“It feels great. We did a lot of work in the build-up to this race. I’ve had the ambition all year to do well here, so the team was really motivated to go for a good result together,” a delighted Brennan said after the finish. “We came here with a strong team with the goal of winning stages. Two victories in five stages is already a really good result for us, but I think we can achieve some more great results here,” Brennan added.

Team Visma | Lease a Bike took responsibility in the peloton from early on. With an eye on the finale, the riders kept the race under control and made sure Brennan remained well protected. As the finish drew closer, the pace increased further and the yellow-and-black formation moved increasingly towards the front. Even when the parcours rose again in the final stages, Brennan remained well positioned. “We have two unbelievable diesels in the team who can just ride all day. At one point, we had some echelons and they did an incredible job to position us well,” Brennan explained afterwards.

In the final kilometers, everything came together. Christophe Laporte and Wout van Aert took the lead and perfectly positioned Brennan for the sprint. With a powerful acceleration, the Brit then finished off the work of his teammates. “In the finale, I had the guys around me the whole time. That gave me a huge amount of support and confidence from the team once again,” Brennan said.