Magnus Cort Nielsen (Astana) won the Tour de Yorkshire’s first-ever summit finish on the Cow and Calf. Defending champion Serge Pauwels (Team Dimension Data) kicked things off on the final ascent but was passed by Olympic gold medallist Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) on one of the steepest sections. All the while Nielsen (Astana Pro Team) had been waiting in the wings though and the Dane timed his last-gasp attack to perfection and stole the headlines.
That triumph meant Nielsen took control of the blue leader’s jersey sponsored by Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries and opened up a four-second advantage over Van Avermaet at the top of the general classification.
Thursday’s stage winner Harry Tanfield (Canyon Eisberg) fought back from an early tumble and the Yorkshireman will wear the green jersey sponsored by Asda on Saturday as he remains top of the sprint classification.
Tanfield’s fellow breakaway accomplice from stage one – Michael Cuming (Madison Genesis) – also retained the red best climber’s jersey sponsored by Virgin Trains while One Pro Cycling rider Tom Baylis was voted into the grey most active rider jersey sponsored by Dimension Data via a live Twitter poll on @letouryorkshire.
Stage two winner Magnus Cort Nielsen said: “It was a relatively short stage today but a really hard one. My team supported me and I am very grateful to them for believing in me. I gave everything I had in that uphill sprint to the line and now I want to defend this jersey.
“I’m really enjoying this race. It’s not a WorldTour race but with the crowds it certainly feels like it. There are so many people on the side of the roads and it’s like racing the Tour de France.”
