Anton Charmig made it two breakaway wins from two stages at the 2026 Tour Auvergne – Rhône-Alpes, attacking from the day’s escape on the final classified climb and soloing to victory in Le Puy-en-Velay. The Uno-X Mobility rider went clear on the Côte de Saint-Vidal, held off the strongest riders from a 10-man breakaway, and crossed the line 41 seconds ahead of Henri-François Renard-Haquin and Vlad Van Mechelen.
It was Charmig’s first WorldTour victory and another reward for aggression in a race that has started with the peloton giving just enough freedom to the right kind of move. After Alex Baudin won from the break on stage 1, stage 2 again went to the escape, this time after 234.3 kilometres from Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux to Le Puy-en-Velay and 3,685 metres of elevation gain.
Baudin kept the overall lead for EF Education-EasyPost, with Ramses Debruyne still second at 32 seconds and Kevin Vermaerke third on the same deficit. Behind the stage fight, the GC peloton eventually came in more than 3 minutes down, but the late action among the favourites did not alter the top of the classification.
A long neutral and an immediate fight for the break
The riders rolled out into an unusually long 11.5-kilometre neutral zone before the real start of the day, making the total distance even more demanding once the neutral section was added. The official racing distance alone was already the longest stage of the race, and the profile left almost no quiet terrain once the breakaway battle had been settled.
As on stage 1, the opening attacks came straight from the flag. Six riders went clear early but were quickly brought back, and then another set of moves followed as the bunch tried to decide who would be allowed up the road.
The first meaningful move contained Charmig, Alex Díaz, Benjamin Thomas, Baptiste Veistroffer, Nadav Raisberg and Renard-Haquin. They opened a small gap of around 15 seconds, while the peloton continued to fire counter-attacks behind them.
A second wave came soon after, with Jordan Jegat attacking and then Raúl García Pierna, Clément Braz Afonso and Van Mechelen bridging across. By the time the race reached the Col de la Croix de Toutes Aures, the groups had merged into a 10-rider breakaway: Charmig, Díaz, Thomas, Raisberg, Renard-Haquin, Veistroffer, Jegat, García Pierna, Braz Afonso and Van Mechelen.
EF control the gap as Braz Afonso becomes a threat
EF Education-EasyPost took responsibility behind for yellow jersey Baudin, with Decathlon CMA CGM, UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Team Visma | Lease a Bike lined up behind them in the bunch. The break was allowed more than 5 minutes, which immediately made Braz Afonso a virtual threat, as he had started the day 5:49 down on GC.
The early climbs also started reshaping the jersey contests. Thomas took the points over the Col de Chatain ahead of Charmig, Raisberg and Renard-Haquin, then won again over the Col de la Croix de Toutes Aures ahead of Díaz.
The peloton was never in full chase mode, but it was alert to the danger of letting the gap grow too far. EF kept the move within a manageable range, though the break extended its advantage again on the valley roads and took the gap beyond 6 minutes. Braz Afonso briefly moved into the virtual race lead before the bunch began trimming the margin.
It was not a calm day in the bunch. João Almeida was again in difficulty early, riders such as Phil Bauhaus, Roel van Sintmaartensdijk and Matevž Govekar were among those dropped on the first climb, and Nicola Conci crashed before quickly remounting.
Rain and repeated climbs harden the race
The middle of the stage turned heavier as the rain began to fall. EF Education-EasyPost continued to work in the peloton, needing only to bring the gap down enough to protect Baudin’s yellow jersey rather than chase the stage completely.
Thomas kept building his mountains tally on the Col Robert Marchand, a 10.9-kilometre climb at 4.4 per cent. He took maximum points ahead of Braz Afonso, Raisberg and Jegat, moving within 2 points of Baudin in the mountains classification, while Braz Afonso also moved closer in that competition.
Raisberg then took the intermediate sprint at Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid, repeating his stage 1 success in that classification and moving into the points lead by 5 points over Baudin. Jegat was second at the sprint, with Díaz third.
The pace remained high despite the length and elevation. After four hours of racing, the average speed was still around 40kph, even after 2,800 metres of climbing. The break still had enough of a gap to start thinking seriously about a second consecutive escapee victory.
