“It’s absolutely incredible”, a delighted Brennan says after the finish. “Four victories already, when the plan was to win one. This is unbelievable. The people watching the stage on television will have seen how hard my teammates worked today. Wout then brought me to the finish in an amazing way in a chaotic finale. That was perfection.”

Brennan is right to call this a team effort. Immediately after the start in Cortegana, Team Visma | Lease a Bike took control of the race. Led by Steven Kruijswijk, who is in the final week of his professional cycling career, and Jørgen Nordhagen, the team kept the breakaway riders within a safe margin throughout the stage. Once the five escapees were caught well before the finish, the focus shifted to Wout van Aert and Brennan. With a brilliant lead-out, the Belgian delivered his teammate perfectly, allowing Brennan to sprint comfortably to his fourth victory.

“Even without Christophe Laporte, who unfortunately had to go home, the lead-out was perfect. I just had to trust Wout and follow his wheel. It’s really impressive that he can deliver me to victory in all this chaos”, Brennan says. The 21-year-old Brit is the youngest rider since Vicente Carretero in 1936 to win four stages in the Vuelta a España. Teammate Van Aert described the achievement as exceptional. “He has done it again. It’s really impressive.”

Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s tally in this Vuelta a España now stands at six victories. “Today was a true team performance. Everyone stuck to the plan and gave everything for the stage victory. A big round of applause for Steven and Jørgen, who never gave the breakaway a chance today. In a Grand Tour, there is a new opportunity every day. We’re not done yet as a team. Tomorrow, we’ll go for number seven”, Van Aert concludes.