Brennan does not fail in the sprint and achieves his second victory in La Vuelta

British cyclist James Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike) won the sprint this Wednesday in stage 5 of La Vuelta 2026, 173.3 kilometers between Falset. Costa Daurada and Roquetes. Terres de l’Ebre, in which the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) has maintained the leader’s red jersey and the distance with the rest of the favorites, who entered with the large group, in the general classification.

James Matthew Brennan has achieved his second sprint victory in La Vuelta 2026 with evident superiority over his rivals. The Briton, helped by Visma-Lease a Bike, who controlled the end of the stage, had no rival in a massive arrival in which Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) were not present, who were cut off at the port of Paüls.

A stage in which the breakaway of the day would be configured at the start of the day, made up of five riders: Walter Calzoni (Pinarello-Q36.5), Fredrik Dversnes (Uno-X Mobility), Stefan Küng (Tudor Pro Cycling), Mattia Gaffuri (Picnic-PostNL) and Diego Uriarte (Kern Pharma Team). The five would have more than two minutes of distance from the peloton, however, the wind and the movements of the peloton in search of forming fans would bring it down 98 km from the finish line.

After passing the Deltebre area, the pace of the race descended into a tense calm on the way to the only port of the day, Paüls, in the third category, where the UAE Team set the pace while avoiding attacks. Thus, the battle between the runners who wanted to avoid finishing in the sprint would come after reaching the top. Especially insistent would be the Spanish Xabier Mikel Azparren (Pinarello Q36.5), whom Wout van Aert and Visma-Lease a Bike were in charge of tying up short.

And with the expectation that a less demanding pace could encourage more runners, the Dutch team (Visma-Lease a Bike) took control of the race, giving the peloton a little more speed. They were aware that, in the absence of their great rivals in the sprints, Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), who had been cut in the upper Paüls, James Matthew Brennan was the great favorite to achieve his second partial victory in the edition.

Thus, the second massive arrival of La Vuelta 26 became inevitable. In the last two kilometers, the Visma-Lease a Bike was joined by the collaboration of a UNO-X-MOBILITY. And after a sensational shot by his teammates Van Aert and Christophe Laporte, Brennan prevailed with great authority over his rivals. After the British, the Belgian Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora) and the Italian Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education – Easypost) would enter.

As for the general classification, both Tadej Pogacar, who maintains the leader’s red jersey, and the rest of the favorites entered the finish line with the large group. Tomorrow they will face a mountain stage between Alcossebre and Castelló, of 177.5 km, in which they will have to overcome two second category passes, one third category and the final ascent to the first category Pass of Bartolo, with a ‘sterrato’ section and which is crowned 21 kilometers from the finish line. Thus, it could be a favorable stage for Pogacar to achieve its third stage.