MANOSQUE, France (AP) — Young British rider Matthew Brennan finished strongly to win the second and longest stage of the Spanish Vuelta ahead of race leader Tadej Pogačar on Sunday.
The 21-year-old Brennan capitalized on good work from Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Wout van Aert in an uphill sprint and got ahead of second-place Pau Miquel and third-place Pogačar to complete the 214.3-kilometer (133.1 mile) hilly trek through Provence in southern France in 4 hours, 47 minutes, 47 seconds.
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Britain's Matthew Brennan celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the second stage of the La Vuelta cycling race, with start in Monaco and finish in Manosque, France, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)
Britain's Matthew Brennan celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the second stage of the La Vuelta cycling race, with start in Monaco and finish in Manosque, France, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)
Britain's Matthew Brennan celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the second stage of the La Vuelta cycling race, with start in Monaco and finish in Manosque, France, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)
Britain's Matthew Brennan sprints to win the second stage of the La Vuelta cycling race, with start in Monaco and finish in Manosque, France, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)
Britain's Matthew Brennan celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the second stage of the La Vuelta cycling race, with start in Monaco and finish in Manosque, France, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)
Pogačar, who edged Ethan Hayter by 0.09 seconds in the opening time trial on Saturday, kept the race leader’s red jersey by finishing with the same time as the stage winner.
The Slovenian leads the general classification by 9 seconds from Van Aert, with Brennan another second behind in third.
There were attacks from the start Sunday before Hayter, Koen Bouwman, Diego Uriarte, and Sinuhé Fernandez got away from the main bunch.
They stayed in front but could never get far enough ahead of the peloton. Hayter, thinking of the red jersey, went solo with just under 50 kilometers to go. The British rider was caught, however, and Pogačar was at the front of the peloton with 34 kilometers remaining, when it looked ever more likely to end in a sprint finish.
Teams jostled for position on the wide road as the kilometers slipped by, with UAE Emirates XRG, Visma-Lease a Bike, Lidl-Trek, Groupama-FDJ United and Netcompany Ineos all getting their leaders to the front for the grand finale to come.
Van Aert attacked with just under 2 kilometers to go, followed by Pogačar. They were joined by Alessandro Romele, then others, before Brennan emerged to take his first stage victory on his Grand Tour debut just over two weeks after his 21st birthday.
Pogačar was 20 when he made his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta in 2019. He won three stages and finished third at the time, then didn’t race the Vuelta again till he returned on Saturday.
The Slovenian won the Tour de France for the third time straight time and fifth overall in July, while his Giro d’Italia win in 2024 puts him in position to become just the ninth male rider to win all three Grand Tours after Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Alberto Contador, Chris Froome, Vincenzo Nibali and Jonas Vingegaard.
Guatemalan rider Sergio Chumil was the first to abandon the race after a bad crash. Cian Uijtdebroeks crashed earlier Sunday but he managed to get back on his bike.
Monday will see the riders tackle the first mountain stage of the 81st edition, a tough 174-kilometer (108-mile) route from Gruissan-Aude past the city of Perpignan before the climb to the ski resort of Font Romeu in the Pyrenees.
The Vuelta finishes in the southern Spanish city of Granada on Sept. 13.
See full AP coverage of European sports here
Britain's Matthew Brennan celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the second stage of the La Vuelta cycling race, with start in Monaco and finish in Manosque, France, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)
Britain's Matthew Brennan celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the second stage of the La Vuelta cycling race, with start in Monaco and finish in Manosque, France, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)
Britain's Matthew Brennan celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the second stage of the La Vuelta cycling race, with start in Monaco and finish in Manosque, France, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)
Britain's Matthew Brennan sprints to win the second stage of the La Vuelta cycling race, with start in Monaco and finish in Manosque, France, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)
Britain's Matthew Brennan celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the second stage of the La Vuelta cycling race, with start in Monaco and finish in Manosque, France, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)
WASHINGTON (AP) — For once, things will be moving quickly in bureaucratic Washington, D.C., when the nation’s capital hosts an IndyCar race through its streets.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are scheduled to watch Sunday’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix as the cars whip through the city’s downtown, including a stretch along Pennsylvania Avenue not too far from the White House.
“Their beautiful cars are going to make freedom roar. This will be a freedom that’s roaring like never before,” Trump said at the White House earlier this month as he promoted the event.
Before the race, Trump and his wife will lead a traditional prerace kickoff in his presidential limo, U.S. Ambassador Monica Crowley, Trump’s liaison to the organizing group America250, said in an interview on Fox Business on Friday.
The open-wheel race, with cars whizzing past Washington’s monuments at speeds approaching 200 mph, is the latest of Trump’s celebrations this year to mark America’s 250th birthday.
Trump’s other events to mark the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence’s signing have included a UFC fight on the White House lawn, military aircraft flyovers, a massive July Fourth fireworks show on the National Mall and a Great American State Fair that the president headlined after scores of ’90s-era musical acts dropped out. The events have all had a Trumpian flair, featuring appearances from his friends and the aim of showcasing spectacle, Americana and power.
In this latest case, it will be horsepower.
In addition to the main event, there will also be a prerace show and flyovers of military aircraft, which swooped and boomed over the city during the July Fourth celebrations.
The IndyCar race comes as Trump has been struggling to resolve the war he started nearly six months ago with Iran, a conflict that has driven up gasoline prices and exacerbated worries from officials in his Republican Party that voters in this November’s midterm elections see the president as distracted and not focused enough on cost-of-living concerns.
Trump in his second term has increasingly seemed to focus on relishing the presidency’s ceremonial aspects. That's included a healthy dose of visits to sporting events — including an appearance last month at the World Cup final, where he presented the trophy to winner Spain and lingered onstage with the team as its members jumped in a hail of confetti.
An executive order Trump signed earlier this year calling for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix declared that the “cars and drivers inspire awe and respect in all who watch this quintessentially American sport,” and the event will “showcase the majesty of our great city as drivers navigate a track around our iconic national monuments in celebration of America’s 250th birthday.”
IndyCar series owner Roger Penske, a longtime friend of Trump’s who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from him in 2019, helped lead the effort to bring the race to Washington.
Bud Denker, president of Penske Corporation and the race’s chair, said that Penske is paying for the “vast majority” of the race, including building the track and road improvements, while the District of Columbia handled some repaving.
Among the changes needed on the city’s streets was the welding of more than 200 manhole covers to ensure the race cars don’t suck them up off the road.
Sunday’s festivities are also the latest opportunity for Trump to revel in the way he’s putting his mark on the nation’s capital, including large banners showing his face on government buildings, the construction of a massive White House ballroom, a gold-adorned Oval Office and botched repairs at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
President Donald Trump, in the presidential limousine known as "The Beast," does a lap around the track before the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix auto race, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump, in the presidential limousine known as "The Beast," does a lap around the track before the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix auto race, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
First lady Melania Trump, from left, and President Donald Trump greet drivers and crews at the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix auto race, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump, in the presidential limousine known as "The Beast," does a lap around the track before the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix auto race, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump arrives at the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix auto race, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Race car diver Caio Collet drives during a qualifying race prior to Sunday's Freedom 250 Grand Prix auto race in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Race car diver Alex Palou after a qualifying race prior to Sunday's Freedom 250 Grand Prix auto race in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Race car diver Scott McLaughlin gets out of his car after a qualifying race prior to Sunday's Freedom 250 Grand Prix auto race in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
