Matthew Brennan (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) won the 1st stage of the Lidl Deutschland Tour. The 20-year-old Brit celebrated his tenth victory of the season. In the bunch sprint in Herford, he relegated Jonathan Milan (Lidl – Trek) and Danny van Poppel (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) to second and third place. Meanwhile, the Dutchman takes over the overall lead. Brennan, however, leads the points classification. Miguel Heidemann (REMBE | rad-net) secured the first mountain jersey of the race. Samuel Watson (INEOS Grenadiers) is the best young rider.
“It was a very hectic finale,” said the neo-pro, who is also competing in the Lidl Deutschland Tour for the first time. “But my teammates spared me a lot of stress. That allowed me to conserve enough energy to come through in the end. I noticed it was really tight.” Just how close it was had to be decided by the photo finish, which showed Brennan ahead by the width of a rim. “Riding against the big guys like Milan, comparing myself with them, and then beating them is something very special.” Brennan added that his goal is now the biggest possible: victory in the overall classification.
