In the second stage of the Tour of the Alps, the Ineos Grenadiers lost their second consecutive victory when an early breakaway group escaped intact, despite the British team leading for most of the 190km stage.

With no other teams in pursuit and the breakaway riders struggling, the Ineos Grenadiers decided with 20 km to go that victory was no longer a possibility, and they let go of the breakaway.

The breakaway specialist Alessandro de Marchi (Jaco-Aroura) blew away the breakaway group on the final climb to take the win. He finished 1:47 behind the peloton but was not a threat overall, so Tobias Foss retained the race leader's green jersey.

Visibly disappointed, the Ineos Grenadiers riders exchanged only a few words and fists before quickly returning to the team bus.

"We knew that De Marchi was a dangerous player to let go, because he often wins on the run.

"But despite running at full throttle in the pack, I don't know how they did it, but they didn't break away and made up time. They rode well, and in the end we left the stage win in the bag.

The original race plan for Ineos Grenadiers was to ride for Filippo Ganna and hope he could withstand attacks from the other GC teams. If they tried to make the race hard on the final Gnadenwald climb, the powerful Italian would probably survive, finish fastest, and win the sprint.

"Obviously, Pippo [Ganna] moved well yesterday. In his current condition, I think he can definitely make it to the finish, and if he can find space, a stage win is possible," Ineos Grenadier sport director Zach Dempster told Cycling News at the start of the stage.

However, the six riders who escaped in the first 50 km of the race's longest stage built a more than four-minute advantage on the long ride from Salorno to Stans, Austria, including the long Passo del Brennero climb from Italy to Austria.

The British team chased for nearly all of the 190-km stage, putting Ben Swift, AJ August, Oscar Rodriguez, and Salvatore Puccio on the front line in the Tyrolean sun in an attempt to bring back the escapees. But after a four-hour run up front, their efforts came to nothing.

Ganna went straight to his compatriot De Marchi after the stage and congratulated his fellow Italian for his first victory since 2021.

Of course, Ganna and Ineos Grenadiers wanted a different outcome.

"I had a little chat with him [Ganna] right after and I think everyone is a little disappointed that he didn't get his chance. [Normally the headwind would have been to his advantage, but unfortunately he didn't have enough power to just open the gas pedal all the way.

"At the end of the day, we just pulled ...... We didn't pull for no reason, but the result was quite different from what we expected. But that's cycling, there are days like this."

The Ineos Grenadiers will look to rewind on stage 3, which starts and finishes in Schwaz, Austria. Thomas and Foss will likely return to GC contention on the 124.8km mountain stage.