Brennan was delighted afterwards with the way his team controlled the finale. “The guys rode really well for me today. Steven controlled the race all day, which was great to see. It gave me the confidence that we could finish it off,” the Brit explained after his victory. “In the finale, Ben was in front of me and he kept the pace high. Everything was under control. After the final corner, I went full gas and I’m really happy that it worked out. All the guys were very happy, it was a really nice team effort.”

The victory also gives Brennan extra confidence heading into his upcoming goals. “This gives me a lot of confidence for the Vuelta and shows that I can do things on hard finishes like this.”

The first stage of the Spanish stage race followed a classic scenario. Four riders went clear early on and built a lead of more than two minutes. As expected, Team Visma | Lease a Bike took responsibility in the peloton. “We were the favorites today and that proved to be the case,” sports director Maarten Wynants explained afterwards. “All the teams were looking at us, and it was up to us to control the breakaway.” That plan was executed perfectly, with Steven Kruijswijk setting the pace at the front of the peloton for a large part of the day.

The team stayed calm throughout the stage and maintained control of the race. In the closing kilometers, the final escapees were brought back and Team Visma | Lease a Bike could fully focus on the finale. “In the end, the guys finished it off perfectly,” Wynants said about the team’s execution. “It was a hectic finale where positioning was really important, just like having good legs. A very nice one-two today.”

The finish at Alto del Castillo provided a spectacular finale. On the uphill final kilometer, averaging 6.1%, positioning was crucial. Brennan and Tulett were brought perfectly into position, after which Brennan proved to be the fastest in the uphill sprint. Tulett completed the celebrations by finishing second and securing the one-two finish.

Thanks to this strong opening day, Brennan will start tomorrow’s stage in the leader’s jersey of the Vuelta a Burgos. The team now looks ahead to the second stage, a 178-kilometer route to Pineda de la Sierra, where another challenging day awaits in the Spanish stage race.