Matthew Brennan: "Experience from Paris-Roubaix will really take me to the next level"
For Matthew Brennan, the classic spring season of 2026 begins this weekend with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and after his rapid development last year, expectations are high. In the new 2026 Spring Guide from RIDE Magazine, we get an in-depth introduction to the British rising star of Visma | Lease a Bike. He also reflects on his Paris-Roubaix debut from last season.
At the start of 2025, Brennan was a relatively unknown name within Visma's core for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (he finished 69th), after which he secured victories at the GP de Denain and the tough Tour of Catalonia. There was already external demand to include Brennan in the Paris-Roubaix lineup, especially given the battered squad Visma | Lease a Bike had at the time. Ultimately, the team management decided to include Brennan in the cobbled classics.
The team already showed confidence in you at Roubaix. Was that something that surprised you?
“It didn’t come completely out of nowhere. I had won the GP Denain before that, and Roubaix is a very similar race where positioning is also a huge factor. Yes, it’s tougher, it’s longer. But what they were really looking for was just experience.”
“They saw that I held my own at GP Denain and was where I needed to be. Roubaix is different, and they wanted me to experience that. That was the goal. I wasn’t there to win; it was just to experience Paris-Roubaix. And if I could, I’d help Wout or one of the other guys. So that’s all I did, but I went further than I thought I would.”
Was your performance at Roubaix the biggest surprise for you last season, or was it the stage win in Catalonia?
“Roubaix, and especially the Forest of Wallers. I remember entering the Forest and looking around, and there weren’t many riders left. Then I thought, ‘Wow, okay, this is something.’ And you know, in hindsight, there are many things I would have done differently. But yes, this is exactly why the team put me there. So that if I get the chance to do it again, I know where to be and what to do.”
“That experience will really take me to the next level and determine how far I can go in a race, because then you don’t miss attacks or have to chase. And that’s the difference between being in the action yourself or having Wout up front, and then we can play our numerical advantage.”
The full interview with Matthew Brennan can be read in the new RIDE Magazine, which launches on March 6. If you order the magazine online now, you’ll get it extra early, receive a free 2026 Season Poster, and pay no shipping costs within the Netherlands and Belgium.
