Pays de la Loire Tour: Uno-X goes one-two on stage 2 with Blikra and Fredheim

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Coquard drops to second on GC behind Blikra after crash takes Frenchman out of sprint

LE LIONDANGERS FRANCE APRIL 05 Erlend Blikra of Norway and UnoX Pro Cycling Team celebrates at finish line as stage winner during the 1st Region Pays de la Loire Tour 2023 Stage 2 a 1694km stage from Clisson to Le Lion to dAngers on April 05 2023 in Le LiondAnger France Photo by Dario BelingheriGetty Images
Uno-X Pro Cycling goes one-two on stage 2 with Erlend Blikra taking the victory ahead of teammate Stian Fredheim (Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
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Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Pro Cycling) blasted across the finish with fists in the air to win stage 2 of Pays de la Loire Tour. He used a powerful leadout by teammate Stian Fredheim and the duo finished one-two for Uno-X at the line in Le Lion-d'Angers.

A trio of French riders fought close behind for the final podium spot, Pierre Barbier (CIC U Nantes Atlantique) taking third ahead of Lorrenzo Manzin (TotalEnergies) and Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ). 

"With just 25 to go, we moved forward as a team. It all flowed together a bit, as we are one of the smallest teams and do not have the same respect in the field as the pros," the 26-year-old Blikra told Feltet.dk after his win. 

"I end up at the front next to the trains on wheels of TotalEnergies, where suddenly there is a big crash to the right of me. It created more chaos, but I stayed out of trouble." 

Entering the stage as race leader, Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) was among the riders who crashed in the finale, but was able to remount and cross the line with two teammates, François Bidard and Pierre-Luc Périchon. He was within 3km of the finish so given the same time as new leader Blikra. Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) dropped one spot to third overall, one second back, while Alexander Kamp (Tudor Pro Cycling) jumped 34 positions to fourth. 

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Jackie Tyson
Jackie Tyson
North American Production editor

Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).

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