Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Pro Cycling) blasted across the finish with fists in the air to win stage 2 of Pays de la Loire Tour. He used a powerful leadout by teammate Stian Fredheim and the duo finished one-two for Uno-X at the line in Le Lion-d'Angers.
A trio of French riders fought close behind for the final podium spot, Pierre Barbier (CIC U Nantes Atlantique) taking third ahead of Lorrenzo Manzin (TotalEnergies) and Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ).
"With just 25 to go, we moved forward as a team. It all flowed together a bit, as we are one of the smallest teams and do not have the same respect in the field as the pros," the 26-year-old Blikra told Feltet.dk after his win.
"I end up at the front next to the trains on wheels of TotalEnergies, where suddenly there is a big crash to the right of me. It created more chaos, but I stayed out of trouble."
Entering the stage as race leader, Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) was among the riders who crashed in the finale, but was able to remount and cross the line with two teammates, François Bidard and Pierre-Luc Périchon. He was within 3km of the finish so given the same time as new leader Blikra. Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) dropped one spot to third overall, one second back, while Alexander Kamp (Tudor Pro Cycling) jumped 34 positions to fourth.
