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Matilda Price

Czech Tour: Netcompany Ineos dominate stage 2 to deliver AJ August to mountaintop victory and race lead

AJ August on a descent during 2026 Tour de Suisse.

AJ August capitalised on a strong Netcompany Ineos team effort to soar to victory and into the race lead on stage 2 of the Czech Tour, finishing atop a 15km climb to Ještěd.

Ineos had paced for almost all of the long final climb, with Ben Turner going particularly deep after his second place on stage 1, meaning August was perfectly positioned going into the final battle for the line.

Initially hitting the front quite early, the American then let Alessandro Fancellu (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort) lead out the grinding uphill sprint before coming back around the Italian into the final 100 metres to grab the victory.

Domenico Pozzovivo (Solution Tech NIPPO Rali) finished third.

August now leads the GC by six seconds from Fancellu, taking over the leader's jersey from stage 1 winner Riley Sheehan (NSN) who put in a valiant effort but just faded near the top of the final climb.

"We let them [the break] have the same gap for a while, and then when we really start to increase the pace the gap came down quite quick so it was all under control," August said at the finish.

"It was a long climb but the gradients weren't really steep until the last kilometre, we knew we had to ride a steady pace, but then go all out in the last kilometre."

This marks August's third victory of this season after stage wins at Itzulia Basque Country and the Volta Comunitat Valenciana, and he should be one of Ineos' leaders as they try to defend the race lead over the remaining two stages.

"Definitely one of them, but we still have Embret [Svestad-Bårdseng] close on GC so we have two cards to play for sure," he said.

Friday's stage 2 from Mladá Boleslav to Ještěd was mainly flat for the first 100km, but then kicked up in difficulty for the final 55km, with back-to-back categorised climbs to the finish at Ještěd, atop a 15km ascent.

A four-rider breakaway got away early in the day, made up of Gil Gelders (Soudal-QuickStep), Mattia Bais (Polti VisitMalta), Martin Voltr (ATT Investments) and Michal Schuran (Team United Shipping).

They built up a gap of nearly three minutes and were out front most of the stage, surviving over the penultimate Výpřež climb, but after that Gelders and Bais pushed on as a pair, dropping the two Czech riders to try to defend a shrinking advantage.

Hitting the base of the climb, Gelders and Bais still had a 30-second gap, but Netcompany Ineos were pacing hard behind to reel them back in, and they were caught early on the climb. A few riders tried to counter, but the high pace in the bunch meant it was still a compact group going into the final 5km, aside from a few riders who were caught in a crash.

Stage 1 runner-up Ben Turner paced all the way into the final 2km with a mammoth effort, almost coming to a standstill when he pulled off to hand over to Jack Haig and the remainder of the Ineos mountain train. Leader Sheehan survived almost to the top, but cracked when the favourites started to accelerate, saying goodbye to the race lead.

After the big effort from his team, August found himself on the front possibly too early, but let Fancellu come round to launch the sprint, sticking on his wheel before pulling round in the final 100m to power to the win with a two-second margin.

"It was really incredible [on the last climb] with all the fans, it made the pain in the legs a little less but it still hurt quite bad," he said.

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Results

Stage 2 results

Position

Rider (Country) Team

Time Gap

1

AJ August (USA) Netcompany Ineos

3:37:28

2

Alessandro Fancellu (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort

0:00:02

3

Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali

0:00:05

4

Filippo Turconi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber

0:00:07

5

Mauri Vansevenant (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep

0:00:09

6

Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber

0:00:13

7

Mats Wenzel (Lux) Equipo Kern Pharma

"

8

Max Bock (Ger) Red Bull- Bora- Hansgrohe Rookies

0:00:15

9

Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Nor) Ineos Grenadiers

0:00:19

10

Stefan de Bod (RSA) Modern Adventure

"

11

Nicolas Breuillard (Fra) Totalenergies

"

12

Jorge Gutierrez Gonzalez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma

"

13

Václav Ježek (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me

"

14

Jan Hirt (Cze) NSN Cycling Team

"

15

Alberto Carlo Monti (Cze) Att Investments

0:00:31

16

Joan Bou Company (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

"

17

Pablo Carrascosa Miller (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma

0:00:34

18

Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) Totalenergies

"

19

Kieran Haug (USA) Modern Adventure

0:00:37

20

Fernando Tercero Lopez (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta

"

21

Unai Iribar Jauregi (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma

"

22

Francisco Muñoz Llana (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta

"

23

Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal-QuickStep

"

24

Samuel Fernandez Garcia (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

"

25

Siebe Deweirdt (Bel) Team Flanders- Baloise

"

26

Senne Thonnon (Bel) Team Flanders- Baloise

"

27

Manuele Tarozzi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber

"

