Magnus Cort’s speed triumphs in Banyoles
March 24 th 2026 - 18:03 [GMT + 1]
Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) won the second stage of the Volta a Catalunya on Tuesday 24 March, on his debut in the race. The 33-year-old Danish veteran, winner of nine stages across the three Grand Tours, beat the young Frenchman Noa Isidore (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) and the Italian Francesco Busatto (Alpecin-Premier Tech) in a gruelling sprint to add another big name to the list of stage winners at the 105th Volta a Catalunya. The winner of the first stage, Dorian Godon (Ineos Grenadiers), retained the overall lead, level on time with the Dane, ahead of a medium-mountain stage on the Costa Daurada.
The 161 cyclists who had started the race set off on the second stage of the 2026 Volta a Catalunya, a 167.4-kilometre route starting in Figueres and finishing in Banyoles. The climb up the Alto del Purgatori (3rd category) early in the stage was the only mountain challenge of a day which, whilst favouring the sprinters’ chances, featured demanding undulating terrain through the Garrotxa region in its final section.
Right from the start of the stage, five riders broke away to form the day’s breakaway: Frenchman Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto Intermarché), the mountains classification leader after a strong performance the previous day, was joined on the breakaway by his team-mate Liam Slock, along with Julen Arriolabengoa (Caja Kern Pharma) and Samuel Fernández (Euskaltel-Euskadi), who won the award for the most combative rider of the stage. The two Lotto Intermarché riders managed to put up a thrilling fight against the big teams in the peloton as they gave chase, first breaking away alongside Diego Uriarte and, finally, keeping Liam Slock at the front until the one-kilometre-to-go sign.
It was then that a sprint finish in the streets of Banyoles became inevitable, where in previous editions of the Volta legendary sprinters such as Erik Zabel, Mark Cavendish and Alessandro Petacchi had won, and this year Magnus Cort added a big name to the list of winners. Stage 3 of the Volta a Catalunya will feature the Costa Daurada as the main attraction this Wednesday, 25 March, with a route between Mont-roig del Camp and Vila-seca that will take in the mountain passes of Alt de la Mussara (1st category), Coll de Capafonts (2nd category) and Coll Roig (3rd category).
Frenchman Dorian Godon (Ineos Grenadiers) will start as joint leader on time with Magnus Cort, followed by two favourites: Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), third in the standings four seconds behind, and Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5), fourth.
