Results Boucles de la Mayenne 2026 Stage 2 - Benoit Cosnefroy wins queen stage as teammate Julius Johansen cracks

Benoit Cosnefroy won stage 2 of the 2026 Boucles de la Mayenne after a punishing queen stage to Pre-en-Pail-Saint-Samson, where the race was blown apart and overnight leader Julius Johansen lost touch long before the finish.

The UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider finished fastest from a reduced front group at the end of the 215.1km stage from Aron, beating Noa Isidore and Vincenzo Albanese after a long, attacking finale. Brady Gilmore took fourth, with Clement Izquierdo fifth, Louis Barre sixth and Mads Pedersen tenth after Lidl - Trek had spent much of the decisive phase forcing the pace.

Johansen began the day in yellow after winning the prologue and defending his lead through stage 1, but the hardest stage of the race quickly became too selective for the early leader.

Stage 1 winner Olav Kooij was also distanced as the bunch was cut down on the repeated climbs of the final circuit.

An early six-man break had shaped the first half of the stage, with Tom Mainguenaud using the move to strengthen his hold on the mountains classification. The break was brought back with around 66km remaining, after which Lidl - Trek took up the pressure in a rapidly reduced peloton.

The race then became a sequence of attacks. Valentin Retailleau went clear for TotalEnergies before Marco Brenner and Louis Barre bridged across, only for that move to be brought back. Aubin Sparfel then made the next major move for Decathlon CMA CGM Team, attacking inside the final 10km and opening a small gap.

Sparfel was caught with around 5km remaining, before Thibaud Gruel tried to slip clear in the final 3km. Isidore launched the sprint inside the final few hundred metres, but Cosnefroy came through to take the stage win for UAE Team Emirates - XRG.

The result completed a difficult but successful day for UAE. Johansen’s spell in yellow ended on the queen stage, but Cosnefroy delivered the victory from the select group after a final hour shaped by repeated attacks and constant pressure.