Matthew Brennan clinches third Vuelta stage victory on flat Cartagena-Lorca finish

On Wednesday, Matthew Brennan secured his third stage win of the Vuelta a Espana, triumphing in a sprint finish on the 153.8-km route from Cartagena to Lorca. He held off Bryan Coquard of Cofidis and Jordi Meeus of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, while teammates Magnus Cort Nielsen and Wout van Aert rounded out the top five. The race's general classification remained unchanged, with Enric Mas retaining the red jersey and a lead of one minute eighteen seconds over Primoz Roglic, followed by Felix Gall and Oscar Onley.

Brennan, who also claimed victories on stages two and five, raised three fingers in celebration of his hat-trick. Illness forced Lidl-Trek's Mads Pedersen to withdraw from the flat stage. Stage twelve will challenge riders with a 166.6-km mountain course from Vera, including the double climb of Velefique and a summit finish at Calar Alto.