'Unbelievable': Brennan takes fourth stage after sprint victory on stage 16 of Vuelta

Briton Matthew Brennan (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) outsprinted the ⁠pack in the final straight to take victory in stage 16 of the Vuelta a Espana by a bike length on Tuesday. After riding ‌181.1km from Cortegana to Palos de la Frontera on the south coast of ‌Spain, Brennan became the first rider to win four ‌stages of a Grand Tour in his maiden appearance since Colombian Fernando Gaviria ‌in 2017. The day began with an early breakaway group ‌of five riders separating from the peloton after 14km, stretching a lead out to two minutes 45 seconds. Over the course of the afternoon, ‌the peloton ate away at that gap, ⁠led primarily by Visma-Lease a ‌Bike's Steven Kruijswijk. Out of the hills and into temperatures rising to ​37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit), the gap continued to close until the breakaway was caught with 23km remaining. In ​the final 10km, a second trailing group met with the peloton, which was tightly bunched until the final kilometre, with ⁠Brennan's teammate Wout van Aert ​pushing out in front with the finish line in sight. The best efforts of runner-up Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) and Vito Braet (Lotto Intermarche) in third came too late, as Brennan launched comfortably off van Aert's wheel ‌for the victory. Belgian van Aert finished sixth in the stage and remains the points leader, ahead of Brennan. Vuelta stage 16 result Flashscore "It's unbelievable. Four victories, and the plan was for one," said Brennan. "For the team, it's six, I've lost count, we've won so many." The Briton praised Van Aert for his role in leading him out, saying: "I really trusted Wout and followed his wheel all the way. It's incredible that he can put you in ‌such a perfect position in such a chaotic race." Enric Mas ​kept a 2:06 lead in the general classification, as ‌he seeks his first Vuelta triumph, ahead of Austrian Felix Gall and Slovenia's Primoz Roglic, who trails by 2:10. The Mallorcan came second in 2018, 2021 and 2022, while Mas' team Movistar are also seeking their first victory since ⁠2016. Stage 17 begins on Wednesday ⁠on a flat 185km ‌route from Dos Hermanas to Seville.