Visma hails Brennan’s 'logical step' after Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne win
Matthew Brennan’s victory at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne capped a day of control for Visma | Lease a Bike and gave the team an early-season statement in the second race of the Opening Weekend. Inside the squad there was satisfaction, but little surprise: the feeling was that Saturday’s Omloop already showed the legs, and that this time the race finally unfolded in their favour.
Sports director Maarten Wynants admitted the confidence was already there after Saturday, even if the outcome was not. “We had a lot of confidence after how Omloop went,” he said to Wielertflits. “We hoped today would go a bit more our way. I think we grabbed the race well and then we did not let it go. At a certain point you are always at the front when something happens. It is only nice that we can finish it off like this as well.”
Visma’s grip on the race stood out, especially compared with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, where their plan was harder to impose. Wynants pointed to how the route and conditions shaped the race. “Today it was mainly a different course. The wind was better, and at a certain point the roads were narrower,” he explained.
“Yesterday we also wanted to do more or less the same as today, but the scenario has to go your way. That was less the case yesterday than today.” In the Omloop, Christophe Laporte was Visma’s top result in fourth, at 53 seconds from Mathieu van der Poel.
There was one moment, when Brennan had to chase back in the hilly zone after a positioning error on the approach to the Trieux. Asked if that caused tension in the team car, Wynants was down to earth.. “Well yes. At that moment you cannot do much,” he said. “We did trust that he was good, but the positioning towards the Trieux went slightly wrong. The rest were in position, so they could block things. Then Pietro Mattio could bring him back.”
Brennan had already been considered a key card for the weekend, and with Wout van Aert absent even more eyes landed on him. Wynants insisted the pressure did not weigh heavily. “He is naturally very calm and mature,” he said. “I also do not think he necessarily felt he had to step into Wout’s footsteps. He mainly wanted to win for himself today.”
Whether this victory raises expectations for the spring, Wynants kept the message clear and measured. “I see this as the first logical step. He has to prove it at this level. He has done that, now he can go on to the next round.”
The next test is already circled, with Brennan due to race Milan-San Remo on March 21.
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