Brennan sprints to second Vuelta stage win in Roquetes

Matthew Brennan won stage five of the Vuelta a España in a sprint into Roquetes Terres de l'Ebre on 26 August 2026, claiming his second victory of the race. The 21-year-old British rider took the stage in a bunch finish on his first Grand Tour outing.

Brennan races for Visma - Lease a Bike and covered the 173.3km route into Roquetes Terres de l'Ebre to take the stage victory. He held off Belgium's Jordi Meeus and Italy's Vincenzo Albanese in the final metres. Tadej Pogacar finished in the main bunch and retained the overall race lead while targeting a full set of Grand Tour titles; he won a record-equalling fifth Tour de France earlier this year and the Giro d'Italia in 2024.

Stage placings were: 1. Matthew Brennan (GB/Visma - Lease a Bike) 3hrs 47mins 02secs; 2. Jordi Meeus (Bel/Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) Same time; 3. Vincenzo Albanese (Ita/EF Education - EasyPost) Same time; 4. Alessandro Romele (Ita/XDS Astana) Same time; 5. Axel Laurance (Fra/Netcompany Ineos) Same time; 6. Orluis Aular (Ven/Movistar) Same time; 7. Christophe Laporte (Fra/Visma-Lease a Bike) Same time; 8. Alberto Dainese (Ita/Soudal Quick-Step) Same time; 9. Vito Braet (Bel/Lotto Intermarche) Same time; 10. David Gonzalez (Spa/Pinarello - Q36.5 Pro) Same time.

Reflecting on the finish, Brennan said: "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," said 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."

The overall classification after stage five showed Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) leading on 11hrs 26mins 01secs, followed by Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora - hansgrohe) +3mins 21secs, Enric Mas (Esp/Movistar) +3mins 32secs, Sepp Kuss (US/Team Visma-Lease a Bike) +3mins 44secs, Oscar Onley (GB/Netcompany Ineos) +3mins 45secs, Richard Carapaz (Ecu/EF Education-EasyPost) +3mins 50secs, Felix Gall (Aut/Decathlon CMA CGM Team) +3mins 57secs, Mattias Skjelmose (Den/Lidl-Trek) +4mins 6secs, Jarno Widar (Bel/Lotto Intermarche) Same time, and Jay Vine (Aus/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +4mins 11secs.

On Thursday the race covers 177.5km from Alcossebre to Castellon de la Plana and includes four categorised climbs and a steep gravel section in the final 25km.