Rookie Matthew Brennan is following in the footsteps of his idol Mark Cavendish and is dominating the sprints at the Vuelta at will. The 21-year-old Briton won the eleventh stage, covering 153.8 kilometres from Cartagena to Lorca, in commanding fashion, claiming his third stage victory already. Cavendish had also won three stages in his first Tour of Spain in 2010, although the British sprint king was already 25 years old at the time.
Brennan, who was once again perfectly positioned by Paris–Roubaix winner Wout van Aert, came out on top this time ahead of Frenchman Bryan Coquard and Belgian Jordi Meeus. He had previously won the stages in Roquetes and Manosque. The former junior world champion on the track has been carefully developed by the Visma team via its development squad and is competing in his first Grand Tour. He has already secured ten victories this season.
Mas retains the red jersey
In the overall standings, Spain’s Enric Mas continues to wear the red jersey as the overall leader. The 31-year-old is 1 minute and 18 seconds ahead of four-time Vuelta champion Primož Roglič.
Thursday is likely to see another showdown between the contenders for the overall victory. The twelfth stage, covering 166.6 kilometres from Vera to Calar Alto, concludes with a Category 1 climb.
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