Brennan penalised after dangerous sprint move in Tour de Pologne opener
Matthew Brennan has been handed a yellow card following a reckless move in the final kilometre of stage 1 at the Tour de Pologne. The 19-year-old Brit, working as lead-out for Olav Kooij, veered sharply to the right while checking over his shoulder - a move that nearly sent Fernando Gaviria crashing and disrupted several riders behind.
The jury quickly responded, issuing Brennan a 500-Swiss-franc fine, a five-point penalty in the points classification, and a relegation to last place in the stage results.
The incident came in the wake of an already tense finale, triggered by a crash near the front of the peloton that left several lead-out trains scrambling for position. As Brennan swung off after his final pull, he cut sharply across the road while glancing over his shoulder - a move that compromised the chances of multiple fast men.
Fernando Gaviria had to correct his line to avoid contact, and riders like Paul Magnier saw their sprint efforts unravel. In the reshuffle that followed, Tim Torn Teutenberg launched early, but controversy aside, Olav Kooij delivered for Visma | Lease a Bike. He waited, timed it perfectly, and surged through to take his sixth win of the 2025 season.
“We briefly lost each other in the chaos, but I managed to move to the front at just the right moment,” said Kooij. “It’s the fourth year in a row I’ve won a stage here. I already had many positive memories of this race, so it’s great to add another one.”
The day had started smoothly for the Dutch team, with Steven Kruijswijk controlling the early breakaway over the nearly 200km route from Wrocław to Legnica. In the final kilometres, Kooij’s teammates regrouped just in time to position him for the win.
Sport director Jesper Mørkøv praised the effort: “The team did an excellent job today. Steven kept the break in check, and Olav knows exactly how to move through a messy finale. It’s a great way to open the race.”
As the Tour de Pologne continues today with a punchy uphill finish in Karpacz, it won’t be one for the sprinters. Stage 2’s two-part climb to the line is expected to deliver the first real GC shake-up - and a very different kind of test for the peloton.
