The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Tour continues to reward the brave: Charmig wins a marathon stage of 234 kilometers

The second stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026 rewarded the breakaway once again. A day after Alex Baudin's exhibition, it was Anthon Charmig (Uno-X Mobility) who took advantage of the freedom granted by the peloton to win solo in Le Puy-en-Velay after 234.3 kilometers of racing, the longest day of this edition.

Anthon Charmig breaks his victory drought and conquers the longest stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026

The Danish cyclist achieved his first victory since 2022 after completing a long offensive from the day's breakaway. Behind, Henri-François Renard-Haquin (Team Picnic PostNL) finished second, 41 seconds behind, while the young Vlad Van Mechelen (Bahrain Victorious) completed the podium after a standout performance that kept him among the most active riders for much of the day.

The stage was marked from the first kilometers by a large breakaway that accumulated more than six minutes of advantage over a peloton that never showed a real intention to contest the victory. EF Education-EasyPost took on much of the responsibility to defend Alex Baudin's lead, but the gap allowed the breakaway to fight for the win.

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Among the ten riders in the leading group were names like Raúl García Pierna (Movistar Team), Clément Braz Afonso (Groupama-FDJ United), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis), Henri-François Renard-Haquin, Anthon Charmig, and Vlad Van Mechelen, who managed to connect with the breakaway after a significant effort during the first half of the stage.

Charmig decided it on the final climb

The race broke apart definitively in the last kilometers. After several attacks on the final climbs, Clément Braz Afonso found himself at the front alongside Baptiste Veistroffer and even positioned himself virtually as the overall leader thanks to the large advantage of the breakaway.

However, the situation changed on the final climb towards the Côte de Peyra Taillade. A group of seven riders managed to regroup at the front, and when the road steepened again in the last kilometers, Charmig launched the decisive attack.

The Dane crossed the line solo with a few seconds advantage over his pursuers and took advantage of the final descent to Le Puy-en-Velay to extend his lead. A specialist in time trials, he managed his gap perfectly until crossing the finish line with a 41-second margin.

Behind, Renard-Haquin secured second place, while Van Mechelen confirmed one of the best performances of his young career by finishing third.

Baudin retains the yellow jersey

While the victory was being decided among the breakaway, the favorites opted for a relatively calm day. The main group never seriously threatened the breakaway's chances, and Alex Baudin easily maintained the yellow jersey he had won the previous day.

The stage also did not change the perception of some of the important names in the race. João Almeida once again showed worrying signs by losing contact with the peloton on the first climb of the day, prolonging the difficulties he displayed during the opening day.

Up front, the general classification remains open before one of the most important stages of the week: the 28.4-kilometer team time trial that will take place this Tuesday in Perreux and could start to mark real differences among the main contenders for the final victory.

Top 10 Stage 2 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026

1. Anthon Charmig (Uno-X Mobility) – 5:40:29
2. Henri-François Renard-Haquin (Team Picnic PostNL) +41”
3. Vlad Van Mechelen (Bahrain Victorious) +41”
4. Raúl García Pierna (Movistar Team) +43”
5. Clément Braz Afonso (Groupama-FDJ United) +44”
6. Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) +1:56
7. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) +1:59
8. Nadav Raisberg (NSN Cycling Team) +2:10
9. Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +3:13
10. Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +3:13