The Nations’ Cup Hungary continued with a half-section of just 86.3 kilometres around Ibrány. During the stage, the cyclists completed two major laps of Nagyhalász, Kótaj, Búj and Paszab, followed by two smaller ones in the Ibrány area. At the end of the first big lap, the organisers designated the only intermediate sprint, which was important in the battle for the green jersey.
At the moment of the start, a heavy rain hit the peloton, resulting in several minor crashes and unfortunately András Pakot, who was wearing the distinctive jersey of the best Hungarian cyclist, was also knocked to the ground.
Fortunately, the rain soon subsided, while the young riders were riding at a tremendous pace, with the average speed of the first hour again exceeding 50 km/h.
No serious breakaways were able to escape until the day’s only intermediate sprint, with the sprint being won by overall leader Felix Orn-Kristoff of Norway, ahead of Poland’s Kacper Mientki and Mikal Uglehus, also of Norway in the green jersey.
In the middle of the stage, Hungary’s Bálint Feldhoffer went away with a Danish rider, August Birk Hundt. The pair’s biggest lead peaked at just over thirty seconds, understandably a minimal gap in the overall race that was not good enough for the Norwegians.
In the final kilometres the peloton split into three, but the Norwegian team, led by Hungarian Tamás Lengyel, closed the gap and the stage winner was decided by a sprint.
As in Vásárosnamény, Felix Orn-Kristoff of Norway won the sprint ahead of two Poles, Kacper Mientki and Igor Wlodarczyk.
“I really liked this course, although the rain made things difficult and I had a risky moment when I almost fell. The team did a great job again, we fought to have a chance to win and it paid off in the end. I came here in good shape after the World Championships and that gives me the confidence I need,” said Orn-Kristoff, who now has two stage wins, shortly after crossing the finish line.
The best Hungarian was András Pakot (Hungarian national team), who improved his position and finished in fifth place.
“We got caught in the rain at the start, which made the track quite slippery, but basically we had a short but fast race. Unfortunately, I also crashed and even had a puncture during the stage, but I’m very happy that I managed to improve on the first stage and finished in a very respectable fifth place,” said András Pakot.
Results
Stage 2/A, Ibrány-Ibrány (86.3 km)
1. Felix Orn-Kristoff (Norway) 1:49:35
2. Kacper Mientki (Poland) a.i
3. Igor Wlodarczyk (Poland) a.i
4. Krystof Král (Czech Republic) a.i
5. András Pakot (Hungary) a.i
6. Simon Gottstein (Slovakia) a.i
7. Juraj Vrbik (Slovak) a.i
8. Jesper Stiansen (Norway) a.i
9. Jakub Dudek (Poland) a.i
10. Matthias Schwarzbacher (Slovakia) a.i
Overall standings:
1. Felix Orn-Kristoff (Norway) 4:45:18
2. Kacper Mientki (Poland) + 12 sec
3rd Mikal Uglehus (Norway) + 13 sec
4. Krystof Král (Czech Republic) + 14 sec
5. Simon Gottstein (Slovakia) + 16 sec
6. Igor Wlodarczyk (Poland) + 18 sec
7. Victor Johannsen (Denmark) + 18 sec
8. Stepan Zahalka (Czech Republic) + 19 sec
9. Juraj Vrbik (Slovakia) + 20 sec
10. András Pakot (Hungary) + 20 sec
As for the jersey wearers, the yellow jersey is on the shoulders of Felix Orn Kristoff (Norway), as is the blue jersey for the best youngster, the green jersey is held by Mikal Uglehus (Norway), while the best Hungarian is András Pakot (Hungarian national team).
The Nations’ Cup Hungary will conclude on the afternoon of 17 August with an individual time trial in Nyíregyháza (3.5 km).
