Pays de la Loire Tour stage 2: Ethan Vernon snaps up a second straight bunch sprint win

2026 Pays de la Loire Tour stage 2: Ethan Vernon sweeps up a second victory in as many days (Image credit: Getty Images)

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Stage Results
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Ethan Vernon (NSN) has made it two out of two in the Pays de la Loire Tour, following up his stage 1 win with a second bunch victory.

Second in the mass dash for the line in the coastal town of Les Sables-d'Olonne was Uno-X Mobility fastman Erlend Blikra, repeating his runner's up spot of stage 1, whilst Sam Bennett (Pinarello-Q36.5) claimed his first podium spot of the year in third.

Vernon remains leader of the overall classification as the race now moves away from the flatlands and into much hillier terrain for the last two days of the four-day event.

The opening kilometres of stage 2 passed off uneventfully, with the peloton staying together as they headed towards the only categorised climbs of the day, the Apremont-L'Epine (Km 53) and Saint-Julien-des-Landes (Km 67), both fairly straightforward Cat.3 ascents.

At the end of a brisk first hour a four-rider move emerged with around 110 kilometres left to race, containing Martin Marcellusi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber), Javier Ibañez (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Similien Hamon (CIC Pro Cycling Academy), and Simon Guglielmi (St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93). The quartet made it up to the two minute mark before the sprinters' teams began reacting.

Guglielmi and Marcellussi sat up as the first of two local laps began, whilst Hamon, not content with just taking a provisional lead in the mountains ranking opted to push on with Ibañez. Euskatel-Euskadi, meanwhile, began driving in the peloton, although when NSN, racing for stage 1 winner Ethan Vernon and Uno-X Mobility took over at the front, things looked much less promising for the lead duo.

Not even a series of crashes could stop the peloton from honing in on the two breakaways and with 16 kilometres Hamon and Ibañez were caught. Clément Davy (Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur), making full use of his time trial skills, carved open a gap for a couple of kilometres but it was to no avail. Vernon and Erlend Blikra, already a winner of a Tour of Oman stage earlier this year, were determined to battle it out for a sprint, and after Vernon launched his move early in the final kilometre, the Briton took it all the way to the line for a second straight day.

