Large but exhausted peloton still cannot stop crafty Cort from doing it again
CyclingTuesday, 24 March 2026 at 17:11
Magnus 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
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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
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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
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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
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Latest Comments
- Rider X, y and z? Could you update?yaNzKEWL21-03-2026
- Can anyone help me understand the thinking behind the two punishments? Are the commissaires saying you get thrown out of the race for a second inadvertent disposal of a bidon (even to the delight of fans) but that as long as you can afford it you can show off your phalangeal cuticles all day long on international TV? Aking for a friend.packfiller7112-03-2026
- It's a bit embarrassing that. Isn't the main sponsor supposed to keep them at 36.5 ?tomjacques03-03-2026
- They were close to cracking a very tired Tadej that wasn't fully focused on the TdF with a team of riders focused solely on cracking Tadej. And if they cracked him, he would have still won. Tadej won't be racing the giro this year. It'll be an even easier win for him.Veganpotter09-02-2026
- Nice!Bea22-01-2026
- Those events are mental rest for him. Fun, without expectations. *Sagan lost his abilities because he gained weight and got lazy. Pogi will likely retire before that has a chance at happening.Veganpotter14-12-2025
- Ah, the consequences of riding for Israel.Veganpotter11-12-2025
- Pidcock could follow everyone but Pogi while finishing 3rd. No second place rider this season😃Veganpotter16-11-2025
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