Matthew Brennan can't quite believe it, yet. For the fifth time at the Vuelta a España, his first-ever Grand Tour, he crossed the line for the stage victory, this time in Seville, and with a piece of history to go with it.
Adding to his four previous triumphs and two from Wout van Aert, Brennan winning again means the Dutch team have broken their previous best haul of stage wins from a Grand Tour of six, from the 2022 Tour de France and Giro d'Italia earlier this season.
Unsurprisingly, it wasn't a goal they had set at the start – Brennan had never raced at this level before – but it's become one to chase for this ruthless bunch of stage hunters. With the imperious Brit delivering on all the promise he has already shown since turning pro, there's the possibility Visma may end up with eight or nine, if Sepp Kuss or Jørgen Nordhagen can win in the mountains, or either he or Van Aert can capture the Granada finale.
Latest Videos FromCyclingnews
"It is unbelievably special. We have so many big names that have come through the team and tried to achieve the same thing that we have," said Brennan to Eurosport in the mixed zone.
"We've come to this race, and we set out with a plan, and that was to win some stages, but it was never really in anyone's mind to try and break this record or anything. We sat down yesterday and said, 'OK, we need to do something here; we need to break this record.'"
Often coming across as mature beyond his years when he speaks, the understated 21-year-old was left stunned when trying to reflect on just what he'd achieved at his first tilt in one of cycling's biggest races.
"To be honest, I don't think I fully believe it yet. You cannot sit here and think five Vuelta stages, you know, that doesn't really sit well in my opinion; that's a lot of victories," added Brennan.
"But I also stand here with the support of some of the best riders in the peloton. For myself, it's unbelievable. I think in two or three weeks' time, I still won't believe I have five victories, but also that's OK.
"Maybe in a few weeks on from that I will start to look back on it and think, phwoar, that was pretty impressive," he said, almost giving his best Geraint Thomas impression, "or when I try and get into the same shape, think flipping heck, this is getting pretty hard now; how on earth did I win five stages, I'm crawling? But I think it's a really good stepping stone for next year's ambition and also gives me a lot of confidence to be in the peloton with all these good guys. It's an unbelievable situation to be in."
When he got to the final sprint, Brennan largely went freestyle, but the most impressive thing about Visma getting to seven wins is that they've done it with only six riders. Having lost Ben Tulett and Christophe Laporte, they've continued to impress as an improvised outfit, getting the climbers to do much of the early pulling, before the big stars come to the fore in the finale.
Even today, Van Aert wasn't able to do the same stunning lead-out he's produced three times in this race already, but he was still essential in providing the assist by ensuring the bunch stayed together in the final kilometres, and Brennan got the chance to sprint.
"Suddenly, it surfaced yesterday that we had never won seven stages in a Grand Tour," said the Belgian to Sporza. "That is an insane number anyway. The fact that it worked out today is something to be proud of."
Visma have more chances to improve on their new record in this Vuelta, but for tonight, they will be celebrating.
"Also, now [sports director] Frans Maassen has to stand up in the dinner hall and do his thing, whatever agreement that was," said Brennan. "I don't know what it is, but something humiliating; I'm sure someone, somewhere will post a nice video of him and it will be there for all the viewers to see."
For unbeatable coverage across road, gravel and tech, subscribe to Cyclingnews. You'll get comprehensive race coverage of La Vuelta a España, subscriber-exclusive analysis from our expert columnists, in-depth features and industry-leading tech insight. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! Join today.
