Team Visma | Lease a Bike Development took firm control of the final stage of the Giro d’Italia for U23 riders. Both Pietro Mattio, Darren van Bekkum and Brennan were part of the day’s breakaway. On the crucial short climbs of the Bertinoro, the riders of the yellow-black formation took control. The peloton, which included pink jersey wearer Jarno Widar, failed to close the gap. In the end, ten riders sprinted for the stage win in Forlimpopoli. After a good lead-out from Mattio, Brennan sprinted to his third win of the season.

"This win is hugely satisfying”, Brennan said afterwards. "We knew beforehand that we had to be in the breakaway if we wanted to have a chance of winning. That's why we decided to make the race as hard as possible from the start. The guys rode fantastically. Pietro and Darren did an excellent job on the hills. That way the peloton stayed behind. In the final kilometre Pietro dropped me off perfectly. It was fantastic."

Brennan will make the switch to Team Visma | Lease a Bike's WorldTour team in 2025. "I hope I can show this in the WorldTour soon. Hilly courses like today suit me. I woke up with a super feeling. It's nice to have such good legs after a tough eight-day stage race. This victory is an important one in my development."

After the overall victory in the Giro Next Gen 2023 with Johannes Staune-Mittet, Team Visma | Lease a Bike Development was again at the start with high ambitions. On day three, with Jørgen Nordhagen and Menno Huising, the team saw two important riders for the classification drop out. "We had setbacks this week, so I'm happy to give the team this win," Brennan continued. "After the departure of Jørgen and Menno, it was hard to have an objective at times, but we were resilient. We showed that today."

Photos: Giro Next Gen (La Presse)