“We have two cards to play for sure” – Andrew August takes Czech Tour yellow but INEOS keep second GC option alive
Cycling
Andrew August may have left Jested with both the stage win and the yellow jersey, but Netcompany INEOS are not yet treating the 20-year-old as their only option for overall victory at the 2026 Czech Tour.
August capped another day of heavy work from INEOS by winning Stage 2 ahead of Alessandro Fancellu and Domenico Pozzovivo, moving six seconds clear of Fancellu and 11 ahead of Pozzovivo in the general classification.
Yet Embret Svestad-Bardseng remains only 29 seconds behind, and August made clear that INEOS are not ready to narrow their GC ambitions to one rider.
Asked whether he was now the team's leader for the rest of the race, August was careful not to shut the door on his teammate. “Definitely one of them, but we still have Embret close on GC so we have two cards to play for sure,” he said after the finish.
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August takes yellow without closing INEOS options
Svestad-Bardseng played an important role in August's victory on Jested, helping drive the pace late on the climb before August attacked inside the final kilometre and came through to beat Fancellu. His own position on GC means INEOS arrive at Stage 3 with two riders still firmly in play.
August described the win as the result of a measured chase rather than an early attempt to blow the race apart. “We let them [the break] have the same gap for a while, and then when we really start to increase the pace the gap came down quite quick so it was all under control,” he explained.
The final climb followed the same pattern. Jested measured 15 kilometres at a relatively modest average gradient, with the decisive difficulty concentrated much closer to the summit. “It was a long climb but the gradients weren't really steep until the last kilometre,” August said. “We knew we had to ride a steady pace, but then go all out in the last kilometre.”
That was exactly where August made the difference, securing his third victory of the season after earlier stage wins at Itzulia Basque Country and the Volta Comunitat Valenciana.
Dlouhe Strane next for August and Svestad-Bardseng
Stage 3 finishes at Dlouhe Strane after a climb of just over 13 kilometres at 5.4%, a more sustained ascent than Jested. Fancellu starts only six seconds behind August, with Pozzovivo at 11 seconds and Mauri Vansevenant at 19.
Svestad-Bardseng, meanwhile, begins the day 29 seconds off yellow. August may now wear the jersey, but INEOS head into the next summit finish with the second GC option their new race leader was quick to keep alive.
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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