Matthew Brennan wins stage 11 of the Vuelta a España in sprint finish at Lorca

Sprint finish in Lorca

Matthew Brennan captured his third victory of the 2026 Vuelta a España on Wednesday, winning stage 11 in a bunch sprint. The 21-year-old Visma-Lease a Bike rider crossed the line ahead of French sprinter Bryan Coquard of Cofidis and Belgian rider Jordi Meeus of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. Brennan received a lead-out in the final kilometre from teammate Wout van Aert, who retained the green points jersey after finishing fifth. The mostly flat stage covered 153.8 kilometres from Cartagena to Lorca, with the peloton closing down early breakaways and averaging nearly 46 kilometres per hour in the final 10 kilometres. Italian rider Alessandro Romele crossed the finish line in eighth place.

Brennan credited his squad for controlling the closing kilometres and setting up the gallop.

We took the initiative today again. The boys pulled as hard as they could even after a tough day in the legs yesterday. We still went full gas. Coming into the final, we really held our own place and knew that we were all strong enough to kind of get to where we want to be.

Three stage wins on Grand Tour debut

Brennan previously won stage two and stage five of this year's race, taking his career professional tally to 22 victories. His third stage win makes him the youngest rider to win multiple stages in a single Vuelta since Tadej Pogačar won three in 2019. He also became the first rider to take three stage victories in his first Grand Tour appearance since Pogačar achieved the feat seven years earlier. Among sprinters, the last rider to win three stages in a debut Grand Tour was Fernando Gaviria at the 2017 Giro d'Italia. Mark Cavendish previously won three stages in his Vuelta debut at the age of 25, four years older than Brennan.

I'm with a team full of massive champions. We've got guys who have podiumed in Grand Tours, and won them as well, and guys who've won classics and huge races. And the fact they go for me is an amazing opportunity. I'm really thankful that they go full gas for me.

General classification standings

Enric Mas of Movistar finished in the main group to defend the red jersey as overall race leader. Mas holds a lead of 1 minute and 18 seconds over four-time Vuelta winner Primož Roglič of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. Felix Gall occupies third place at 1 minute and 39 seconds behind Mas, while Britain's Oscar Onley sits in fourth position just over one minute further back. Mas originally inherited the red jersey on Saturday during stage eight, when former race leader Tadej Pogačar crashed out with a fractured left collarbone. The peloton also saw former world champion Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek withdraw before the start of stage 11 due to illness.

Mountain test on stage 12

The race moves into the high mountains on Thursday with a 166.6-kilometre route starting in Vera. Stage 12 includes five categorised climbs and 4,475 metres of vertical elevation gain in southern Spain. Riders will tackle a double ascent featuring the Alto de Velefique before finishing on the summit of Calar Alto at an altitude of 2,168 metres. The climb to the astronomical observatory at Calar Alto opens four demanding mountain stages across the southern ranges. The 2026 Vuelta a España concludes on 13 September in Granada.