Danish rider Anthon Charmig escaped to victory on stage two of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes after spending his day in the break.
The Uno-X Mobility rider proved himself best of a 10-man breakaway, which had led the peloton with a gap of over 5 minutes for the majority of the day, taking only his second ever pro win (the last one coming four years ago), and his first victory on European soil.
“For me, I don’t get too many chances,” the delighted Dane told reporters. “It’s an incredible feeling! I’m so happy to be here.”
“I think the whole team has really stepped up. The atmosphere in the team is really good. We have so much fun together. I have come straight from four weeks at altitude with the team, and we had a really good time. For motivation, it’s the perfect environment, and it shows in the results.”
Charmig got away from the lead pack after the final climb, the Côte de Saint-Vidal, and just kept increasing his lead, chased by Henri-François Renard-Haquin (Picnic PostNL), Vlad Van Mechelen (Bahrain Victorious) Clément Braz Afonso (Groupama – FDJ United) and Raúl García Pierna (Movistar). Renard-Haquin finished second, ahead of Van Mechelen.
Frenchman Alex Baudin finished 59th but retains his lead in the general classification, after an impressive victory in the opening stage yesterday, having been well looked after by EF Education-EasyPost teammates Ben Healy and Sean Quinn throughout the day. The rider everyone is watching this summer, Decathlon‘s Paul Seixas, rode a measured race, the French teenager finishing safely in the peloton in 30th place.
Much less positive news about João Almeida, with the UAE Team Emirates – XRG rider dropping out the back of the peloton, clearly still suffering the effects of the illness that put him out of the Giro, with an appearance at the Tour de France looking increasing unlikely.
More to follow…
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