28

Francisco Joel Peñuela Sandoval (Ven) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

0:00:45

29

Gauthier Servranckx (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team

0:00:48

30

Mateusz Gajdulewicz (Pol) Att Investments

0:00:50

31

Dylan Vandenstorme (Bel) Team Flanders- Baloise

0:00:52

32

Davide Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta

"

33

Anatol Friedl (Aut) Red Bull- Bora- Hansgrohe Rookies

0:00:55

34

Thomas Pesenti (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta

0:00:57

35

Alex Tolio (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber

0:01:00

36

Cesare Chesini (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort

0:01:05

37

Piotr Pękala (Pol) Att Investments

0:01:08

38

Jan Castellon Ribalta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

0:01:14

39

Unai Ramos Murillo (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma

"

40

Jack Haig (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers

0:01:19

41

Marco Frigo (Ita) NSN Cycling Team

0:01:21

42

Samuel Florez Garces (Col) Modern Adventure

0:01:23

43

Alessandro Verre (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort

0:01:29

44

Adam Pešek (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me

0:01:35

45

Nolan Huysmans (Bel) Team Flanders- Baloise

0:01:40

46

Matteo Turconi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber

"

47

Ian Lopez De San Roman (USA) Modern Adventure

"

48

Filip Gruszczyński (Pol) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort

0:01:56

49

Edward Santiago Cruz Martinez (Col) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber

0:01:59

50

Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta

0:02:07

51

Diego Bracalente (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort

0:02:12

52

Mattia Stenico (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber

"

53

Dominik Neuman (Cze) Att Investments

0:02:17

54

Máté Endrédi (Hun) Team United Shipping

0:02:28

54

Tomáš Přidal (Cze) Team United Shipping

"

56

Riley Sheehan (USA) NSN Cycling Team

0:02:30

57

Martin Bárta (Cze) Att Investments

0:02:55

58

Sam Brand (GBr) Novo Nordisk

0:03:00

59

Paul Conor (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie

0:03:06

60

Gijs Schoonvelde (Ned) Red Bull- Bora- Hansgrohe Rookies

0:03:16

61

Antonio Polga (Ita) Novo Nordisk

0:03:21

62

Pablo Lospitao Gonzalez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

0:03:46

63

Michael Boroš (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me

0:03:54

64

Ben Turner (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers

0:04:03

65

Florian Samuel Kajamini (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort

0:04:05

66

Tomasz Budziński (Pol) Att Investments

0:04:17

67

Franciszek Kocur (Pol) Tufo- Pardus Prostejov

0:04:24

68

Lucas Dauge (Fra) Novo Nordisk

0:04:27

69

Fabricio German Crozzolo (Arg) Polti-VisitMalta

0:04:49

70

Sergi Darder Gari (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

0:04:55

71

Milan Kadlec (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me

0:05:00

72

Nikolaos Michail Drakos (Gre) Team United Shipping

0:05:23

73

Filippo Ridolfo (Ita) Novo Nordisk

"

74

Michael Kukrle (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me

0:05:45

75

Jakub Otruba (Cze) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

"

76

Leander Van Hautegem (Bel) Team Flanders- Baloise

0:06:14

77

Gil Gelders (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep

"

78

Pepijn Reinderink (Ned) Soudal-QuickStep

0:06:26

79

Martin Svrček (Svk) Soudal-QuickStep

"

80

Sebastian Putz (Aut) Red Bull- Bora- Hansgrohe Rookies

0:06:38

81

Michele Gazzoli (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali

0:08:03

82

Kamiel Bonneu (Bel) Solution Tech Nippo Rali

"

83

Zsombor Palumby (Hun) Team United Shipping

"

84

Quinten De Graeve (Bel) Novo Nordisk

"

85

Samuel Boardman (USA) Modern Adventure

0:08:05

86

Harry Lasker (USA) Modern Adventure

0:09:27

87

David Lozano Riba (Spa) Novo Nordisk

"

88

Ibai Azanza Burusco (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma

0:09:49

89

Josef Černý (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me

"

90

Scott Mcgill (USA) Modern Adventure

"

91

Warre Vangheluwe (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep

"

92

Theodor Clemmensen (Den) Red Bull- Bora- Hansgrohe Rookies

"

93

Henri Vandenabeele (Bel) Team Flanders- Baloise

0:09:54

94

Evan Pavis (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie

0:10:20

95

Nicola Marcerou (Fra) Totalenergies

"

96

Jordan Jegat (Fra) Totalenergies

"

97

Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali

0:10:22

98

Mattia Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta

0:10:48

99

Bob Jungels (Lux) Ineos Grenadiers

"