Braz Afonso splits the break before the final climbs
With 50 kilometres remaining, the break still had 4:46 on the peloton. That was enough to encourage attacks from the front group rather than simply waiting for the finish. Veistroffer and Braz Afonso were the first to move clear, and they opened a small gap over the rest of the break.
The Côte des Baraques, 4.2 kilometres at 6.6 per cent, became the first major selection point inside the final hour. Braz Afonso began to distance Veistroffer on the climb, while García Pierna and Van Mechelen attacked from the chase to bridge across.
Braz Afonso crossed the climb first and took the virtual lead in the mountains classification. Behind, the race began to reform into smaller groups: Braz Afonso ahead, García Pierna and Van Mechelen chasing, and then Thomas, Charmig, Renard-Haquin and Jegat behind them.
By 17 kilometres to go, the leaders had regrouped into a seven-rider front group: Braz Afonso, García Pierna, Van Mechelen, Charmig, Thomas, Renard-Haquin and Jegat. The peloton was still 4:38 back, so the stage was definitively gone from the bunch.
Charmig launches on the Côte de Saint-Vidal
The final classified climb, the Côte de Saint-Vidal, was only 2 kilometres long but averaged 7.4 per cent. Thomas tried to gain an advantage on the descent before it, with Charmig following well, but the Dane had the stronger finishing move once the road rose again.
Charmig, Braz Afonso and Thomas initially opened a small gap, but Thomas was quickly dropped. García Pierna bridged across, while Van Mechelen and Renard-Haquin were also coming back from behind. Then Charmig made the attack that decided the stage.
The Dane kicked clear near the top of the Côte de Saint-Vidal. García Pierna and Braz Afonso tried to respond, but neither could close the gap. Charmig went over the top alone and carried a 10-second advantage into the final 10 kilometres.
Behind, the chase group briefly reshuffled. Renard-Haquin joined Van Mechelen, while Braz Afonso and García Pierna remained ahead of them, but Charmig was already moving into the strongest phase of his ride. With 5 kilometres to go, he had 25 seconds on the chasers.
Charmig celebrates before the line
Charmig’s lead only grew on the run-in to Le Puy-en-Velay. With 4 kilometres remaining he was still clear, and by the flamme rouge he had 40 seconds. At that point, he knew the win was his, punching the air and smiling before completing the final kilometre.
He crossed the line alone to take his first WorldTour victory, and the second successful breakaway win in as many stages at this race. Renard-Haquin won the sprint for second ahead of Van Mechelen, while García Pierna and Braz Afonso finished just behind after their long involvement in the finale.
Further back, the peloton came in led by Finn Fisher-Black, with Maxim Van Gils on the same time. Mattias Skjelmose had a late bike change but was caught inside the final kilometre and was expected to receive the same time as the peloton.
The general classification remained in Baudin’s hands. EF Education-EasyPost never needed to close the break completely, only keep Braz Afonso far enough away to protect yellow. They managed that, while the rest of the favourites avoided the kind of costly split that had marked the opening stage.
Baudin keeps yellow as breakaways continue to thrive
Stage 2 reinforced the pattern of the race so far. The peloton has been willing to let strong breaks go, but not quite willing or able to organise a full chase once the terrain becomes difficult and team priorities diverge. That has given riders like Baudin and Charmig room to turn aggression into victory.
Charmig’s win came from good timing rather than simply being the strongest rider in the break from start to finish. He survived the early fight, stayed present through the climbs, responded when Braz Afonso began splitting the move, then used the final sharp ascent to make his one decisive attack.
For Baudin, it was still a successful day. He started in yellow after his stage 1 solo victory, saw a dangerous break go up the road, and still ended the stage leading the race by 32 seconds from Debruyne and Vermaerke. The Frenchman also continued to sit at the centre of the early jersey picture, even as Raisberg moved strongly in the points competition and Braz Afonso strengthened his position in the mountains classification.
The Tour Auvergne – Rhône-Alpes has started with two days of hard climbing, long-range aggression and late hesitation behind. Charmig was the rider who took advantage on stage 2, using the Côte de Saint-Vidal as the launch pad before finishing alone in Le Puy-en-Velay.
Tour Auvergne – Rhône-Alpes 2026 stage 2 result
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Main photo credit: Getty
