Matthew Brennan is undoubtedly one of the – if not the – revelations of 2025. The 20-year-old British top talent extended his contract last week until 2029 and in the Inside the Beehive Podcast from Visma | Lease a Bike, he reflects on his debut year as a pro. There, he reveals that he got, metaphorically speaking, a slap in the face from Mathieu van der Poel during Paris-Roubaix.
The young Brit impressed during his debut in the Hell of the North. At one point, he was even riding up front, while team leader Wout van Aert had to (temporarily) drop back. Brennan initially chose to stay in the wheel of world champion Tadej Pogačar. And above all, he avoided following Van der Poel’s wheel. “He was jumping all over the place, on curbs, following everyone. I thought, ‘I’m not getting mixed up in that.’ He was way too agile for me.”
Brennan ultimately finished 44th, just under nine minutes behind winner MVDP. His energy faded after the Forest of Wallers, ninety kilometers from the finish. “I remember coming off that stretch when Van der Poel attacked. I told myself he must be tired too. But then he unleashed the biggest watt bomb I've ever seen. He left everything on the pavement. That was the moment I cracked.”
Still, the young rider calls the French Monument crucial to his development. “My reason for racing it was simple: gain experience, enjoy myself, no stress, and help Wout if possible. If not, what difference would it have made?” Brennan also hopes to race the cobbled classic again next year.
