Visma | LaB tries again, but can’t prevent another sprint in Slovakia: dominant Magnier takes his second

On Wednesday, in the opening stage, Visma | Lease a Bike had already thrown everything at avoiding a sprint, where Magnier was the clear favorite. In vain, as it turned out, since there was no stopping the Frenchman from Soudal Quick-Step. The 21-year-old rider from Laredo won and pulled on the first leader’s jersey.

On day two, the big question was whether Magnier would be able to survive. The 169.4-kilometer stage from Svidník to Košice again featured some tricky hills. The finale would begin with more than fifty kilometers still to go, with the sequence of three not-too-difficult climbs.

Right from the start it was uphill, and as the road tilted downward shortly after, six riders seized the moment. Lucas Van Gils (Lotto), Jasper Haest (VolkerWessels), Martin Voltr (ATT Investments), Matúš Stocek (Elkov-Kasper), Rik van der Wal (Diftar Continental), and Konrad Czabok (Mazowsze Serce Polski) broke away to form the day’s escape.

The breakaway of six riders built up a lead of around four minutes, but with the three climbs in the finale approaching, the gap quickly began to shrink. On the first climb, the Banský Vrch (3.5 kilometers at 5.5%), the race immediately came to life.

The peloton had closed to within a minute, and it was Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma | Lease a Bike) who shook things up. At the front, the break also started to split: Van Gils launched an acceleration, and the young Belgian managed to ride clear of his fellow escapees.

The peloton shattered, and only Van Gils, Voltr, and Czabok remained out front. Bart Lemmen (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Paul Double (Jayco AlUla) bridged across to them. The new lead group of five quickly gained a half-minute advantage.

On the next climb, first Voltr and then Czabok had to drop from the front. That left just Lemmen, Double, and the stubborn Van Gils in the lead. The trio worked well together and extended their advantage back out to a minute.

Heading into the final climb, the gap steadily shrank, and that was also the moment when the brave Van Gils, who had been in the break all day, had to let go. Double and Lemmen held on over the short climb, but the peloton had closed to within less than thirty seconds. At that point, there were still 25 kilometers left to the finish.

Soudal Quick-Step had already been leading the chase for quite some time, and the Belgian team showed no signs of panic. With seventeen kilometers to go, the peloton reeled in the Lemmen–Double duo, and so once again it was clear we were heading for a sprint.

Various accelerations and even a tricky section over tram tracks couldn’t prevent a sprint in the closing kilometers. In the dash to the line, Magnier was delivered absolutely perfectly, after which the Frenchman once again finished it off with ease. Lukas Kubis, riding for Unibet Tietema Rockets, took second place once more.