and triumphed in the Giro d’Italia in 2024, now sits three minutes and 21 seconds ahead of his compatriot Primoz Roglic.While Pogacar looks a class apart in the general classification race, sprinter Brennan again underlined his burgeoning reputation on his debut in one of cycling’s big three races.”You can see throughout the day everyone just went full [gas]. That’s my second one in the bag in my first Grand Tour. I’m very thankful to finish it off again,” stated Brennan, who also took stage two.”Last corner I lost my wheel a bit but glad I could stay safe. Glad we could finish with our arms in the air.”On Thursday the race takes in four categorised climbs and a steep gravel section in the concluding 25km of the 177.5km journey from Alcossebre to Castellon de la Plana.Stage six results1. Matthew Brennan (GB/Visma – Lease a Bike) 3hrs 47mins 02secs2. Jordi Meeus (Bel/Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) Same time3. Vincenzo Albanese (Ita/EF Education – EasyPost) “4. Alessandro Romele (Ita/XDS Astana) “5. Axel Laurance (Fra/Netcompany Ineos) “6. Orluis Aular (Ven/Movistar) “7. Christophe Laporte (Fra/Visma-Lease a Bike) “8. Alberto Dainese (Ita/Soudal Quick-Step) “9. Vito Braet (Bel/Lotto Intermarche) “10. David Gonzalez (Spa/Pinarello – Q36.5 Pro) “General classification after stage six1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 11hrs 26mins 01secs2. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora – hansgrohe) +3mins 21secs3. Enric Mas (Esp/Movistar) +3mins 32secs4. Sepp Kuss (US/Team Visma-Lease a Bike) +3mins 44secs5. Oscar Onley (GB/Netcompany Ineos) +3mins 45secs6. Richard Carapaz (Ecu/EF Education-EasyPost) +3mins 50secs7. Felix Gall (Aut/Decathlon CMA CGM Team) +3mins 57secs8. Mattias Skjelmose (Den/Lidl-Trek) +4mins 6secs9. Jarno Widar (Bel/Lotto Intermarche) Same time10. Jay Vine (Aus/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +4mins 11secsRelated topicsCycling
