Van Aert takes the victory 20 minutes after crossing the finish line: the photo finish changes the winner of the second stage of the Tour of Denmark

Wout van Aert has also won the second stage of the Tour of Denmark 2026, although for nearly 20 minutes the victory was attributed to Jensen Plowright. The finish in Skive was so close that the Australian from Alpecin-Premier Tech even spoke to the media as the winner before the jury reviewed the photo finish and corrected the result.

Wout van Aert completes the double in Denmark after a photo finish decided by millimeters

The Belgian from Visma Lease a Bike now has two victories in his first two days of competition since his return and extends his lead at the top of the general classification. Van Aert will face the queen stage with a 14-second lead over Lukáš Kubiš and 16 seconds over Henrik Pedersen.

A controlled stage despite the wind

The second day covered 179.7 kilometers between Glyngøre and Skive, the finish town that the peloton reached after a stage with less than 1,000 meters of accumulated elevation.

The breakaway of the day included Samuele Zoccarato, Nikolaj Mengel, Hjalmar Klyver, Otto Schultz Jølving, Sebastian Nielsen, Aksel Bech Skot-Hansen, and Gustav Wang. The seven had a lead of just over two and a half minutes, but the peloton never lost control of the situation.

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The wind introduced one of the few moments of tension of the day. Uno-X Mobility accelerated to create echelons and was joined by Unibet Rose Rockets and Alpecin-Premier Tech. Van Aert remained well positioned, and Visma Lease a Bike monitored the movement without taking on the main burden. The groups ended up coming back together with about 60 kilometers to go.

Attacks do not prevent a sprint in Skive

The final circuit consisted of three laps of seven kilometers each, with a 700-meter rise at an average gradient close to 3%. The difficulty was not enough to eliminate the sprinters from contention, although it did favor several offensive moves.

Lionel Taminiaux and Martin Marcellusi extended the last attempt of the breakaway, while Christophe Laporte also tried to move on one of the climbs. Within the last three kilometers, Alexander Kamp launched another attack for Uno-X Mobility, which was neutralized just before the banner of the last kilometer.

Van Aert positioned himself behind Lukáš Kubiš to tackle the sprint. The leader launched alongside Toon Aerts, but Plowright found a small gap and surged from further back to cross the finish line practically at the same time.

Imbroglio sur le Tour du Danemark !

D'abord battu par l'Australien Jensen Plowright, Wout van Aert est finalement déclaré vainqueur à la photo finish !#LesRP pic.twitter.com/23s4SiNbR4

— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) July 30, 2026

The photo finish changes the winner

The first reading of the finish gave the victory to Plowright by a minimal margin. However, the image raised doubts from the very beginning, as the front wheels seemed to reach the finish line almost simultaneously.

After reviewing the photo finish, the jury changed the initial decision and declared Van Aert the winner. The Belgian recorded a time of 3:59:41.

Top 10 stage 2 Tour of Denmark

1. Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) – 3:59:41
2. Jensen Plowright (Alpecin-Premier Tech) – +00
3. Toon Aerts (Lotto-Intermarché) – +00
4. Giovanni Lonardi (Team Polti VisitMalta) – +00
5. Carl-Frederik Bévort (Uno-X Mobility) – +00
6. Max Walscheid (Lidl-Trek) – +00
7. Enrico Zanoncello (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber) – +00
8. Ben Oliver (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling) – +00
9. Matys Grisel (Lotto-Intermarché) – +00
10. Lukáš Kubiš (Unibet Rose Rockets) – +00

General classification Tour of Denmark after stage 2

1. Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) – 8:10:10
2. Lukáš Kubiš (Unibet Rose Rockets) – at 14 seconds
3. Henrik Pedersen (Uno-X Mobility) – at 16 seconds
4. Pier-André Côté (NSN Cycling) – at 20 seconds
5. Tim Torn Teutenberg (Lidl-Trek) – at 20 seconds
6. Tomáš Kopecký (Unibet Rose Rockets) – at 20 seconds
7. Christophe Laporte (Visma | Lease a Bike) – at 20 seconds
8. Søren Kragh Andersen (Lidl-Trek) – at 20 seconds
9. Gustav Wang (Danish selection) – at 29 seconds
10. Jensen Plowright (Alpecin-Premier Tech) – at 31 seconds

The Tour of Denmark will now face its most demanding day, a stage of 202.9 kilometers between Fredericia and Vejle in which numerous climbs will be linked. It will be the first serious test for Van Aert in the fight for the general classification.