“This was absolutely massive”, Brennan beams after the finish. “My teammates kept me in the perfect position today and we took the initiative again, with yesterday’s tough race still in our legs. For me, it was just a matter of finishing it off. I’m really grateful to them for that. I’m incredibly happy with this victory.”

A bunch sprint in the eleventh stage to Lorca proved inevitable on Wednesday afternoon. That was exactly what Team Visma | Lease a Bike had planned for. Just like yesterday, the team controlled the stage from the start, with Steven Kruijswijk and Jørgen Nordhagen doing the work at the front. When a group of four breakaway riders was caught early on, the pace remained high in the peloton to leave little room for any new attacks.

With numerous roundabouts and corners in the final ten kilometers, Bruno Armirail then put the trio of Christophe Laporte, Wout van Aert and Brennan in the perfect position. After great work from the Frenchman and a strong lead-out from Van Aert, it was a formality for Brennan. The 21-year-old powered to his third stage victory. As a result, the Brit is the first rider since Filippo Ganna at the 2020 Giro d’Italia to win at least three stages on his Grand Tour debut.

Brennan is proud of his team: “We did everything we could today to keep the pace as high as possible. Once we reached the final, we were in the perfect position. We did a great job in the final ten kilometers and stayed out of trouble. I’m in a team with some of the biggest champions, riders who have won Grand Tours and the biggest classics. It means a lot to me to have their trust and to see them ride for me. I’m happy I could finish it off.”

Van Aert, who still leads the points classification, also described it as a fantastic day. “This was one hundred percent how we had envisioned it. We hoped to come through the final corner in first and second position. Christophe timed it perfectly to bring us there. Matthew then finished it off brilliantly once again.”