After a crash-marred day at the Vuelta a España, double stage winner Matthew Brennan has called out the level of risk-taking he saw in the peloton, saying, “A lot of people thought they were superheroes today.”
Saturday’s stage 8 was marked by crashes from start to finish, with one in the neutral zone taking out two riders, Primož Roglič getting caught in one early in the day, a crash involving several riders at 10km to go, a mass pile-up in the final 300 metres, and, most notably, race leader Tadej Pogačar’s fall and abandon 32km from the finish.
Speaking after the finish, Brennan, who sprinted to 10th place in Xeraco, was less than pleased with what he witnessed during the stage.
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“There were a lot of crashes today, and I think that kind of set the tone for the day. A lot of people thought they were superheroes today. I’m willing to risk it a little bit, but when some people are happy to fall off for the risk of the win, I’m not super comfortable with that,” Brennan told TNT Sports.
“The team tried their best, and I tried to follow Christophe [Laporte], but in the end, these people were too aggressive for my liking. I lost a wheel, and then I couldn’t really go from any good place. I tried to get back, but then you’re not really in the position to sprint. So it is a shame because they did work really hard, but it is what it is.
“You see it all day. Considering I did about 160 watts for three hours, I don’t know what people are doing. If you’re willing to risk it at 160 watts, then I think you’re a bit crazy, but it is what it is.”
Meanwhile, Brennan’s teammate Wout van Aert was on hand to give a first-hand account of the day’s defining crash, that of Tadej Pogačar.
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The Slovenian left the race with heavy wounds to his left shoulder and the left side of his face after suddenly swerving right and colliding with a Visma-Lease a Bike rider before hitting the deck hard. Van Aert said it looked like Pogačar lost control after hitting bumps in the road.
“I think he was moving up on the left-hand side. From where I was riding, it looked to me as though he lost control of his handlebars due to bumps in the road, which caused him to lose his balance, crash into the peloton and basically do a somersault,” Van Aert told VTM Nieuws.
“So I could see straight away that it was a really serious crash. Two of my teammates were down right in front of me, so yeah… it was one of those moments where you briefly forget you’re even in a race.”
‘I know what it’s like to be injured, and I think the rest of the season is the least of his worries right now’
Van Aert wished Pogačar well in his recovery. The world champion left the race in an ambulance, headed straight to hospital for checks.
He climbed on board with his left arm in a sling and padding on wounds on his left shoulder, though it’s not yet clear what injuries he sustained in the fall.
Van Aert knows all too well what it’s like to crash out of the Vuelta, having injured his knee in a nasty fall on stage 16 of the 2024 race while leading both the points and mountain classifications.
“It’s certainly not up to me to draw any conclusions about his injury right now. First and foremost, I just hope it’s not too serious, that he can recover well and be back soon without any pain,” Van Aert said, noting that Pogačar’s withdrawal is a “big loss” for the race.
“I know what it’s like to be injured, and I think the rest of the season is the least of his worries right now. If it’s not too serious, hopefully he’ll be back soon, but I think we’ll all just have to wait and see.
Pogačar’s withdrawal means Van Aert now has total control of the points jersey, leading with 124 points to Brennan’s 67.
The Belgian nipped out from the peloton to grab 20 points at the intermediate sprint, incidentally just before Pogačar’s crash, though their lead-out 35km later didn’t go so smoothly. He and Laporte led the peloton into the final kilometres, but Brennan was caught around a dozen riders back and so couldn’t compete for the win.
“I’d been aiming [for the intermediate sprint] right from the start of the day. I think we rode another really good race as a team. Everyone gave everything. We didn’t get any help, which we didn’t expect either, but we had the race under control,” Van Aert said of the stage.
“The moment Christophe, Matthew, and I were supposed to finish it off, we lost each other. I found Christophe again on the home stretch and thought Matthew was on my wheel, so I actually made the mistake of launching my sprint when I probably should have waited a bit longer. So yes, it’s a shame.”
With 5,000 metres of climbing on the menu for Sunday’s stage to the Alto de Aitana – not a day for Brennan or Van Aert – the two sprint stars can take a day away from the stress that permeated stage 8. As Brennan concluded, there will be more chances in the coming fortnight.
“The thing is, we can go on to the next one. Tomorrow won’t be a day for me, but I’ve already won two stages, so it’s not like I’m chasing anything in particular,” he said.
“But yes, we can always try again. That’s the beauty of a Grand Tour.”
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