Stage Results

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Pos	Rider	Time
1	Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling Team	3:23:49
2	Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	3:23:49
3	Sam Bennett (Irl) Pinarello-Q36.5	3:23:49
4	Jason Tesson (Fra) Totalenergies	3:23:49
5	Enrico Zanoncello (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	3:23:49
6	Gianluca Pollefliet (Bel) Decathlon CMA CGM	3:23:49
7	Manuel Peñalver Aniorte (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta	3:23:49
8	Corbin John Strong (NZl) NSN Cycling Team	3:23:49
9	Joes Oosterlinck (Bel) Van Rysel Roubaix	3:23:49
10	Mathias Sanlaville (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy	3:23:49
11	Clement Venturini (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets	3:23:49
12	Marco Manenti (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	3:23:49
13	Sergi Darder Gari (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	3:23:49
14	Xabier Berasategi Garmendia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	3:23:49
15	Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93	3:23:49
16	Stian Fredheim (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	3:23:49
17	Noah Hobbs (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost	3:23:49
18	Bryan Coquard (Fra) Cofidis	3:23:49
19	Alexander Konijn (Ned) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur	3:23:49
20	Mathis le Berre (Fra) Totalenergies	3:23:49
21	Filippo Magli (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	3:23:49
22	Eduard Prades Reverter (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	3:23:49
23	Paul Hennequin (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi	3:23:49
24	Killian Theot (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix	3:23:49
25	Lander Loockx (Bel) Unibet Rose Rockets	3:23:49
26	Joppe Heremans (Bel) Van Rysel Roubaix	3:23:49
27	Romain Cardis (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93	3:23:49
28	Filippo Ridolfo (Ita) Novo Nordisk	3:23:49
29	Alexandre Delettre (Fra) Totalenergies	3:23:49
30	Tom Mainguenaud (Fra) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur	3:23:49
31	Pierre Gautherat (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM	3:23:49
32	Tom Donnenwirth (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United	3:23:49
33	Dario Igor Belletta (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	3:23:49
34	Gorka Sorarrain Agirrezabala (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	3:23:49
35	Lorenzo Conforti (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	3:23:49
36	Paul Penhoet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United	3:23:49
37	Senne Thonnon (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	3:23:49
38	Léandre Lozouet (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy	3:23:49
39	Louis Hardouin (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix	3:23:49
40	Axel van der Tuuk (Ned) Euskaltel-Euskadi	3:23:49
41	Antoine L'Hote (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM	3:23:49
42	Mirco Maestri (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	3:23:49
43	Davide Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	3:23:49
44	Siebe Deweirdt (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	3:23:49
45	Lucas Beneteau (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93	3:23:49
46	Noa Isidore (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM	3:23:49
47	Miguel Marin Martinez (Col) Ef Education - Aevolo	3:23:49
48	Nolan Huysmans (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	3:23:49
49	Ellande Larronde (Fra) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	3:23:49
50	Ewen Costiou (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United	3:23:49
51	Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Cofidis	3:23:49
52	Milan van den Haute (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	3:23:49
53	Andrea Pietrobon (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	3:23:49
54	Valentin Ferron (Fra) Cofidis	3:23:49
55	Milan Lanhove (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	3:23:49
56	Killian Verschuren (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets	3:23:49
57	Jake Stewart (GBr) NSN Cycling Team	3:23:49
58	Clément Davy (Fra) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur	3:23:49
59	Elias Maris (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	3:23:49
60	Martin Marcellusi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	3:23:49
61	Xabier Isasa Larrañaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	3:23:49
62	Thomas Champion (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93	3:23:49
63	Gabriele Bessega (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	3:23:49
64	Santiago Ferraro (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	3:23:49
65	David Gonzalez Lopez (Spa) Pinarello-Q36.5	3:23:49
66	Joris Chaussinand (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy	3:23:49
67	Milan Vader (Ned) Pinarello-Q36.5	3:23:49
68	Valentin Retailleau (Fra) Totalenergies	3:23:49
69	Nicolas Debeaumarche (Fra) Cofidis	3:23:49
70	Victor Guernalec (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy	3:23:49
71	Andrea Peron (Ita) Novo Nordisk	3:23:49
72	Simon Guglielmi (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93	3:23:49
73	Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United	3:23:49
74	Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Totalenergies	3:23:49
75	Adrien Maire (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets	3:23:49
76	Quinten Hermans (Bel) Pinarello-Q36.5	3:23:49
77	Colin Savioz (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets	3:23:49
78	Walter Calzoni (Ita) Pinarello-Q36.5	3:23:49
79	Nicholas Schultz (Aus) NSN Cycling Team	3:23:49
80	Louis Rouland (Fra) Cofidis	3:23:49
81	David Lozano Riba (Spa) Novo Nordisk	3:23:49
82	Laurens Huys (Bel) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur	3:23:49
83	Dion Allan Smith (NZl) NSN Cycling Team	3:23:49
84	Nate Pringle (NZl) Decathlon Cma Cgm Development Team	3:23:49
85	Owen Geleijn (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets	3:23:49
86	Sam Brand (GBr) Novo Nordisk	3:23:49
87	Henrik Pedersen (Den) Uno-X Mobility	3:23:49
88	Morné van Niekerk (RSA) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93	3:23:49
89	Tobias Svarre (Den) Uno-X Mobility	3:23:49
90	Baptiste Gillet (Fra) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur	3:23:49
91	Jonas Hem Hvideberg (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	3:23:49
92	Alastair Mackellar (Aus) EF Education-EasyPost	3:23:49
93	Alexander Kamp (Den) Uno-X Mobility	3:23:49
94	Léandre Huck (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix	3:23:49
95	Lucas Dauge (Fra) Novo Nordisk	3:24:26
96	Sam Maisonobe (Fra) Cofidis	3:23:49
97	Yago Aguirre Subijana (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	3:24:39
98	Similien Hamon (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy	3:24:39
99	Maël Guegan (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy	3:24:39
100	Lewis Bower (NZl) Groupama-FDJ United	3:24:43
101	Javier Ibañez Beltran de Salazar (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	3:24:58
102	Dylan Massa (Fra) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur	3:25:18
103	Titouan Fontaine (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United	3:25:18
104	Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) NSN Cycling Team	3:25:18
105	Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	3:25:18
106	Robbe Ghys (Bel) Decathlon CMA CGM	3:25:37
107	Xabier Mikel Azparren Irurzun (Spa) Pinarello-Q36.5	3:25:55
108	Kévin Avoine (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix	3:23:49
109	Thibault Guernalec (Fra) Totalenergies	3:29:22
110	Louis Sutton (GBr) Euskaltel-Euskadi	3:33:12
DNF	Matthias Schwarzbacher (Svk) EF Education-EasyPost	Row 110 - Cell 2

