2021 Clásica de San Sebastián (World Tour), Spain
40th edition: Saturday, July 31, 2021
Classica San Sebastian podium history | 2022 edition | 2019 edition (race not held in 2020) | Race profile | Start list
Donostia - Donostia (Basque for the city of San Sebastián), 223.5 km
Neilson Powless (center) just wins in San Sebastián. Photo: Jose Maria Lopez
Weather at start/finish city of San Sebastián at 2:40 PM, local time: 18C (65F), cloudy, with the wind from the west at 11 km/hr (7 mph). There is a 20% chance of rain. Indeed, there was heavy rain during parts of the race.
The race: Here's the race summary from third-place Mikkel Honoré's Deceuninck-Quick Step team.
Mikkel Honoré pulled off a performance that was nothing short of spectacular Saturday afternoon, taking a remarkable third place at the Clasica San Sebastian, which returned after a one-year hiatus with a 223.km course featuring six climbs, including the daunting Murgil-Tontorra.
Heavy rain made for greasy roads that led to several crashes throughout a day animated by a large breakaway who was at all times kept in check by a peloton where Deceuninck – Quick-Step was a constant presence at the front. On Erlaitz, the attackers were pulled back prompting new moves, one of which, involving Mikkel Honoré, came on the descent and ended up taking the bunch by surprise.
In the space of just 20 kilometers, the quintet took their lead to well over a minute, a comfortable margin to have as they tackled the punishing double-digit gradients of Murgil-Tontorra. The climb reduced the group to just three men, who plunged onto the final descent of the day, where Mikkel crashed into the guardrail after the rider in front of him unclipped on a bend. In what was one of the fastest remounts ever seen in a race, the 24-year-old was quickly back on his bike, emptying himself in an all-or-nothing effort to rejoin the leaders.
After a stunning chase, the Vuelta al Pais Vasco stage winner made the catch with the flamme rouge in sight and used the last ounce of energy to sprint and conclude an incredible third – Denmark’s best result in 40 editions. The favourites’ group arrived on the Boulevard a minute later, and World Champion Julian Alaphilippe took sixth and made it two Deceuninck – Quick-Step riders in the top 10.
Neilsen Powless enjoys his win. Photo: Charly Lopez
“I came here after some time since my previous race, and although I felt good in training, you never know how it will go in a race. But the legs were there today and got in that move after the Erlaitz, and we rode full gas believing in our chance. After the final climb, things were looking good for me, but I crashed when Mohoric went too fast in a corner and had to spend a lot of energy to return to the front. Then, in the sprint, I started maybe a bit too late, so there is some disappointment, but at the same time I am happy with my first podium in a World Tour one-day race, it’s something from which I can draw a lot of confidence”, Mikkel explained after bringing our team’s sixth top 3 finish at Clasica San Sebastian.
Complete results:
223.5 kilometers raced at an average speed of 40.088 km/hr
1 | Neilson Powless | EF Education-Nippo | 5hr 34min 31sec |
2 | Matej Mohoric | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
3 | Mikkel Honore | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
4 | Lorenzo Rota | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | @ 30sec |
5 | Alessandro Covi | UAE Team Emirates | 1:04 |
6 | Julian Alaphilippe | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
7 | Odd Christian Eiking | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
8 | Jonas Vingegaard | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
9 | Gianni Moscon | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
10 | Bauke Mollema | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
11 | Gonzalo Serrano | Movistar | s.t. |
12 | Maxim Van Gils | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
13 | Mark Padun | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
14 | Giulio Ciccone | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
15 | Simon Carr | EF Education-Nippo | 1:08 |
16 | Egan Bernal | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:09 |
17 | Diego Ulissi | UAE Team Emirates | 1:36 |
18 | Juan Ayuso | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. |
19 | Ruben Guerreiro | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
20 | Gorka Izagirre | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
21 | Ruben Fernandez | Cofidis | s.t. |
22 | Simon Yates | Team BikeExchange | s.t. |
23 | Chris Hamilton | Team DSM | s.t. |
24 | Sam Oomen | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
25 | Andrey Zeits | Team BikeExchange | s.t. |
26 | Jai Hindley | Team DSM | 1:39 |
27 | Adam Yates | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
28 | Geoffrey Bouchard | Ag2r-Citroën | 2:02 |
29 | Ben Hermans | Israel Start-Up Nation | 2:51 |
30 | James Knox | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
31 | Gianluca Brambilla | Trek-Segafredo | 3:59 |
32 | Juan Pedro Lopez | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
33 | Dries Devenyns | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
34 | Mikel Landa | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
35 | Hector Carretero | Movistar | s.t. |
36 | Stefano Oldani | Lotto Soudal | 4:23 |
37 | Jan Bakelants | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
38 | Romain Seigle | Groupama-FDJ | 4:26 |
39 | Harry Sweeny | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
40 | Julen Amezqueta | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 4:26 |
41 | Roger Adriá | Kern Pharma | s.t. |
