19-year-old Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike) won his first WorldTour level race and took his second pro victory in the space of just five days on stage 1 of the Volta a Catalunya, with an immense display of power to overcome a late breakaway attempt by Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
In soaking wet conditions on the first day of the week-long race in northeastern Spain, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe set a stringent pace heading into the final 30 kilometres and shredded the bunch, and though a sprint was expected at the beginning of the day, few fast men remained as the reduced peloton approached the finish in Sant Feliu de Guíxols.
