Tour de l'Ain: Jefferson Alexander Cepeda secures solo win on stage 2, takes overall lead
Stefano Oldani second, Rudy Molard third in Lélex Monts-Jura
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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Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
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