Results Tour de l’Ain 2026 Stage 2 - Markel Beloki solos to second professional victory after late attack
Cycling
Markel Beloki claimed the second professional victory of his career with a commanding solo performance on Stage 2 of the 2026 Tour de l’Ain.
The 21-year-old EF Education-EasyPost rider attacked from the leading group with 9.5 kilometres remaining and quickly opened a decisive advantage on the run into Lagnieu. Beloki crossed the line 54 seconds clear of Noa Isidore, with Nicola Conci taking third on the same time.
Axel Mariault and Remi Arsac completed the top five, while Jamie Meehan, Henrique Bravo, Adam Howell, Huw Buck Jones and Geoffrey Bouchard rounded out the top 10.
Beloki began the day just three seconds behind overnight leader Noah Hobbs and moved into the yellow jersey after the Stage 1 winner was distanced during the first major climbing test of the race.
Early breakaway caught before Col de Portes selection
Jason Tesson, Kenny Molly, Morne Van Niekerk and Maximilien Juillard formed the early breakaway on the 161.9-kilometre route from Saint-Vulbas to Lagnieu.
Juillard led over the first ascent of the Col de Portes, collecting maximum mountains points on the 14.6-kilometre climb. Unibet Rose Rockets controlled the peloton behind before the original move began to break apart.
Molly and Juillard were caught, while Van Niekerk was also reeled in later. Thomas Gachignard then spent a spell alone at the head of the race before the main contenders took over on the second ascent of the Col de Portes.
EF Education-EasyPost were prominent as Jefferson Alexander Cepeda and Beloki made the front selection. Meehan, Bravo, Mariault, Arsac and Conci were also among the riders to emerge at the head of the race, while pre-stage favourite Wout Poels was left in a chasing group.
Meehan accelerated during the climb before the leading group expanded again, with Arsac and Mariault joining the front. Bouchard, Conci, Buck Jones and Jose Said Cisneros were among those trying to regain contact behind.
Beloki launches winning move
Beloki made the decisive attack with 9.5 kilometres remaining and immediately opened a gap over the rest of the leading group. The Spaniard continued to extend his advantage through the closing kilometres, leaving the chasers unable to bring him back before the finish in Lagnieu.
Isidore emerged as the best of the rest to take second, 54 seconds down, with Conci, Mariault, Arsac, Meehan and Bravo all finishing in the same group. The victory was Beloki’s second at professional level after his Stage 3 success at the 2025 Tour Alsace, where he also went on to win the general classification.
Lev Gonov and Lorrenzo Manzin abandoned during the stage. The Tour de l’Ain concludes with the mountainous third stage from Oyonnax to Lelex Monts-Jura.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment