Second victory in as many stages for Paul Magnier. The 21-year-old French rider from Soudal Quick-Step, race leader after yesterday's success in Bardejov, has confirmed he is currently unbeatable in the sprint in Slovakia, winning the 169.4-kilometer Svidník-Košice stage with a clear-cut sprint.

Just like 24 hours ago, Lukas Kubis (Unibet Tietema Rockets) once again had to settle for second place, while Milan Menten (Cofidis) managed to secure the day's podium by finishing third. Worth noting, besides Andrea Peron's (Novo Nordisk) tenth place, is the second consecutive top ten finish by the 20-year-old Biesse-Carrera-Premac rider Nicolò Arrighetti, who improved on his eighth place from the opening stage by finishing fifth today.

THE RACE. After the two third-category mountain points at the start of the stage, the day's breakaway took shape thanks to the move by Konrad Czabok (Mazowsze Serce Polski), Matúš Štoček (Elkov-Kasper), Lucas Van Gils (Lotto), Martin Voltr (ATT Investments), Jasper Haest (VolkerWessels Cycling Team) and Rik van der Wal (Diftar). The six riders gained a lead of over 4 minutes, but when the Soudal Quick-Step and Unibet Tietema Rockets teams took control at the front of the peloton, the gap began to progressively decrease. The cards were reshuffled 55 kilometers from the finish when only three remained in the lead (Van Gils, Czabok and Voltr), while behind, following a violent forcing by the Visma Lease a Bike riders, Bart Lemmen and Paul Double (Jayco-AlUla) broke away. The two, taking advantage of the little margin left to the leaders, managed to rejoin the trio at the front, expanding the breakaway. However, in the following kilometers, all the tired early attackers lost contact. With 16 kilometers to go, under the impulse of the leader Magnier's teammates, even Double and Lemmen's move was neutralized. After also shutting down Jasper Haest's (VolkerWessels Cycling Team) futile attack, the race came down to a sprint where, perfectly guided by his teammates (especially Van Gestel), Magnier did not miss, securing his personal double and reinforcing his overall leadership.

STAGE RESULT

1. Paul Magnier (FRA/Soudal-Quick Step) - 3:57:22

2. Lukáš Kubis (SVK/Unibet Tietema Rockets) - s.t.

3. Milan Menten (BEL/Lotto) - s.t.

4. Matthew Walls (GBR/Equipe Continentale Groupama-FDJ) - s.t.

5. Nicolò Arrighetti (ITA/Biesse-Carrera-Premac) - s.t.

6. Dries Van Gestel (BEL/ Soudal-Quick Step) - s.t.

7. Niklas Behrens (GER/Visma-Lease a Bike) - s.t.

8. Dominik Neuman (CZE/ATT Investments) - s.t.

9. Yves Lampaert (BEL/Soudal-Quick Step) - s.t.

10. Andrea Peron (ITA/Novo Nordisk) - s.t.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Paul Magnier (FRA/Soudal-Quick Step) - 3:14:00

2. Lukáš Kubis (SVK/Unibet Tietema Rockets) at 0:08

3. Milan Menten (BEL/Lotto) at 0:16

4. Matúš Štoček (SVK/Elkov-Kasper) at 0:17

5. Oscar Nilsson-Julien (GBR/Groupama-FDJ Conti) at 0:17

6. Stijn Daemen (NED/VolkerWessels) at 0:18

7. Jasper Haest (NED/VolkerWessels Cycling Team) at 0:18

8. Nicolò Arrighetti (ITA/Biesse-Carrera-Premac) at 0:20

9. Niklas Behrens (GER/Visma-Lease a Bike) at 0:20

10. Matthew Walls (GBR/Equipe Continentale Groupama-FDJ) at 0:20

OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS

Points Classification: Paul Magnier (FRA/Soudal-Quick Step)

Mountain Classification: Lucas Van Gils (BEL/Lotto)

Young Rider Classification: Paul Magnier (FRA/Soudal-Quick Step)