General classification after stage 2

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Pos	Rider	Time
1	Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling Team	7:20:09
2	Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	7:20:17
3	Martin Marcellusi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	7:20:21
4	Simon Guglielmi (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93	7:20:22
5	Lander Loockx (Bel) Unibet Rose Rockets	7:20:23
6	Axel van der Tuuk (Ned) Euskaltel-Euskadi	7:20:23
7	Noah Hobbs (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost	7:20:25
8	Sam Bennett (Irl) Pinarello-Q36.5	7:20:25
9	Kévin Avoine (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix	7:20:25
10	Gabriele Bessega (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	7:20:28
11	Santiago Ferraro (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	7:20:28
12	Jason Tesson (Fra) Totalenergies	7:20:29
13	Manuel Peñalver Aniorte (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta	7:20:29
14	Corbin John Strong (NZl) NSN Cycling Team	7:20:29
15	Joes Oosterlinck (Bel) Van Rysel Roubaix	7:20:29
16	Gianluca Pollefliet (Bel) Decathlon CMA CGM	7:20:29
17	Clement Venturini (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets	7:20:29
18	Mathias Sanlaville (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy	7:20:29
19	Sergi Darder Gari (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	7:20:29
20	Xabier Berasategi Garmendia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	7:20:29
21	Bryan Coquard (Fra) Cofidis	7:20:29
22	Enrico Zanoncello (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	7:20:29
23	Alexander Konijn (Ned) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur	7:20:29
24	Eduard Prades Reverter (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	7:20:29
25	Filippo Ridolfo (Ita) Novo Nordisk	7:20:29
26	Paul Penhoet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United	7:20:29
27	Joppe Heremans (Bel) Van Rysel Roubaix	7:20:29
28	Mathis le Berre (Fra) Totalenergies	7:20:29
29	Marco Manenti (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	7:20:29
30	Alexandre Delettre (Fra) Totalenergies	7:20:29
31	Dario Igor Belletta (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	7:20:29
32	Filippo Magli (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	7:20:29
33	Romain Cardis (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93	7:20:29
34	Nolan Huysmans (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	7:20:29
35	Mirco Maestri (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	7:20:29
36	Louis Hardouin (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix	7:20:29
37	Noa Isidore (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM	7:20:29
38	Senne Thonnon (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	7:20:29
39	Pierre Gautherat (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM	7:20:29
40	Killian Theot (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix	7:20:29
41	Lorenzo Conforti (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	7:20:29
42	Tom Donnenwirth (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United	7:20:29
43	Ewen Costiou (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United	7:20:29
44	Léandre Lozouet (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy	7:20:29
45	Siebe Deweirdt (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	7:20:29
46	Davide Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	7:20:29
47	Gorka Sorarrain Agirrezabala (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	7:20:29
48	Milan Vader (Ned) Pinarello-Q36.5	7:20:29
49	Tom Mainguenaud (Fra) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur	7:20:29
50	Andrea Pietrobon (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	7:20:29
51	Valentin Ferron (Fra) Cofidis	7:20:29
52	Xabier Isasa Larrañaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	7:20:29
53	Owen Geleijn (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets	7:20:29
