Results Tour of Denmark 2026 Stage 2 | Wout van Aert WINS controversial photo finish after initially been declared second place in sprint
CyclingThursday, 30 July 2026 at 18:19
Wout van Aert has won a controversial bunch sprint at the Tour of Denmark to make it two victories in a row on Thursday. Initially being declared second, Jensen Plowright was first announced as the winner, coming with a late surge to seemingly deny the Belgian in a dramatic photo finish. However, van Aert was declared winner shortly afterwards by race officials.
After taking victory on the opening stage on Wednesday, Wout van Aert was attempting to hold onto his leader's jersey in his return to racing. Similar to the first stage, the terrain was in the Visma | Lease a Bike rider's favour with little climbing on the agenda on stage 2.
Seven riders established the day's breakaway early and grew a comfortable lead over the peloton. With none a threat to general classification, the breakaway was made up by Gustav Wang, Aksel Skot-Hansen, Sebastian Nielsen, Otto Schultz Jolving, Hjalmar Klyver, Nikolaj Mengel and Samuele Zoccarato.
In a largely settled first half of the day, Visma, Lidl-Trek and Unibet Rose Rockets shared responsibilities at the front of the peloton, with the breakaway's gap hovering in or around four minutes during the early and middle parts of the stage.
With just over 70 kilometers to go, a section of crosswinds wreaked havoc in the peloton. Echelons quickly formed as a split in the peloton as about 50 riders remained. The acceleration of the pace saw the breakaway's gap plummet to less than 2:30 with 67 kilometers on the clock.
The second part of the peloton looked set to make contact, but crosswinds wreaked havoc once again as the peloton remained fractured. Van Aert safely made the front end of the split as they accidentally brought the break closer at 1:20 with 60 kilometers to go. Things would soon settle as the peloton called a truce and the gap to the break stabilised at around 1:30 with 45 kilometers to go.
Echelons disrupt peloton as breakaway gap reduced
The breakaway gams began with 30 kilometers to go as the peloton closed in, with Zoccarato opening up attacks and the group reducing to five as Hjalmar Klyver and Nikolaj Mengel were caught and the bunch soon reeling the attackers in sight.
Riders crossed the finish line for the beginning of three laps at 21.5 kilometers to go as just 20 seconds separated the break from the bunch and the race entering its final phase.
The first lap saw attackers bridge across to the breakaway, including Lionel Taminiaux and Marcel Marcellusi but the peloton still loomed in their shaddow at just ten seconds behind as Visma controlled the pace.
Taminiaux and Marcellusi broke free from the attackers as the race passed the finish line for the final lap and the peloton turning the screw for the finale and made their catch with just six kilometers to go.
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As the final kilometers ticked by and van Aert primed to contest the final sprint, the bunch seemed content to let it go to the line. The Danish national team and Uno-X Mobility were among the teams challenging Visma's presence at the front of affairs.
Former Danish national champion Alexander Kamp shot from the bunch at three kilometers to go in a daring attack but was brought back just inside the final kilometer.
But a bunch sprint beckoned as Unibet Rose Rockets took the final corner van Aert taking the final corner in fifth wheel. Plowright came from deep to take victory as van Aert and Toon Aerts led the sprint from 200 meters out. The result was then changed afterwards as it was declared that van Aert had crossed the line first.
Results Tour of Denmark 2026 Stage 2
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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