“Another beautiful victory”, Brennan said, still catching his breath at the finish. “This is truly a team win. The whole squad rode exceptionally well today. We were in a perfect position heading into the final part of the race. It’s incredibly motivating to see the work my teammates are doing all week. That really gives you wings. I’m happy I could reward all that effort with this stage win today.”

Brennan was not initially scheduled to race in Catalunya, but his team placed full trust in him. “The past days have been tough, but I’m learning so much here. The mountain stages were especially brutal, but I’m gaining experience in positioning and staying up front when it matters. Two stage wins—I wouldn’t have even dared to dream of that”, Brennan said, beaming with joy.

This marks Brennan’s fifth victory of the season. He had previously won Le Tour des 100 Communes, GO de la Ville de Lillers, GP de Denain, and the opening stage of this race. For Team Visma | Lease a Bike, it was their 11th win of the year, following Ben Tulett’s triumph earlier in the day at the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali.

“Matthew wasn’t originally on the start list for this race”, explained sports director Marc Reef. “For him to adapt so quickly, come here, and win two stages is truly remarkable. I don’t have another word for it. We knew today would be chaotic, so we stayed sharp at key moments. We decided to take our chances and ended up with almost the whole team in the first echelon. Besides Matthew’s win, Simon Yates also made a great move in the GC, climbing back into the top ten. Hopefully, he can do something in the final weekend to cap off what has already been a fantastic Volta a Catalunya for us.”