The Vuelta a España is often seen as a springboard for greater things in Grand Tour racing, and after his latest triumph in Spain on Tuesday, up-and-coming British fastman Matthew Brennan has now confirmed that he'd like to see what he can do in the biggest stage race of them all next summer.
At La Rábida on stage 16, Brennan showed no sign of losing any of his rampant superiority in the Vuelta's earlier sprints, despite this being the longest single period of racing the 21-year-old has ever done.
Factor in the Tour's UK start next summer, and when the Vuelta's own TV interviewer Jeff Quenet pointed out to Brennan that the previous rider to take four wins on his Grand Tour debut had been Fernando Gaviria in the 2017 Giro d'Italia and that Gaviria had then gone on to take the opening stage of the 2018 Tour de France, it was hardly surprising that Brennan agreed he'd like to follow a similar pathway.
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Brennan underlined in his press conference later that his idea would have to fit with whatever plans Visma-Lease a Bike had for Jonas Vingegaard. But his enthusiasm for the possible project and a chance to lead the Tour de France on home soil shone through as well.
"I think this is a big stepping stone," Brennan said about his remarkable run of Vuelta wins, and how that could translate into a chance to take on even more important challenges at the Tour, "and when again we look at long-term development, it's a really nice stepping stone.
"It's my first Grand Tour, but also to be as successful in this first Grand Tour is a really nice step into the ambition to try and win in the first few stages in the Tour de France next year."
Brennan pointed out that the Vuelta had been both a goal in its own right, but an excellent opportunity for him to build his teamwork with Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte.
The two have both acted as lead-outs in the race for the 21-year-old, Van Aert on stage 16 and Laporte, before his abandon, on stage 11. What's more, Brennan and Van Aert left the opposition reeling when they formed part of the breakaway to Loja on stage 13, which culminated in a stunning victory for the Belgian, and they also coordinated well to see off no less a challenger than Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) on stage 2's hilly finale in France.
"It's also been a great opportunity to work with Wout and Christophe as well. Christophe is not here [now], but to have that experience, going on to races in the future where we'll work together, it's a really good stepping stone in that development as well and going onto the Tour next year," Brennan said.
Of the three Tour stages in the UK next year, the opening two to Carlisle and Liverpool look like they could be nailed-on bunch sprints, whilst the third to Cardiff, if much hillier, it might yet end in a rider from a small group taking the day's honours. In all of them, Brennan said, looking at the routes, he felt there was room for him to either have a go himself or contribute to the longer-term plans.
This last part would arguably have to be a major element of any project to send Brennan to the Tour. It's true that Wout van Aert's versatility has allowed him to go for some top sprint stages as well in the past - such as the Champs-Élysées in 2023 - but Visma have always made Jonas Vingegaard's ambitions to win the race overall their top priority, and it remains to be seen how or if these different targets could fit together.
"I've seen the first and also the second stage [of the 2027 Tour, and the third is quite hard, but there are definitely opportunities to do something within my strengths," Brennan argued.
"I would really like to be on the start line. I also understand that the best squad has to go with the ambitions the team has, but I think that for the moment, with being successful as a team, we can probably use myself in different ways to help Jonas bring out his strengths even more and play the cards.
"But that's also just something the team will discuss in the future, and there has been no decision made, so we just take it as it comes and go from there."
Brennan said that although he had begun to think about racing the Tour in 2027, rather than being a definite target, he hadn't made definitive decisions back then before turning pro that he had to be there in Edinburgh on July 2 next summer.
"Not necessarily. When the opportunity came, and I saw that the Tour was coming to the UK, I thought, OK, this is maybe an option in the future."
"I couldn't tell you how my development would go, you can also have a bad year and that's important to acknowledge. But I think it's always important for your long-term development to have those goals, to have those stepping stones and the team are also happy to support my goals and support my ambitions.
"And here we are, we're on a really big race, and we're being really successful, and also when you look in the long-term, that's a stepping stone to other big ambitions, in the Classics season next year and also onto the Tour, if that is an option."
While the Vuelta is raising Brennan's ambitions for 2027 to the biggest event of them all, he has, however, ruled out the idea that he might U-turn on his earlier decision not to do the World Championships this autumn.
"To answer that question," he said, "yesterday [Monday] I've already booked my holiday, so I think that's pretty clear."
But when it comes to taking time off from work next July, though, Brennan is clearly already hoping that will be a very different story.
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