AJ August strikes on tough Tour of the Czech Republic finish, Pozzovivo (43) impressive third

Andrew August won the second stage of the Tour of the Czech Republic. The American climber from Netcompany INEOS rewarded his teammates’ hard work on the steep final kilometer. August also took over the leader’s jersey from Riley Sheehan.

While the first stage ended in a bunch sprint, the first mountain finish was on the schedule for Day 2. With all the climbers still in the same time group, a fierce battle for the stage victory and the leader’s jersey was expected. The final climb was 15 kilometers long with an average gradient of 4.1 percent. The real challenge lay in the final kilometer, which climbed at a 9 percent gradient.

After several breakaway attempts, a leading group of four riders formed after about 25 kilometers, with Belgian Gil Gelders (Soudal-Quick Step) and Italian Mattia Bais (Team Polti VisitMalta) as the most notable names. The quartet built a maximum lead of three minutes over the peloton, with Netcompany INEOS taking the initiative in the chase.

The British team had two strong climbers in Embret Svestad Bardseng and August, though Ben Turner might also have been outmaneuvered on the not-too-steep final climb.

On the penultimate climb of the day, a Category 2 climb, the breakaway group fell apart. Gelders and Bais were clearly a cut above the Czech riders Martin Voltr and Michal Schuran. With about thirty kilometers to go, the peloton had closed the gap on Gelders and Bais to just under a minute. Meanwhile, the organizers announced that Joseph Blackmore had withdrawn. The promising British rider from NSNCycling only started his season this month after a lingering knee injury, but clearly still has some work to do.

In the final kilometers leading up to the base of the final climb, Bais and Gelders were then caught. This allowed the race to start anew in the final stretch. Belgian rider Leander Van Hautegem made an initial attempt, but the Flanders Baloise rider was unable to keep up with the peloton’s high speed on the easier sections.

While Netcompany INEOS initially set the pace, TotalEnergies took over. After all, the French team had Jordan Jegat, one of the top favorites to win the stage. The TotalEnergies riders kept the pace high, making any attacks pointless.

However, despite the high pace, many riders were able to stay with the group. That was not the case for a group of about fifteen riders who, five kilometers from the finish, were involved in a notable crash on the left side of the peloton. Among those involved were Mikel Landa, local rider Jan Barta, and Belgian climber Emiel Bonneu.

Meanwhile, Turner took charge of the peloton on behalf of Netcompany. He tried to get his climbers into an excellent position for the steep final kilometer. Turner sustained his effort for a long time and significantly thinned out the group. Race leader Riley Sheehan was also struggling badly, while Landa managed to rejoin the group.

Meanwhile, Haig took over from the exhausted Jack Haig. The surge completely broke Sheehan. He would lose the jersey. After Haig, it was Svestad Bardseng’s turn. The Norwegian launched August. Four riders stayed with him, including veteran Domenico Pozzovivo. Alessandro Fancellu then made a breakaway, but August skillfully fended off the attack and claimed the victory and the leader’s jersey at the top of the climb.