Fabio Jakobsen (Quickstep-AlphaVinyl) claimed the second stage of Tour de Hongrie in a bunch sprint that was marred by a massive crash in the final 500 metres. Rudy Barbier (Israel-Premier Tech) was second and Saasha Weemaes (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise) third.
It was Jakobsen's sixth win of the season.
"Yesterday - you win some, you lose some - I was not in position, I touched the breaks too much. But today we wanted to show that we are able as a team.
"It was hectic, there were a couple of corners but Florian (Senechal) put me in a perfect position with 200m to go. I'm super happy that I could win."
Stage 1 winner Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) was caught in the crash that happened just before the start of the protective barriers in the final kilometre. Riders flew off the road narrowly missing a stand of trees. Kooij was not able to complete the stage as he was taken to local hospital.
"Olav has a deep cut on the inside of his calf, which has been stitched. Other than that, he seems okay, which he confirmed," Jumbo-Visma said in a statement.
Jens Reynders (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise), who won two bonus sprints, moved into the race lead.
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Reynders was part of the early breakaway along with Alessandro Monaco (Giotti Vittoria-Savini Due), Samuele Battistella (Bora-Hansgrohe), Peter Kusztor (Novo Nordisk), Filippo Baroncini (Trek-Segafredo), David Per (Adria Mobil), Iuri Leitao (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), and Edoardo Zambanini (Bahrain Victorious).
Wearing the green jersey as second in that classification behind stage 1 winner and race leader Kooij, Reynders won the first two intermediate sprints to add to his tally before the race entered a section of strong crosswinds and QuickStep-AlphaVinyl, Ineos Grenadiers and Jumbo-Visma put the hammer down and split the peloton.
With the increase in pace, the breakaway were quickly caught and the front group continued to press on to keep BikeExchange sprinter Dylan Groenewegen at a distance.
However, Groenewegen made it back to the front peloton thanks to a furious chase by his team, and worked his way to the front of the bunch with 4km to go, just in time for a series of sharp turns where Ineos and Quickstep took turns forcing the pace.
Laura Weislo is a Cyclingnews veteran of 20 years. Having joined in 2006, Laura extensively covered the Operacion Puerto doping scandal, the years-long conflict between the UCI and the Tour de France organisers ASO over the creation of the WorldTour, and the downfall of Lance Armstrong and his lifetime ban for doping. As Managing Editor, Laura coordinates coverage for North American events and global news.
