April 8, 2026
If yesterday's finish was a bunch sprint with the shallow climb on the circuit, there should be no question on today's outcome with even less elevation to deal with. Starting in La Garnache on the North Eastern border of Le Vendée and the Loire-Atlantique, the 153 km Stage 2 takes the riders South to the coastal town of Les Sables-d'Olonne for the finish. There is very little to trouble the riders in terms of elevation but, being so close to the coast, there is always a threat of a bit of wind blowing around. With 49 km to go, the riders pass through the finish line to start a large circuit that they'll have to complete 2 full laps of before a likely sprint finish.
Race Summary
Another perfectly clear Spring day saw four riders make the break which included Javier Ibáñez of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, Martin Marcellusi of Bardiani CSF 7 Saber, Similien Hamon of CIC Pro Cycling, and Simon Guglielmi of St. Michel Preference Home Auber 93. With 70 km remaining, the lead group of four had 1 minute 40 seconds on the bunch who were being led by NSN Cycling with periodic turns from Uno-X Mobility as well. Signs of the coast line were starting to show themselves as the riders passed over bogs and marshes and through sandy corners. The vegetation also became more bush-like with fewer and fewer larger trees on the sides of the road.
With 59 km to go, Euskatel-Euskadi came to the front of the peloton and lifted the pace another level. In just 4 km, they had pulled the break to within 40 seconds and looked intent on bringing it back for the likes of Axel van der Tuuk to snag the bonus sprint points that were available on the first passage of the finish line. The Basque squad got the break within 13 seconds but ran out of men and road and it was Guglielmi that took the sprint ahead of Marcellusi with La Grande Plage just over their right shoulder.
Guglielmi and Marcellusi called it a day and filtered back into the peloton while Ibáñez and Hamon kicked on. The gap went as far out as 50 seconds before being pegged there as SNS Cycling, Uno-X Mobility, TotalEnergies, and Groupama-FDJ United lined up in color order at the front of the bunch. The gap was down to 35 seconds as Ibáñez and Hamon took the bell for one final 24.5 km lap. A few kilometers later as more teams were moving forward to position, a crash brought down around 10 riders including Fernando Gaviria of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA but everyone was able to get back on their bikes and continue.
Ibáñez and Hamon were finally caught with 16 km to go with teams setting up for a drag race to the finish. The ever-aggressive Clément Davy of Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur attacked from the peloton just outside of 9 km to go with the hope that the peloton would look at each other. His wish did not come true however and the Frenchman was brought back just 2 km later. Coming into town inside 5 km to go, the fight for position was fierce. Uno-X Mobility was the best organized and entered the narrow streets of Les Sables-d'Olonne in the front. Ethan Vernon of NSN Cycling was glued to the Norwegian squads train but he needed sharp elbows to stay in that position. Under 2 km to go, Cofidis came forward with Bryan Coquard in tow which was a blessing for Uno-X Mobility because they were running out of men.
Through the final corner at 450 meters, NSN Cycling had Jake Stewart leading with two Uno-X Mobility riders behind, including Erlend Blikra, then Vernon in fourth wheel. Stewart pulled off, leaving Uno-X Mobility to finish the lead out but before Blikra was launched, Vernon opened up and boxed Blikra in. Vernon continued his run the whole way to the line and took his second win in as many days. Blikra was able to latch on to Vernon's wheel and come home in second, with Sam Bennett of Pinarello Q36.5 just behind for third place.