The Nations’ Cup Hungary continued with a half-stage of only 86.3 kilometers around Ibrány. During the stage, the cyclists completed two larger laps passing through Nagyhalász, Kótaj, Búj, and Paszab, followed by two smaller laps in the Ibrány area. At the end of the first large loop, the organizers designated the only sprint section, which was significant in the battle for the green jersey.
As expected, many riders tried to break away, but no one was able to escape, and the only sprint section of the day was won by the green jersey leader, Norway’s Filip-Andre Smoras.
No viable breakaway was able to form after that, despite the efforts of several riders, so the stage winner was decided by a bunch sprint, and Smoras made no mistake this time either, winning confidently ahead of two Poles, Filip Pasterski and Jakub Sledzinski. The best Hungarian, Boldizsár Zsembery (MBH Bank Cycling Team), finished in an impressive sixth place.
“Our goals were clear: we wanted to win both the sprint and the stage,” said Smoras after crossing the finish line. “We worked great as a team, so we achieved both. I’m happy with my success, as this is an important victory in my career.”
As for the jerseys, Oleh Smolynets of Ukraine continues to lead the overall standings, ten seconds ahead of Marcin Wlodarski of Poland.
“It was very hot again today, but we did everything we could to keep the yellow jersey,” said Smolynets while waiting for the award ceremony. “It was a technical, difficult course, but we knew that the short distance made it perfect for us to sprint, as not many riders were a threat to me after what happened in the first stage. I’m glad we achieved what we set out to do, and I’m confident that the evening time trial will also go well for us.”
Alex Martin Dorogi (MBH Bank Cycling Team) remains the best Hungarian in the overall competition, so he will continue to wear the discipline’s distinctive jersey in stage 2/B. Smolynets also wears the blue jersey in the youth competition, while Smoras wears the green jersey in the points competition.
“I managed to catch up with the main field, so I kept the jersey for the best Hungarian rider,” said Alex Martin Dorogi. “The pace was fast from the start, no one was allowed to break away, so basically what we expected happened. This course suited me, so we achieved what we wanted. I’m confident about the time trial this evening, I’d like to move up a place or two in the overall standings.
Results
Stage 2/A, Ibrány–Ibrány (86.3 km)
1.Filip-Andre Smoras (Norway) 1:52:10
2. Filip Pasterski (Poland) a.i
3. Jakub Sledzinski (Poland) a.i
4. Asier Fortea Vicente (Spain) a.i
5. Felix Prünster (Austria) a.i
6. Zsembery Boldizsár (Hungary, MBH Bank Cycling Team) a.i
7. Gábor Kőrösi (Hungary, Lotus Cycling) a.i
8. Albert Hansgaard Jensen (Denmark) a.i
9. Helvijs Kancers (Latvia) a.i
10. Lukas Gardian (Slovakia) a.i
Overall
1. Oleh Smolynets (Ukraine) 4:52:44
2. Marcin Wlodarski (Poland) + 10 sec
3. Ola Herheim (Norway) + 25 sec
4. Tobias Gren (Denmark) + 29 sec
5. Pavel Dimitrov (Bulgaria) + 29 sec
6. Almir Valiyev (Kazakhstan, Lotus Cycling) + 47 sec
7. Alvaro Dominguez Lopez (Spain) + 47 sec
8. Filip Zahorec (Slovakia) + 47 sec
9. Lucas Kraus (Austria) + 47 sec
10. Matthias Esterl (Austria) + 47
