In the third stage of the Swiss stage race, the yellow-and-black formation was visible at the front of the race from early on. Riding in support of Brennan, Team Visma | Lease a Bike played an active role in the chase of the breakaway riders, who had built up a significant lead.

Despite the team’s hard work, the two escapees narrowly managed to stay out of the peloton’s reach. Jhonatan Narváez won the sprint ahead of fellow breakaway rider Xandro Meurisse. Brennan crossed the line in eleventh place.

“Today there were simply two stronger riders,” said sports director Gaëtan Pons in an honest post-race assessment. “It was the most important stage for us this week, so it’s disappointing that we were not able to compete for the win. The guys gave everything in the chase and I can certainly not fault the team. The breakaway riders were just stronger.”

The Luxembourgish sports director now turns his attention to tomorrow’s time trial. “Tomorrow is a very important day for the general classification. Wilco has shown many times that he is capable of a strong time trial, so hopefully he can deliver a good result.”