Jakob Söderqvist triumphs in the general classification of the Tour of Hungary 2026 despite an unfortunate crash in the final moments of the last stage won in a sprint by Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick Step). The powerful Swedish rider from Lidl-Trek takes home a prestigious victory just two weeks before his 23rd birthday, proving he can compete in short stage races. The best Italian today is Merlier's teammate, Alberto Dainese, while in the overall classification Alessandro Fancellu (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort) finishes fifth with Walter Calzoni (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) in sixth.

The stage was marked by numerous attacks from the start, with Frenchman Benoit Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) briefly gaining an advantage with other brave riders in the rain. The day's breakaway formed near Lake Balaton with seven athletes: Nikias Arndt, Andrea Pietrobon, Siebe Deweirdt, Jamie Meehan, Ezra Caudell, Gerben Kuypers and Erik Fetter. The local hero, now riding for United Shipping, managed to snatch the red jersey of the mountain classification from Spain's Adrián Benito of Polti VisitMalta. The finale delivered great emotions.

The wind created chaos in the peloton as it approached the breakaway. Among the 15 counterattackers exploiting the echelon were all the top contenders, but the yellow jersey wearer Jakob Söderqvist crashed heavily at the 20 km mark following an accidental collision with Adrià Pericas (UAE Team Emirates - XRG). The Swede continued in pain and was reabsorbed by the group, while up front Luke Plapp of Jayco Alula, 52 seconds down in the classification, gave it everything along with Slovak Martin Svrcek and Latvian Krists Neilands. The Australian even managed to take the 3-second bonus at the intermediate sprint, but Lidl-Trek pushed hard to maintain the advantage within a safe margin, with Söderqvist returning meanwhile more lively and reactive. At 10 km to go, the gap settled at 24 seconds, dropping to 11 seconds at 5 km.

Under the yellow jersey's drive, a time trial specialist, the now-frayed peloton caught Plapp at 1,700 meters from the finish, then Mike Teunissen tried to exploit the momentum of the catch to go solo. With Neilands and Svrcek believing until 400 meters out, the sprint began and saw yet another near-effortless victory for Tim Merlier. The Belgian, wearing the final green jersey of the points classification, beat Alexis Renard (Cofidis) and Fernando Gaviria (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA) with Dainese fourth. Good top-10 finishes also for Alessandro Borgo (Bahrain - Victorious) and Tommaso Bessega (Team Polti VisitMalta).

To be updated