Britains Matt Brennan wins first Grand Tour stage at Vuelta a España as Pogačar keeps lead

Great Britain’s Matt Brennan won the second stage of the Vuelta a España on Sunday, securing his first Grand Tour stage victory in a 214-kilometer ride from Monaco to Manosque. The 21-year-old, competing in his debut Grand Tour with Team Visma-Lease a Bike, outpaced Spain’s Pau Miquel Delgado of Bahrain Victorious and overall leader Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates, who finished second and third, respectively.
Pogačar retained the red jersey after winning Saturday’s opening time trial by 0.09 seconds, maintaining a nine-second lead over Wout van Aert in the general classification. Brennan moved to third overall, 10 seconds behind Pogačar. Van Aert, initially positioned for a sprint finish, was overtaken in the final kilometers, while Pogačar conserved energy, allowing Brennan to seize the win.
“We started off with the ambition of Wout trying to get in the red jersey today,” Brennan said. “We had that plan and then I was always going to be in the background for the sprint in case that plan didn’t work... and that’s exactly what happened.”
Britain’s Ethan Hayter, part of an early breakaway, briefly held the virtual lead after winning the final intermediate sprint for six bonus seconds but ultimately finished 31 seconds off the pace, placing 13th overall. Josh Tarling, who finished third in the opening stage, came in 125th on Sunday, just over a week after his brother Finlay died in a crash.
The race continues Monday with a mountain finish in Font Romeu near the Spanish border.
In other cycling news, Jasper Philipsen of Belgium won the Benelux Tour after claiming his third stage victory in five days, finishing first in the final 183.7-kilometer stage in Leuven .
Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha set a new world record in the half marathon on Sunday, finishing in 56 minutes and 51 seconds at an event in Buenos Aires, surpassing the previous mark of 57:20 set by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo earlier this year .
France’s blind football team secured its fourth European title on Sunday, defeating England 1-0 in Strasbourg. Captain Frédéric Villeroux, the tournament’s top scorer with six goals, led the victory .
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