Ethan Vernon (NSN) has made it two out of two in the Pays de la Loire Tour, following up his stage 1 win with a second bunch victory.
Second in the mass dash for the line in the coastal town of Les Sables-d’Olonne was Uno-X Mobility fastman Erlend Blikra, repeating his runner’s up spot of stage 1, whilst Sam Bennett (Pinarello-Q36.5) claimed his first podium spot of the year in third.
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At the end of a brisk first hour a four-rider move emerged with around 110 kilometres left to race, containing Martin Marcellusi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber), Javier Ibañez (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Similien Hamon (CIC Pro Cycling Academy), and Simon Guglielmi (St Michel – Preference Home – Auber93). The quartet made it up to the two minute mark before the sprinters’ teams began reacting.
Guglielmi and Marcellussi sat up as the first of two local laps began, whilst Hamon, not content with just taking a provisional lead in the mountains ranking opted to push on with Ibañez. Euskatel-Euskadi, meanwhile, began driving in the peloton, although when NSN, racing for stage 1 winner Ethan Vernon and Uno-X Mobility took over at the front, things looked much less promising for the lead duo.
Not even a series of crashes could stop the peloton from honing in on the two breakaways and with 16 kilometres Hamon and Ibañez were caught. Clément Davy (Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur), making full use of his time trial skills, carved open a gap for a couple of kilometres but it was to no avail. Vernon and Erlend Blikra, already a winner of a Tour of Oman stage earlier this year, were determined to battle it out for a sprint, and after Vernon launched his move early in the final kilometre, the Briton took it all the way to the line for a second straight day.
Results
Stage 2 : La Garnache-Les Sables-d’Olonne (153.6km)
|
Position |
Rider |
Team |
Time |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Ethan Vernon |
NSN… |
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