100

Jules Hesters (Bel) Team Flanders- Baloise

"

101

Vojtěch Soukup (Cze) Tufo- Pardus Prostejov

0:11:45

102

Michal Schuran (Cze) Team United Shipping

0:12:15

103

Fabien Grellier (Fra) Totalenergies

0:12:57

104

Jan Kašpar (Cze) Tufo- Pardus Prostejov

"

105

Alessandro Iacchi (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali

0:13:18

106

Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Solution Tech Nippo Rali

"

107

Lorenzo Nespoli (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort

"

108

Alex Beldon (GBr) Nsn Development Team

0:13:27

109

Adam Bittman (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me

0:13:43

110

Martin Voltr (Cze) Att Investments

0:14:59

111

Veljko Stojnić (Srb) Team United Shipping

0:16:17

112

Rastko Nikačević (Srb) Team United Shipping

"

113

Ben Swift (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers

"

114

Yen Yi Ho (Tpe) Equipo Kern Pharma

"

115

Daniel Šilhavý (Cze) Tufo- Pardus Prostejov

0:17:26

116

Ondřej Pokorný (Cze) Tufo- Pardus Prostejov

"

117

Romet Pajur (Est) Red Bull- Bora- Hansgrohe Rookies

0:17:30

118

Roei Edinger (Isr) Nsn Development Team

0:21:24

119

Matyáš Koblížek (Cze) Tufo- Pardus Prostejov

"

120

Tomáš Vrána (Cze) Tufo- Pardus Prostejov

"

121

Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers

"

122

Hayden Stevens (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk Development

"

DNS

Paul Fietzke (Ger) Red Bull- Bora- Hansgrohe Rookies

DNF

Peter Joseph Blackmore (GBr) NSN Cycling Team

General classification after stage 2

Pos

Rider

Time

1

AJ August (USA) Netcompany Ineos

7:22:33

2

Alessandro Fancellu (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort

0:00:06

3

Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali

0:00:11

4

Filippo Turconi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber

0:00:17

5

Mauri Vansevenant (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep

0:00:19

6

Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber

0:00:23

7

Mats Wenzel (Lux) Equipo Kern Pharma

0:00:23

8

Max Bock (Ger) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies

0:00:25

9

Nicolas Breuillard (Fra) Totalenergies

0:00:29

10

Václav Ježek (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me

0:00:29

11

Stefan de Bod (RSA) Modern Adventure

0:00:29

12

Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Nor) Netcompany Ineos

0:00:29

13

Jan Hirt (Cze) NSN Cycling Team

0:00:29

14

Jorge Gutierrez Gonzalez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma

0:00:29

15

Alberto Carlo Monti (Cze) Att Investments

0:00:41

16

Joan Bou Company (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

0:00:41

17

Pablo Carrascosa Miller (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma

0:00:44

18

Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) Totalenergies

0:00:44

19

Unai Iribar Jauregi (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma

0:00:47

20

Samuel Fernandez Garcia (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

0:00:47

21

Kieran Haug (USA) Modern Adventure

0:00:47

22

Francisco Muñoz Llana (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta

0:00:47

23

Fernando Tercero Lopez (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta

0:00:47

24

Senne Thonnon (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise

0:00:47

25

Manuele Tarozzi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber

0:00:47

26

Siebe Deweirdt (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise

0:00:47

27

Francisco Joel Peñuela Sandoval (Ven) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

0:00:55

28

Gauthier Servranckx (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team

0:00:58

29

Mateusz Gajdulewicz (Pol) Att Investments

0:01:00

30

Dylan Vandenstorme (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise

0:01:02

31

Davide Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta

0:01:02

32

Anatol Friedl (Aut) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies

0:01:05

33

Thomas Pesenti (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta

0:01:07

34

Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal-QuickStep

0:01:07

35

Alex Tolio (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber

0:01:10

36

Cesare Chesini (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort

0:01:15

37

Piotr Pękala (Pol) Att Investments

0:01:18

38

Unai Ramos Murillo (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma

0:01:24

39

Jan Castellon Ribalta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

0:01:24

40

Marco Frigo (Ita) NSN Cycling Team

0:01:31

41

Samuel Florez Garces (Col) Modern Adventure

0:01:33

42

Alessandro Verre (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort

0:01:39

43

Adam Pešek (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me

0:01:45

44

Nolan Huysmans (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise

0:01:50

45

Matteo Turconi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber

0:01:50

46

Filip Gruszczyński (Pol) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort

0:02:06

47

Edward Santiago Cruz Martinez (Col) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber

