A decisive attack in the final 400 metres allowed Benoît Cosnefroy to win the Szarvas / Paks, the second stage of the 2026 Tour of Hungary. The French rider from UAE Team Emirates – XRG beat his compatriot Alexis Renard (Cofidis) and German Max Kanter (XDS Astana Team) at the finish line, also taking the lead in the general classification. Among today's top finishers was also Nicolò Parisini: the Lombard from Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team completed the 205-kilometre stage in ninth place.

Today's stage was dominated for a long time by a breakaway group that included Jakob Söderqvist (Lidl – Trek), Adrián Benito (Team Polti VisitMalta), and Márko Tóth (Team United Shipping). The attackers' move was neutralized when around forty kilometres remained to the finish, and Erik Fetter launched a counterattack. The Hungarian, who spent years at Eolo Kometa and is now with Team United Shipping, held the lead for a few kilometres but was eventually caught by the peloton.

The situation changed again when several teams created echelons, splitting the peloton into multiple sections and forcing Tim Merlier, yesterday's stage winner, to chase and causing a selection.

The selection continued towards the Tengelic-Szőlőhegy climb when around ten riders broke clear, including Zamperini (Cofidis), Pietrobon (Team Polti VisitMalta), Calzoni (Pinarello Q36.5), Camprubí (Pinarello Q36.5), Teunissen (XDS Astana Team), Rui Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates – XRG), Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) and Söderqvist (Lidl – Trek).

From this small group, Cosnefroy broke away decisively and flew towards his second victory in less than a week, having won the Grand Prix du Morbihan on May 9th.