Results Tour de Wallonie 2026 Stage 2 - George Hincapie’s Modern Adventure team land biggest win yet as Ben Oliver stuns sprint favourites
Cycling
Ben Oliver delivered the biggest victory in Modern Adventure Pro Cycling’s short history on Stage 2 of the 2026 Tour de Wallonie, taking the American team’s first European win after a rain-hit finale in Libramont-Chevigny.
The victory was the team’s third since its arrival in the professional peloton, following Samuel Florez’s stage win at the Tour of the Gila and Stefan de Bod’s South African national time trial title. But Oliver’s success was on a different level, coming at 2.Pro level in Europe and against a sprint field that included Jordi Meeus and Arnaud De Lie.
Meeus began the day in the leader’s jersey after winning Stage 1, with the peloton facing a 188km route from Jodoigne to Libramont-Chevigny. The early breakaway formed with six riders going clear: Asbjorn Hellemose, Anton Lennemann, Matteo Melotte, Matthew Kingston, Iben Rommelaere and Kevin Avoine.
Hellemose took the first intermediate sprint of the day in Rochefort, collecting three bonus seconds ahead of Rommelaere and Lennemann. The Jayco AlUla rider later added more bonus seconds at Wideumont-Village, briefly moving into the virtual race lead on the road.
Modern Adventure seize their biggest moment yet
The escape began to lose riders before the final 70km. Hellemose accelerated in the front group, with Kingston and Lennemann both dropped and later caught by the peloton. That left Hellemose, Melotte, Rommelaere and Avoine out front as Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe helped control the peloton behind race leader Meeus.
Avoine took the final intermediate sprint at Wideumont-Village ahead of Hellemose and Rommelaere, but the break was already under pressure. Melotte was dropped from the front group, before Hellemose and Rommelaere also lost contact. Avoine was the last rider from the break to be caught, with the peloton regrouping shortly before the final lap.
The closing circuits were complicated by heavy rain. Sam Welsford crashed in the peloton before the final lap, although the Netcompany INEOS sprinter later made it back into the bunch. There was then another crash involving eight riders inside the final 20km, with Anton Lennemann, Natnael Tesfatsion and Loic Vanlaere among those involved.
Oliver beats the lead-out trains in Libramont-Chevigny
Lotto Intermarche, NSN Cycling Team, Team Jayco AlUla and Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe were all active near the front as the race moved into the final 15km. With 11km remaining, five riders opened a small gap, but the bunch came back together for the final run-in.
The peloton was stretched out inside the final 5km, with Lotto Intermarche pulling before Team Flanders - Baloise moved forward with four riders. Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe then took control inside the final 1.5km, bringing four riders to the front.
Danny van Poppel led out Meeus in the closing metres, with De Lie locked onto Meeus’ wheel as the sprint opened. But Oliver came through to take the stage victory for Modern Adventure Pro Cycling, turning his fourth place from the opening stage into a breakthrough win 24 hours later.
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.
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- Roglic could not have won anyway, after Jonas followed him when Roglic decided it was his turn for a stage win. Jonas had already attacked Kuss twice, so it was Jonas who was within seconds of taking the lead before Kuss was 'gifted' the win. It felt a bit like Roglic was being thrown under the bus when the team made his unhappiness public.Hills3314-11-2026
- POG1, another nice doc about our favourite, I watched most of it with a big smile on my face (except for the bits about his crashes 😢 obvs!).Lozza14-11-2026
- Martinez had a good year! 5th at the Tour was a great result for him, albeit largely through getting in successful breaks, but he held it better than Pidcock who’d done the same.Lozza14-11-2026
- guess what Valgren, you're 34, and no you're not good enough. sorry to say.mij14-11-2026
- I'm a sepp fan and like to think he earned that LOL, indulge me : ) I think Jonas was fine. Roglic did not want to concede to Sepp. and I don't think you ever attack your own teammate in the leaders jersey if he is holding his own, which Sepp just about was.mij14-11-2026
- enough time? he's 24 years old. He's won 10 races over the last 2 years and some are significant. I won't argue about his attitude being good - it needs to improve. But with some coaching and mentorship he has a lot of winning ahead of him and has plenty of time to win a GT. I don't think he will ever beat Tadej, but everyone else is fair game Look at Mas and Valverde - they were 31 and 29, respectively, when they won the Vuelta.mij14-11-2026
- Pogacar has a fine head on his shoulders.Careful investments and a couple of coffee shops sounds like a wonderful way to chill after an intense career.Stay healthy GOAT.
Brucegel14-11-2026 - I live in Maribor.PogiSloFans14-11-2026
- I live in Ljubljana and often go on trips in the surrounding area, where I frequently see young cyclists in 'Pogi Team' jerseys training, either alone or in groups. By simply motivating so many young people to take up cycling, Tadej has already achieved something truly significant.Velijo14-11-2026
- That's an excellent point. It's interesting that Vader came to that realization only after he learned that his contract wasn't going to be renewed.
santiagobenites14-11-2026
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