Brennan misses record as Mas clinches Vuelta crown

Brennan has not come from nowhere, having been a successful presence on the junior scene and winning a handful of the sport's bigger races, including one-day classic Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.He rides for one of cycling's 'super teams', who also house two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark and Belgian hero and this year's Paris-Roubaix winner Wout van Aert - considered two of the best talents of a golden age of riders.Brennan, from north east England, is 5ft 8in and weighs 68kg, and can use a lot of power on flat and undulating stages, such as one-day classics, and already possesses the race craft and timing to flummox rivals.He represents a new era of riders, bridging between one-day classics powerhouses Van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel of the Netherlands, who are both now in their thirties, and has the potential to go on and win the sport's biggest races, including the five 'monuments' such as the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, as well as the Tour de France's green jersey."We came here as team to win stages, but we never dreamed of winning seven [including two for Van Aert]. We're making history," said Brennan after his fifth victory.Brennan's success at the Vuelta is a timely reminder of the presence of a record 49 British riders in the men's and women's World Tour in 2026 - a legacy of the UK's golden age of cycling from 2012, when Team Sky won seven Tours de France in 10 years, Mark Cavendish more Tour de France stages than anyone else and Lizzie Deignan won many of the sport's biggest races.Next year cycling's biggest race, the Tour de France, and Tour de France Femmes, come to the UK for a double-headed Grand Depart which is likely to bring a rise in popularity for the sport and cycling participation in general.Despite the change in recent years following the domination of road cycling's every discipline by Pogacar, 27, UK riders are starting to make an impact in sprinting, classics, general classification and time trialling.One rider who has already won the European title in TT is Josh Tarling, who contested the first six stages of this race just over a week after the tragic death of his younger brother Finlay at 19 years of age.Josh Tarling finished an excellent third in the Vuelta's opening stage TT in Monaco before deciding to return home. Later, his Netcompany Ineos team added: "After the unimaginable loss of his brother Fin, Josh showed incredible courage in starting La Vuelta."We are immensely proud of him, and he now returns home to be with his family with the full love and support of everyone at Netcompany Ineos. Family comes first. Always."Fin Tarling - also a good time triallist - was killed after hitting a van which had strayed on to the course of the Volta a Portugal in August - an investigation into exactly what happened is ongoing. And many in the sport are calling for better safety measures during road cycling races after claiming smaller races struggle with the costs of organising safety procedures during races such as rolling roadblocks. Brennan himself was outspoken after stage 15, external about safety when suggesting those at the sport's world governing body the UCI were "making decisions in their air-conditioned offices" after the peloton rode in 44C.This race produced an engaging battle for the overall general classification's red jersey following the high drama of Pogacar's abandonment.The Slovenian, in his absolute prime having only been beaten once all year (by Van Aert at Paris-Roubaix), and won a record-equalling fifth Tour, came to be only the ninth rider to win all three Grand Tours, and had already demonstrated he was likely to win the GC by more than 10 minutes with a dominant win on stage four by more than two minutes. But an errant rock on the road in front of his wheel on stage eight saw him hit the tarmac and suffer facial injuries as well as a broken collarbone, forcing a dazed Pogacar into an ambulance and out of the race - proving that even he is not immune to the unpredictability of road cycling. The crash put him out of competition for the remainder of the year and means he will give up wearing his now ubiquitous rainbow jersey in 2027, unable to defend the title in Canada later this month - live on the BBC.Despite losing one of the best riders of all time - likely only matched by Belgian great Eddy Merckx - fans knew they would be treated to a much closer competition between the remaining riders, including Britain's Oscar Onley, Ecuador's Richard Carapaz, Austria's Felix Gall, Mas and four -time Vuelta champion Primoz Roglic. On paper, Slovenian Roglic would be expected to take up the mantle and win for his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team. But the laconic 36-year-old is known for his laid-back, family-orientated approach to life and sport, and gave the impression of a big talent whose desire to win at all costs is potentially on the wane.This gave 31-year-old Mas, a long-time nearly-man for a high-budget under-achieving Spanish Movistar team, his likely last chance to win a Grand Tour.Mas' stage nine-winning performance to the Costa Blanca demonstrated a seemingly higher level of performance than in recent years - the leader's red jersey of his home country he acquired after Pogacar's departure seemingly the catalyst that would power him to victory in Granada.