Jefferson Alexander Cepeda (EF Education-EasyPost) secured a solo victory on the second stage at the Tour de l'Ain. The Ecuadorian crossed the finish line 28 seconds ahead of runner-up Stefano Oldani (Cofidis) and third-placed Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) in Lélex Monts-Jura.
Cepeda moved into the overall race lead ahead of the final stage 3 on Monday. He now leads the overall classification by 32 seconds over Oldani and 33 seconds on Molard.
The peloton raced a mountainous 155.3km from Saint-Vulbas to Lélex Monts-Jura. The route included three categorised ascents and a final climb to the finish line.
Célestin Guillon (Van Rysel-Roubaix) and Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) formed a two-rider breakaway. However, Latour was distanced from the move and caught by the field 60km from the finish line. Guillon, too, was caught 10km later.
EF Education-EasyPost and Groupama-FDJ) set the pace at the front of the field.
Overnight leader, Fergus Browning (Trinity Racing), was distanced from the main field, all but losing the overall race leader's jersey before the end of the stage.
Cepeda opened a gap on the field with 25km to go.
Antonio Pedrero (Movistar) tried to bridge across over the top of Col de Menthières, but he never managed to reconnect with Cepeda and was caught inside the final 5km of the race.
Cepeda had enough left to hold off the reduced group sprint behind to win the stage.
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