Blow for Visma-Lease a Bike as Matthew Brennan withdraws from Milan-San Remo

Fast-rising British sprinter Matthew Brennan has been forced to withdraw from Milan-San Remo because of illness.

The 20-year-old Visma-Lease a Bike pro was expected to make his debut in La Primavera this Saturday, but will now have to wait for another year.

As the winner of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in late February and 12 races in his rookie pro season in 2025, anticipation had been high about what Brennan could achieve in his first participation in a race that seemed tailor-made to his talents.

Lacking their key sprinter, Visma-Lease a Bike will now have to rely more fully on 2020 Milan-San Remo champion Wout van Aert, American all-rounder Matteo Jorgenson and former Ghent-Wevelgem winner Christophe Laporte.

Brennan will be replaced by one of teammate Jonas Vingegaard's key domestiques, Victor Campenaerts.

The Belgian is currently engaged in a last-minute dash to Italy to be present for Saturday's Milan-San Remo start, in what will be his fourth participation in five years. Last year, Campenaerts completed cycling's longest Classic in 87th place.

It is not clear when Brennan will return to racing, but he was provisionally due to take part in Gent-Wevelgem on March 29 as well as Dwars door Vlaanderen and the Tour of Flanders before finishing off his Classics campaign with a repeat ride in his only Monument of 2025, Paris-Roubaix.

Get unlimited access to our unrivalled 2026 Spring Classics coverage with a Cyclingnews subscription. We'll bring you breaking news, reports, and analysis from some of the biggest races on the calendar, including Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. Find out more.