54	Milan Lanhove (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	7:20:29
55	Joris Chaussinand (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy	7:20:29
56	Killian Verschuren (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets	7:20:29
57	Antoine L'Hote (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM	7:20:29
58	Lucas Beneteau (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93	7:20:29
59	Henrik Pedersen (Den) Uno-X Mobility	7:20:29
60	Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Cofidis	7:20:29
61	Elias Maris (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	7:20:29
62	Sam Maisonobe (Fra) Cofidis	7:20:29
63	David Gonzalez Lopez (Spa) Pinarello-Q36.5	7:20:29
64	Morné van Niekerk (RSA) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93	7:20:29
65	Thomas Champion (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93	7:20:29
66	Victor Guernalec (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy	7:20:29
67	Clément Davy (Fra) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur	7:20:29
68	Andrea Peron (Ita) Novo Nordisk	7:20:29
69	Louis Rouland (Fra) Cofidis	7:20:29
70	Milan van den Haute (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	7:20:29
71	Adrien Maire (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets	7:20:29
72	Jonas Hem Hvideberg (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	7:20:29
73	Baptiste Gillet (Fra) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur	7:20:29
74	Walter Calzoni (Ita) Pinarello-Q36.5	7:20:29
75	Alastair Mackellar (Aus) EF Education-EasyPost	7:20:29
76	Quinten Hermans (Bel) Pinarello-Q36.5	7:20:29
77	Colin Savioz (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets	7:20:29
78	Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United	7:20:29
79	Nicholas Schultz (Aus) NSN Cycling Team	7:20:29
80	David Lozano Riba (Spa) Novo Nordisk	7:20:29
81	Laurens Huys (Bel) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur	7:20:29
82	Sam Brand (GBr) Novo Nordisk	7:20:29
83	Tobias Svarre (Den) Uno-X Mobility	7:20:29
84	Alexander Kamp (Den) Uno-X Mobility	7:20:29
85	Valentin Retailleau (Fra) Totalenergies	7:20:50
86	Léandre Huck (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix	7:21:00
87	Jake Stewart (GBr) NSN Cycling Team	7:21:17
88	Maël Guegan (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy	7:21:19
89	Similien Hamon (Fra) Cic Pro Cycling Academy	7:21:19
90	Lewis Bower (NZl) Groupama-FDJ United	7:21:23
91	Nate Pringle (NZl) Decathlon Cma Cgm Development Team	7:21:40
92	Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	7:21:58
93	Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Totalenergies	7:21:59
94	Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) NSN Cycling Team	7:22:34
95	Dion Allan Smith (NZl) NSN Cycling Team	7:23:42
96	Miguel Marin Martinez (Col) Ef Education - Aevolo	7:24:14
97	Nicolas Debeaumarche (Fra) Cofidis	7:24:57
98	Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93	7:25:48
99	Paul Hennequin (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi	7:25:48
100	Ellande Larronde (Fra) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	7:25:48
101	Titouan Fontaine (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United	7:25:48
102	Robbe Ghys (Bel) Decathlon CMA CGM	7:27:52
103	Dylan Massa (Fra) Nice Metropole Cote D'Azur	7:28:29
104	Louis Sutton (GBr) Euskaltel-Euskadi	7:29:52
105	Lucas Dauge (Fra) Novo Nordisk	7:30:00
106	Yago Aguirre Subijana (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	7:30:13
107	Javier Ibañez Beltran de Salazar (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	7:30:29
108	Xabier Mikel Azparren Irurzun (Spa) Pinarello-Q36.5	7:31:29
109	Stian Fredheim (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	7:31:45
110	Thibault Guernalec (Fra) Totalenergies	7:34:34

Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The Independent, The Guardian, ProCycling, The Express and Reuters.