00:01Onto the third and decisive final week of La Vuelta 26.
00:05We start with two stages that shouldn't have an impact on the overall standings.
00:09Today suits the punchier sprinters, which means all eyes will be on Visma Lisa bike.
00:14Between them, Matty Brennan and Watt van Aert have racked up five stage wins.
00:18But that dominance won't necessarily encourage the other sprint teams to lend them a hand.
00:23We do what we need to do.
00:27Personally, I've won three stages, whilst I've won two.
00:31We've ticked off our goal of stage winning.
00:34We just have to accept what happens.
00:38We've made a good plan and we try to execute that plan as best as possible.
00:43We have to be happy with that.
00:45Only two sprints in which Brennan or Van Aert took part didn't go their way.
00:49And in both cases, a Frenchman took victory.
00:52Bastien Tranchant and a few days earlier, Brian Cocker.
00:56Yeah, we've obviously got two big opportunities in the next couple of days, so we'll try to do a good
01:01job.
01:02They obviously have the fastest sprinter, but I'm quick as well.
01:05Perhaps we'll try to play it a bit more tactically today.
01:08I don't know exactly because we haven't had our briefing yet.
01:11We'll just have to see how the day pans out.
01:16Jordi Meurs, a sprint winner on the Champs Elysees, has also come close with three stage podiums.
01:22And Wisma are missing their key lead-out man Christophe Laporte, who abandoned on Saturday.
01:28Yeah, that's true, but I think that Brennan has shown that he survived the climbs really well.
01:32So, yeah, for sure I have to put a little bit more energy into that.
01:38So I expect him still to be on a very high level.
01:40It's true that Laporte is gone.
01:42That could be in our advantage.
01:44But we will see how the final develops.
01:47Stage 16 is just over 180 kilometres, with around 2,000 metres of elevation gain, although there are no official
01:54climbs.
01:55The entire stage takes place within the Huelva province, not far from the border with Portugal.
02:00It's set to be another hot one, and chances are it will end with a bunch sprint.
02:08One of the questions before kilometre zero was how many teams would try to get away.
02:12There was certainly a fast start at more than 48 kilometres an hour, but in the end, only five men
02:18went up the road.
02:19An ideal situation for Wisma, who quickly assumed control of the peloton.
02:24As promised, Kofidis and the other sprint teams weren't helping out with the pacing duties,
02:28but then again, this wasn't the hardest move to manage.
02:34Kevin Vermarker getting into his fifth breakaway since Tade Pogacar abandoned the race,
02:39and joined by the Olympic silver medallist Valentin Madoas.
02:43Roland Talman, Jascha Sutilin and Simon Delbu were also in the mix, with the gap around a minute and a
02:49half.
02:51Meanwhile, the riders were doing their best to stay cool, with the temperatures in southern Spain once again creeping above
02:5740 degrees Celsius.
03:00The breakaway approaching the intermediate sprint, and as points are only given to the first five men over the line,
03:07there was nothing for the peloton to play for.
03:09At any rate, Van Aert has a commanding lead in green.
03:13The average speed still above 45 kilometres an hour, they weren't hanging around,
03:17and the break's lead was soon down to under one minute.
03:23The peloton absolutely hurtling their way towards the finish, as a couple of other teams did finally get involved at
03:29the front.
03:29Kofidis and Red Bull Borahansgrohe are working for Kockar and Merse, and it would soon be game over for the
03:35breakaway.
03:39The road then narrowed as they went through a small village, and Ivo Oliveira of UAE went to ground.
03:45Luckily, the former Portuguese champion was able to get going again.
03:49Breakaway over, and a minor split in the peloton, with Red Bull Borahansgrohe really putting the hammer down here.
03:56There was a bit of wind in the final near the coastline.
04:00And with Borah and Wisma still riding hard, Unu-X Mobility ended up on the wrong side of a split,
04:07but they managed to bring Magnus Kort back before the sprints.
04:11The Danish champion would find himself in the thick of it as they hit the final straight, but could anybody
04:16deny Wisma?
04:20They're going to take this left-hand turn, big move of Magnus Kort, they're going for Rasmus Tiller,
04:25and Wout van Aert is there. Kort gets ready for this huge sprint.
04:30Van Aert goes to the left-hand side as we look.
04:33Cockart is there. Matthew Brennan gets set to unleash the sprint now.
04:37Wout van Aert is going all out for the line.
04:40They're already at 1.50. Brennan now kicks hard.
04:44Matthew Brennan with Cockart on his wheel. It's going to be academic.
04:48Another victory for Brennan. Four wins in La Vuelta.
04:54Matthew Brennan making it look easy after another superb display from Wisma.
04:58The 21-year-old is the first rider to win four stages in his maiden Grand Tour
05:03since Fernando Gaviria at the Giro 2017, and that makes it six for his team at this edition.
05:09In just two years as a professional rider, Brennan is already up to 23 career wins.
05:18Unbelievable. You know, four victories here. The plan was for one.
05:25And as a team, we're now on six, I think. I can't count. I've lost count. We've won so many.
05:32And, you know, the stages that we've gone for, we've really committed to the plan that we had.
05:38And, yeah, you've seen the boys all day today. If you've been watching at home,
05:43they've just been pushing so much wind. And to finish off like that, you know,
05:47while bringing me across the line, basically in a perfect place in such a chaotic final,
05:52it was, yeah, it was perfect.
05:58Brennan taking his 11th win of the season ahead of Cocker, Vito Bratt, Merse and Kort.
06:03After a textbook lead-out, Van Aert was sixth.
06:07Henrik Maas is one day closer to Granada, though his thoughts are no doubt
06:11already on Thursday's all-important individual time trial. His lead is just over two minutes.
06:17Van Aert still has a massive lead in the points classification,
06:20even if Brennan picked up 30 for his stage win. The gap between the two teammates is now 93 points.
06:29Santiago Buetraga will have to be patient as he looks to secure the mountains classification.
06:33We'll be hitting the big climbs again on Friday and Saturday.
06:38And the TT will also have an impact on the youth classification,
06:42where Oskar Onli and Jakob Omrazel are still separated by just 30 seconds.
06:47Tomorrow is the flattest road stage of the race,
06:49so we should be in for another sprint.
06:51Join us for that on Wednesday.
06:53And thanks for watching.
06:54noches for watching.
06:56We'll see you next time.
06:58See you next.
06:58Maybe you will be attending.
