Brennan and the 2027 Tour: Will Visma have to make room for the new British star?

The 2027 Tour de France will start in Great Britain, and the stage to Carlisle will likely be decided in a sprint finish, awarding the first yellow jersey. In this scenario, Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike) is the best chance of a home win on the opening day. But one question remains: will the young Brit actually be there?

Racing on the same team as Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert means there's little room for stage-chasing. However, Brennan has proven in 2026 that he's a man capable of winning, as well as the perfect complement to the Belgian champion's qualities.

At the Vuelta a España, Brennan and Van Aert complemented each other perfectly. On flat days and in undulating finales, Visma dominated, winning a third of the 21 stages: five by the Briton and two by the Belgian, between sprints and breakaways.

After his fourth success in La Rábida, on stage 16, Brennan made no secret of his sights on next year's Tour: "It's my first Grand Tour, and achieving this much success is a big step towards my ambition of trying to win the opening stages of the Tour de France next year."

The Briton has already studied the route: "I've seen the first and second stages, the third is quite tough, but there are definitely opportunities to do something on my home turf. I'd really like to be at the start. I also understand that the best team has to match the team's ambitions, but I think that, being successful as a team, we can use me in different ways to help Jonas express his strengths even better and play the right cards."

Brennan then put the brakes on: "But it's also something the team will discuss in the future, no decision has been made, so we'll take things as they come and move on."

The Tour route, unveiled in Paris, offers Brennan far more than just two or three chances on his home roads. There are plenty of flat days and rolling finishes, where he can potentially challenge pure sprinters and explosive riders.

Visma is seriously considering him. Team boss Richard Plugge hasn't denied that the Briton will play an important role in the 2027 plans, especially since Brennan finished the season with 12 professional victories, just like Vingegaard.

Visma's media day is set for December 17th : there, the captains' complete calendars and provisional Tour squads will be revealed, and Brennan is desperately hoping to find his name on them.

Plugge and the management team's primary goal remains to reclaim the yellow jersey from Pogačar, as they did in 2022 and 2023. However, adding a stage-hunter like Brennan wouldn't hurt. He's already demonstrated his versatility, both as a winner and as a domestique for Van Aert, and would be ready to support Vingegaard on the most tense days when victory isn't on the cards.

The extension until 2029 suggests that Brennan is confident of getting the opportunities he seeks, despite the Dutch team's other priorities. Plugge admitted: "Matthew knocked very hard on the door. You know he's now one of the big stars in cycling. And this is the most important race. So we will definitely consider him."