Anthon Charmig wins the second stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes after a magnificent solo breakaway

The second stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, formerly the Criterium du Dauphiné, took the riders from Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux to Le Puy-en-Velay over 240 kilometres. Andreas Kron and Anthon were given the chance to join the breakaway of the day, and it was the latter who seized his opportunity. He was joined by nine other riders, and the peloton let them go. The GC teams seemed to be focusing already on the important team time trial in stage three.

The 10 escapees continued to work well together until around 30 kilometres from the finish. Braz Afonso and Veistroffer broke away, but Charmig’s group kept rotating and never let the gap exceed 20 seconds. Just before the final 2-kilometre climb at 8 per cent, the group came back together, and on that climb Charmig sensed his moment had come. This time he set the pace, and neither Braz Afonso nor Garcia Pierna could keep up. Over the final 7 kilometres of flat terrain, he never let up and rode solo to victory.

After four weeks of high-altitude training in the Sierra Nevada, the Norwegian and Danish riders of Uno-X Mobility have clearly returned to competition in fine form. For Charmig, this was the second victory of his career and his first WorldTour win. After spending two seasons elsewhere, this marks a triumphant return to the Scandinavian team. Congratulations, Anthon!