On the undulating 200-kilometre route, Brennan, already a fourteen-time winner this season, started as one of the main favourites. The young Brit, however, was not planning to wait for a potential bunch sprint.

After the early breakaway of five riders was caught, Brennan and Kuss went on the offensive during the hilly phase of the race. The duo managed to form part of a strong lead group of twelve. Within that front selection, Kuss sacrificed himself for his British teammate.

Behind them, the peloton cooperated well and gradually closed the gap to the breakaway. Everything came back together soon after. Brennan made another late attempt to escape, but the bunch did not grant him any freedom.

“I felt good today”, Brennan began afterwards. “We stuck to our pre-race plan: to stay alert in the decisive moments, and that went well. Sepp was really strong and reacted perfectly when Michael Matthews tried to stir things up. I then waited for the right moment to bridge across.”

Brennan continued: “Our group worked well together, but so did the peloton. The team tried to disrupt the chase behind, but unfortunately, that wasn’t enough. It’s a pity we were caught in the end. Still, we can be proud of the effort we put in today. We gave it everything, even if we couldn’t finish it off with a win”, he concluded.