A Twenty-One Year Old on His First Grand Tour Has Won Five Stages and His Team Has Won Seven
Matthew Brennan took Wednesday's sprint in Sevilla for a Visma record, and Thursday's time trial decides the Vuelta.
Matthew Brennan won stage 17 of the Vuelta a Espana on Wednesday, 185km from Dos Hermanas to Sevilla, ahead of Jordi Meeus and Magnus Cort.
Brennan is 21 and riding his first Grand Tour. It was his fifth stage win of this Vuelta, from five bunch or reduced sprints contested. He also won stage 16 on Tuesday, 181.1km from Cortegana to the Monasterio de La Rabida.
With Wout van Aert's two wins, Visma-Lease a Bike have taken seven stages through seventeen, a record for the team in a single Grand Tour.
The general classification is still open. Enric Mas leads on 56 hours 2 minutes 29 seconds, with Felix Gall at 2:06, Primoz Roglic at 2:10, Richard Carapaz at 4:24 and Oscar Onley at 5:44. Jakob Omrzel, Mattias Skjelmose, Cristian Rodriguez, Clement Berthet and Sepp Kuss complete the top ten.
Thursday's stage 18 is an individual time trial, and it is where the Mas and Roglic question gets settled.
The race started in Monaco on 22 August. Tadej Pogacar won stages 1, 4 and 6 before abandoning. Stage 3 was cancelled for weather.
Stage finishes fall around half past five in Spain, which is half past eleven at night in Malaysia and Singapore.