Brennan cruises to fourth Vuelta win after Van Aert's perfect lead-out

It had to be him. Matthew Brennan won stage 16 of the Vuelta a España after another expert lead-out from Visma | Lease a Bike teammate Wout van Aert in La Rábida.

Brennan’s victory was the fourth of his astonishing Grand Tour debut, and his superiority was never in doubt here once Van Aert hit the front within sight of the line.

Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) took second place ahead of Vito Braet (Lotto Intermarché) and Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), while Van Aert held on for sixth place to add to his haul of points towards the green jersey.

The ever-aggressive Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was voted the most combative rider after leading the five-man break that animated the day’s racing, but the fast men were never going to be denied on a finale as flat and fast as this one, especially with Visma controlling affairs behind.

Soudal Quick-Step led into the final kilometre on behalf of Alberto Dainese and Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) hit the front early in the finishing straight, but the direction of travel was clear once the on-form Van Aert began his long lead-out on behalf of Brennan.

Visma now have six stage wins at this Vuelta, and Brennan will fancy his chances of adding another on Wednesday.

Enric Mas (Movistar) finished safely in the peloton to retain the red jersey of race leader, 2:06 ahead of Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) and 2:10 clear of Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

The flat and fast run-in to La Rábida meant that stage 16 was always likely to end in a bunch sprint but that didn’t deter a group of five riders from forcing their way clear after 10km. Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) has been a constant aggressor since his leader Tadej Pogačar crashed out, and the American went again here, bringing Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ United), Simon Dalby (Uno-X Mobility), Jasha Sütterlin (Jayco AlUla) and Roland Thalmann (Tudor) with him.

That quintet built up a maximum lead in excess of two minutes, but Visma | Lease a Bike’s policing at the head of the bunch meant their buffer was never likely to spiral out of control. Steven Kruijswijk, in the final Grand Tour of his career, was again prominent in keeping tabs on the break with a view to teeing up Brennan in the finale.

Inside the final 50km, Bryan Coquard’s Cofidis team and Jordi Meeus’ Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe squad joined Visma at the front of the peloton, and their combined efforts saw the break’s advantage contract inside a minute.

The escapees would be caught with a shade over 23km to go, just as the tension was ratcheting upwards in the bunch, with Ivo Oliveira (UAE) going down in a crash.

Red Bull hit the front with intent on a section of exposed road with 20km to go in a bid to force an opening for Primož Roglič, but the red jersey Enric Mas was live to any danger, parking himself firmly on the wheel of his rival with his Movistar guard also on hand.

This would wind up as a day of uneasy truce among the general classification contenders, but the race for this Vuelta is very much alive with a demanding finale to come.