Matthew Brennan had just won three successive bike races, including one – the GP Denain – that really got the cycling world sitting up and taking notice of him. But when his phone rang after his latest victory for Visma-Lease a Bike, the 19-year-old couldn’t quite fathom the message. “It was an interesting call because they said: ‘Matthew, can you ride the Volta a Catalunya? You’re gonna replace Jonas’. And I was there like: ‘Jonas? Guys, I’m not a climber!’”

Brennan is not a climber, no, but like Jonas Vingegaard, the man he substituted at Catalunya, he is a winner. And a serial one. The neo-pro Briton accepted the invitation to take the place of the two-time Tour de France winner and duly won the first stage of the Catalan race, extending his winning run to four-in-a-row. “My first WorldTour win is really cool and something I’ll always remember,” he said after his victory. Speak to those in and around him, and his victory in Sant Feliu de Guíxols will not be his last in the sport’s upper echelons. Cycling better get used to Matthew Brennan.

This article was published on Rouleur in March 2025. You can read the full article here.