0:02:09

48

Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta

0:02:17

49

Mattia Stenico (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber

0:02:22

50

Diego Bracalente (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort

0:02:22

51

Dominik Neuman (Cze) Att Investments

0:02:27

52

Riley Sheehan (USA) NSN Cycling Team

0:02:30

53

Tomáš Přidal (Cze) Team United Shipping

0:02:38

54

Máté Endrédi (Hun) Team United Shipping

0:02:38

55

Martin Bárta (Cze) Att Investments

0:03:05

56

Paul Conor (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie

0:03:16

57

Gijs Schoonvelde (Ned) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies

0:03:26

58

Antonio Polga (Ita) Novo Nordisk

0:03:31

59

Pablo Lospitao Gonzalez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

0:03:56

60

Michael Boroš (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me

0:04:04

61

Ben Turner (GBr) Netcompany Ineos

0:04:07

62

Florian Samuel Kajamini (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort

0:04:15

63

Tomasz Budziński (Pol) Att Investments

0:04:27

64

Sam Brand (GBr) Novo Nordisk

0:04:27

65

Sergi Darder Gari (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

0:05:05

66

Milan Kadlec (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me

0:05:10

67

Jack Haig (Aus) Netcompany Ineos

0:05:29

68

Filippo Ridolfo (Ita) Novo Nordisk

0:05:33

69

Nikolaos Michail Drakos (Gre) Team United Shipping

0:05:33

70

Franciszek Kocur (Pol) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov

0:05:51

71

Jakub Otruba (Cze) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

0:05:55

72

Michael Kukrle (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me

0:05:55

73

Fabricio German Crozzolo (Arg) Polti-VisitMalta

0:06:16

74

Gil Gelders (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep

0:06:23

75

Leander van Hautegem (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise

0:06:24

76

Martin Svrček (Svk) Soudal-QuickStep

0:06:36

77

Sebastian Putz (Aut) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies

0:06:48

78

Pepijn Reinderink (Ned) Soudal-QuickStep

0:07:12

79

Michele Gazzoli (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali

0:08:13

80

Zsombor Palumby (Hun) Team United Shipping

0:08:13

81

Kamiel Bonneu (Bel) Solution Tech Nippo Rali

0:08:13

82

Quinten de Graeve (Bel) Novo Nordisk

0:09:30

83

David Lozano Riba (Spa) Novo Nordisk

0:09:37

84

Scott Mcgill (USA) Modern Adventure

0:09:59

85

Warre Vangheluwe (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep

0:09:59

86

Ibai Azanza Burusco (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma

0:09:59

87

Henri Vandenabeele (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise

0:10:04

88

Nicola Marcerou (Fra) Totalenergies

0:10:30

89

Evan Pavis (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie

0:10:30

90

Jordan Jegat (Fra) Totalenergies

0:10:30

91

Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali

0:10:32

92

Mattia Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta

0:10:56

93

Jules Hesters (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise

0:10:58

94

Bob Jungels (Lux) Netcompany Ineos

0:10:58

95

Ian Lopez de San Roman (USA) Modern Adventure

0:12:17

96

Vojtěch Soukup (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov

0:13:12

97

Michal Schuran (Cze) Team United Shipping

0:13:39

98

Adam Bittman (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me

0:13:53

99

Jan Kašpar (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov

0:14:24

100

Fabien Grellier (Fra) Totalenergies

0:14:24

101

Alessandro Iacchi (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali

0:14:45

102

Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Solution Tech Nippo Rali

0:14:45

103

Alex Beldon (GBr) Nsn Development Team

0:14:54

104

Josef Černý (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me

0:14:55

105

Lucas Dauge (Fra) Novo Nordisk

0:14:57

106

Ben Swift (GBr) Netcompany Ineos

0:16:27

107

Lorenzo Nespoli (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort

0:17:28

108

Romet Pajur (Est) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies

0:17:36

109

Yen Yi 何 Ho 彥誼 (Tpe) Equipo Kern Pharma

0:17:44

110

Martin Voltr (Cze) Att Investments

0:20:01

111

Harry Lasker (USA) Modern Adventure

0:20:04

112

Theodor Clemmensen (Den) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies

0:21:17

113

Veljko Stojnić (Srb) Team United Shipping

0:21:23

114

Ondřej Pokorný (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov

0:21:25

115

Samuel Boardman (USA) Modern Adventure

0:22:09

116

Roei Edinger (Isr) Nsn Development Team

0:22:51

117

Rastko Nikačević (Srb) Team United Shipping

0:26:47

118

Daniel Šilhavý (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov

0:27:56

119

Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Netcompany Ineos

0:29:35

120

Tomáš Vrána (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov

0:31:54

121

Matyáš Koblížek (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov

0:31:54

122

Hayden Stevens (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk Development

0:37:04

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