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Follow us on GoogleMagnus Cort Nielsen has won stage 2 of the Volta a Catalunya. On a typical day over Spanish roads — twisting, constantly rising and falling, and rarely allowing the bunch to settle — the peloton only just managed to hold together. But by the time the riders hit the streets of Banyoles, several of the faster men had already been dropped, allowing Cort to make the difference with a little more left in the tank, all while staying seated as he launched his winning sprint.
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In the opening stage to and from Sant Feliu de Guíxols, the teams of Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) and João Almeida (UAE Emirates-XRG) had already turned the race into a battle on the approach to the finish. The result was a sprint from a thinned-out peloton, in which Dorian Godon of INEOS Grenadiers eventually came out on top, narrowly beating a fast-finishing Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe.
Stage 2 also looked like a day with opportunities for sprinters who can climb well. On Tuesday, however, the decisive part of the route came a little closer to the finish than it had on Monday. If the GC teams wanted to light things up, it was entirely possible beforehand that the pure sprinters would be distanced before the finale.
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Breakaway of five includes mountains leader Veistroffer
Five riders went clear straight from the start. Just as in stage 1, Baptiste Veistroffer was part of the early move. The leader of the mountains classification was joined by Lotto–Intermarché teammate Liam Slock, Julen Arriolabengoa of Caja Rural, Diego Uriarte of Kern Pharma and Samuel Fernández of Euskaltel-Euskadi. The five up front were never allowed more than a three-minute advantage.
After less than 20 kilometres, Veistroffer duly collected the mountain points ahead of his Belgian teammate and Fernández. The same order was also maintained at each of the intermediate sprints. In the peloton, it was mainly the NSN and INEOS Grenadiers teams controlling the gap, although EF Education-EasyPost also showed interest, possibly with Noah Hobbs in mind.
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Early break begins to fade as sprinters lose contact in the bunch
With the final 50 kilometres of the stage under way, only three riders remained out front. Unsurprisingly, Veistroffer was still there, with Slock and Uriarte able to stay with him a little longer. When Uriarte was then dropped as well, Lotto–Intermarché suddenly found itself effectively riding a two-man team time trial for the final 20 kilometres of the day. Their advantage over the peloton: one minute.
Behind them, the pace in the bunch was also high, still driven by teams backing punchy sprinters. The pure fast men were already being dropped on a long, draggy climb before the complicated finale. Sam Bennett of Q36.5, for example, could not hold on, despite Tom Pidcock trying to shepherd him through the difficult section.
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Lotto–Intermarché’s two-man effort comes up just short
On a descent, many of the dropped riders did manage to claw their way back on, but INEOS, NSN and EF kept the tempo consistently high, meaning nobody was ever truly comfortable. The roads continued to twist and roll, so there was always the added danger of crashes. Henri Uhlig went down for Alpecin-Deceuninck and immediately sat down in the roadside verge: his race was over.
That nervousness and jostling meant Veistroffer and Slock still held a lead of a little over half a minute as they entered the final 10 kilometres. By the time the race reached the last 5 kilometres, only around 10 seconds remained. Their brave two-man move ended in admirable fashion, and despite the relentless speed in the closing phase, the peloton was still remarkably large as it headed toward what looked set to be a bunch sprint.
In that sprint it quickly became clear how much the day had taken out of everyone. The headline sprint names from INEOS, EF and NSN were nowhere to be seen, and instead it was the ever-dangerous Cort who once again found a way to win.
Results stage 2 Tour of Catalonia 2026
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- Eight riders told to go for stages, and nobody gets one—hard to know what the plan was there. It’ll be interesting to see whether they pick a clear leader next time.bikebuffj10-11-2026
- Was Bernal’s 20th place really their best GC result? I thought he might have finished higher. Either way, it sounds like a rough Tour for the whole team.gearguru3310-11-2026
- Five days in breaks with no stage win is a painful stat. The team had chances, but they need to turn those opportunities into results.julien10-11-2026
- The Onley Vuelta example makes sense: a team with someone to rally around often looks much more cohesive. Hopefully INEOS can build on that rather than expecting a quick return to the Sky years.cadencekingm10-11-2026
- Thomas is right about the ambiguity. Eight riders all chasing stages can end up pulling in different directions, even if nobody’s deliberately working against anyone. They need a clearer plan once the GC leaders are out.robert6510-11-2026
- What a mess. The report makes it sound as though nobody properly explained the decision, and that’s hard to defend.jennifer1910-11-2026
- I’m still learning the rules: does moving left in a sprint automatically bring a penalty, or does it depend on whether the other rider is blocked? It sounds like Brand wasn’t impeded here.patriciaw10-11-2026
- A final decision still needs a proper explanation. If the federation’s complaint goes nowhere, I hope the officials at least review how they handled the riders afterwards.michael5410-11-2026
- Fair play to Lucinda for saying Marie had won fair and square. That kind of sportsmanship matters, especially after such a controversial decision.raceready710-11-2026
- Schreiber beat Brand on the road, so the jury needed to explain clearly why that slight deviation warranted relegation. Being cut off before she could give her account sounds appalling.lindae10-11-2026
