Benoît Cosnefroy surprises sprinters to win stage 2 of Tour de Hongrie
UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader makes fantastic late attack to sail into the race lead
Thursday 14 May, 2026
In a rather extraordinary end to stage 2 of the Tour de Hongrie, Benoît Cosnefroy claimed an unlikely victory for UAE Team Emirates-XRG. On a day otherwise destined for the sprinters, Cosnefroy stole a march and picked up his second win in less than a week.
Having triumphed at last weekend’s Grand Prix du Morbihan, Cosnefroy had come into the Tour de Hongrie as UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s slated GC leader. However, few could have predicted his first win to come within the opening couple of days.
In the opening stage, Cosnefroy handled himself with expert race craft, scoring himself some bonus seconds at the mid-stage sprint. As he led the peloton on behalf of the team’s sprinter Sebastián Molano, the Frenchman repeated this trick on stage 2 from Szarvas to Paks. However, this time the end result was not a bunch sprint for the day’s honours.
Rather, the race exploded inside the final 25km, as crosswinds blew the peloton apart. When Cofidis made the first move, UAE Team Emirates-XRG were well-positioned to take advantage, and in fact, the Emirati squad placed all six of its riders in the front echelon.
With stage 1 winner Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) caught behind, the situation looked ideal for Molano, who could look to improve on his second-place finish from stage 1. A 20-second gap was soon opened up between the first group on the road and the second group, containing the likes of Merlier. But this was just the start of the drama in Hungary.
As the front group started to look at one another, the opportunity opened for a brave move from amongst its midst. In turn, the likes of Mike Teunissen (XDS Astana Team), Jakob Söderqvist (Lidl-Trek) and Cosnefroy took flight. The time was ripe for an upset.
A few kilometres later, Cosnefroy would be joined by his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate, Rui Oliveira, who would prove pivotal to the day’s victory.
As the final few kilometres of the stage came into view, the peloton had regathered itself behind and was on a mission to catch the last remaining escapees. Oliveira and Cosnefroy had no intentions of giving up, however, and it was Oliveira who buried himself in the service of his teammate.
Thanks to Oliveira’s efforts, the breakaway held a small advantage under the flamme rouge, and with around 600m to ride, Cosnefroy took a flyer. The Frenchman burst from the group and made his dart for home, throwing his body from side to side as he looked to squeeze every ounce of energy through the pedals.
It was ultimately a heroic move from the 30-year-old, who held off his pursuers to the line, and picked up the stage 2 victory. Not only that, but Cosnefroy also rode himself into the lead of the general classification. He will now head into the final three stages with a small but important advantage in the leader’s jersey.
Cosnefroy: “The first idea was to sprint with Sebas Molano, but I stayed in the front with Vegard and Cofidis started to pull very hard. We followed with the team and participated. For me, it was a good opportunity to try for victory, but on the climb I pull and I tried to break away.
“In the final, I didn’t have very good legs, but Rui worked very well for me, and I watched behind me at 600m to the finish line. I saw the bunch, and so I thought I would go on the attack and see. In the end, it is an amazing victory for me, so I am really happy for the team. They work every day for me and this victory is for us.
“All the team is very focused every stage, for the opportunity, and for Molano. But at the end, it is a nice opportunity today in the final. I didn’t imagine this final in the bus this morning, but at the end it is the second victory for me this year, and it is really important.
“For me, it is better to have more seconds ahead of the riders like Luke Plapp, but this victory gives us huge enjoyment, and we will see over the next three days. With the weather, it is complicated with a lot of rain, but it is better to keep seconds on our side in the jersey.”
Tour de Hongrie 2026 stage 2 results:
- Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 4:20:51
- Alexis Renard (Cofidis) +2″
- Max Kanter (XDS Astana Team) s.t
- Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) s.t
Tour de Hongrie 2026 general classification after stage 2:
- Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 7:13:33
- Kristian Egholm (Lidl-Trek) +4″
- Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) +6″
- Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +10″
