Cyclingflash
Matthew Brennan gives Visma | Lease a Bike first season win in final stage of Tour Down Under

Matthew Brennan gives Visma | Lease a Bike first season win in final stage of Tour Down Under

Matthew Brennan won the final stage of the Tour Down Under. The Brit beat Finn-Fisher Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM) in the sprint. The leader’s jersey worn by Jay Vine was no longer in danger, and the Australian secured the overall victory in his home race.

The final stage took place on a local circuit of 21 kilometers that had to be completed eight times, totaling 170 kilometers. The decisive challenge was the climb to Stirling (2 kilometers at 3.7%), and the finish stretch also rose deceptively. Ideal terrain for power sprinters like Brennan.

On the local circuit in Stirling, multiple breakaways formed, but the most significant was made up of Dutchman Pascal Eenkhoorn from Soudal Quick-Step, Robert Stannard of Bahrain-Victorious, and Luke Plapp from Jayco AlUla.

Along the way, the peloton was shaken up by a remarkable crash: a kangaroo jumped into the peloton, causing overall leader Vine and a teammate to fall. The Australian was able to continue his race.

Eventually, the breakaway was caught, and Santiago Buitrago of Bahrain Victorious, Gal Glivar of Alpecin-Premier Tech, and Jefferson Cepeda of Movistar made a late attack in vain. The stage was thus decided in a sprint, where Brennan proved fastest ahead of Fisher-Black and Lund Andresen.

Jay Vine finished with the peloton, securing his overall victory. Mauro Schmid from Jayco AlUla and Harry Sweeny of EF Education-EasyPost joined him on the podium.