'Massive difference' - Brennan credits Visma team structure for neo pro success
Matthew Brennan continues to shine in his first season amongst the professionals, landing his 12th win of the season on Thursday at the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain. Domestique caught up with the 20-year-old ahead of the start of stage 4
One of the revelations of the 2025 season, Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike) sprinted to victory on stage 3 of the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain in Ampthill on Thursday, becoming the youngest stage winner in the race’s history at 20 years and 29 days old.
The British neo-pro was clinical in the sprint, having been led out by race leader Olav Kooij, who had claimed the opening two stages, giving Visma | Lease a Bike a clean sweep of the race so far.
Brennan's victory, his 12th of the 2025 season, continues what has been one of the most impressive debut professional seasons in recent memory. This adds to victories in the Volta a Catalunya, Tour de Pologne, and the GC at the Tour of Norway, among others, with a perfect start to the race for the British rider on home roads.
"It's really nice," Brennan told Domestique at the start of stage 4 in Atherstone. "I think the crowds have been insane at the moment, so I'm really looking forward to heading into the weekend, especially from today, when the stages are going to be more uphill. I think some of the crowds are going to be incredible."
The 20-year-old Darlington-born rider has drawn a lot of attention beyond just the number of victories he has taken, but also for the style of victories, his supreme versatility, and how quickly he has been able to adapt to the professional ranks. When asked about his rapid progression, Brennan credited his team’s structured approach.
"Yeah, it's been great. The team have really found the big areas of improvement, and we've been able to work on that quite nicely, and I think that's brought on a lot of these things, you know. I didn't start coming into the team with a coach, for example, so I think having the structure and everything put in place has made a massive difference."
Brennan has demonstrated versatility throughout the season, such as finding success in bunch sprints against Tour de France green jersey winner Jonathan Milan in the Lidl Deutschland Tour, while also showing prowess on punchier finishes in Catalunya and Norway, for example.
Despite his early success, the young Briton isn’t rushing to specialise in one discipline.
"Yeah, I go in with an open mind with everything, I don't think you can kind of label yourself as one thing at this stage. If you enjoy it, then why not? You know, it also makes you a better biker. Yeah, in the future, I probably will specialise a bit, but for now it's just do what you can and enjoy."
The Tour of Britain continues on Friday with stage 4, and a punchy finale which suits Brennan well, could see the Dutch team land their fourth consecutive stage win. Brennan currently sits second overall, 10 seconds behind his teammate Olav Kooij, who holds the race leader's green jersey.