42 | Kobe Goossens | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
43 | Simone Petilli | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
44 | Warren Barguil | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
45 | Urko Berrade | Kern Pharma | s.t. |
46 | Luis León Sánchez | Astana-Premier Tech | 4:49 |
47 | Nick Schultz | Team BikeExchange | 4:54 |
48 | Pierre-Luc Périchon | Cofidis | 5:00 |
49 | Jaakko Hänninen | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
50 | Antwan Tolhoek | Jumbo-Visma | 5:20 |
51 | David de la Cruz | UAE Team Emirates | 5:41 |
52 | Mikel Nieve | Team BikeExchange | 5:56 |
53 | Stephen Williams | Bahrain Victorious | 6:38 |
54 | Carlos Rodriguez | INEOS Grenadiers | 6:41 |
55 | Oscar Rodríguez | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
56 | Koen Bouwman | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
57 | Jose Herrada | Cofidis | 7:23 |
58 | Anthony Roux | Groupama-FDJ | 9:24 |
59 | Angel Madrazo | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
60 | Lawrence Warbasse | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
61 | José Joaquin Rojas | Movistar | s.t. |
62 | Jon Agirre | Kern Pharma | s.t. |
63 | José Félix Parra | Kern Pharma | s.t. |
64 | Sergio Samitier | Movistar | s.t. |
65 | Matteo Jorgenson | Movistar | s.t. |
66 | Fernando Barceló | Cofidis | s.t. |
67 | Ibai Azurmendi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
68 | William Barta | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
69 | Emil Vinjebo | Qhubeka-NextHash | s.t. |
70 | Victor de la Parte | TotalEnergies | s.t. |
71 | Santiago Buitrago | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
72 | Kevin Colleoni | Team BikeExchange | s.t. |
73 | Quinten Hermans | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | 9:41 |
74 | Robert Stannard | Team BikeExchange | s.t. |
75 | Cesare Benedetti | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
76 | Alexander Cataford | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
77 | Lars van den Berg | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
78 | Einer Rubio | Movistar | s.t. |
79 | Gotzon Martin | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
80 | Jens Keukeleire | EF Education-Nippo | 10:22 |
81 | Lennard Hofstede | Jumbo-Visma | 10:55 |
82 | Sebastian Berwick | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
83 | Oier Lazkano | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 11:29 |
84 | Luis Angel Mate | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 12:27 |
85 | Victor Langellotti | Burgos-BH | 14:06 |
86 | Diego Rosa | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
87 | Kilian Frankiny | Qhubeka-NextHash | s.t. |
88 | Winner Anacona | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
89 | Romain Hardy | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
90 | Kevin Vermaerke | Team DSM | s.t. |
91 | Yevgeniy Fedorov | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
92 | Yuriy Natarov | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
93 | Reto Hollenstein | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
94 | Valentin Ferron | TotalEnergies | s.t. |
95 | Javier Romo | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
96 | Jokin Murguialday Elorza | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
97 | Nathan van Hooydonck | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
98 | Sebastien Reichenbach | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
99 | Jonathan Lastra | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
100 | Chris Harper | Jumbo-Visma | 15:26 |
Startlist with back numbers, July 30, 2021:
DECEUNINCK-QUICK STEP | |
1 | Julian ALAPHILIPPE |
2 | Andrea BAGIOLI |
3 | Dries DEVENYNS |
4 | Mikkel HONORÉ |
5 | James KNOX |
6 | Pieter SERRY |
7 | Zdeněk ŠTYBAR |
AG2R CITROEN TEAM | |
11 | François BIDARD |
12 | Geoffrey BOUCHARD |
13 | Lilian CALMEJANE |
14 | Tony GALLOPIN |
15 | Jaakko HÄNNINEN |
16 | Damien TOUZE |
17 | Lawrence WARBASSE |
UAE TEAM EMIRATES | |
21 | Juan AYUSO PESQUERA |
22 | Valerio CONTI |
23 | Alessandro COVI |
24 | David DE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO |
25 | Aleksandr RIABUSHENKO |
26 | Matteo TRENTIN |
27 | Diego ULISSI |
ASTANA - PREMIER TECH | |
31 | Omar FRAILE MATARRANZ |
32 | Luis Leon SANCHEZ |
33 | Alex ARANBURU DEBA |
34 | Ion IZAGUIRRE INSAUSTI |
35 | Gorka IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI |
36 | Yuriy NATAROV |
37 | Oscar RODRIGUEZ GARAICOECHEA |
TREK - SEGAFREDO | |
41 | Gianluca BRAMBILLA |
42 | Giulio CICCONE |
43 | Alexander KAMP |
44 | Juan Pedro LOPEZ PEREZ |
45 | Bauke MOLLEMA |
46 | Antonio NIBALI |
47 | Charles QUARTERMAN |
BORA - HANSGROHE | |
51 | Giovanni ALEOTTI |
52 | Cesare BENEDETTI |
53 | Matteo FABBRO |
54 | Wilco KELDERMAN |
55 | Patrick KONRAD |
56 | Ide SCHELLING |
57 | Frederik WANDAHL |
MOVISTAR TEAM | |
61 | Hector CARRETERO |
62 | Johan JACOBS |
63 | Matteo JORGENSON |
64 | Miguel Angel LOPEZ MORENO |
65 | Gregor MÜHLBERGER |
66 | José ROJAS |
67 | Sergio SAMITIER SAMITIER |
ISRAEL START-UP NATION | |
71 | Sebastian BERWICK |
72 | Alexander CATAFORD |
73 | Alessandro DE MARCHI |
74 | Omer GOLDSTEIN |
75 | Ben HERMANS |
76 | Reto HOLLENSTEIN |
77 | Daniel MARTIN |
GROUPAMA - FDJ | |
81 | Matteo BADILATTI |
82 | Alexys BRUNEL |
83 | Clément DAVY |
84 | Matthieu LADAGNOUS |
85 | Sébastien REICHENBACH |
86 | Anthony ROUX |
87 | Lars VAN DEN BERG |
EF EDUCATION - NIPPO | |
91 | Jonathan CAICEDO |
92 | Simon CARR |
93 | Julien EL FARES |
94 | Ruben GUERREIRO |
95 | Jens KEUKELEIRE |
96 | Neilson POWLESS |
97 | James WHELAN |
INEOS GRENADIERS | |
101 | Andrey AMADOR |
102 | Owain DOULL |
103 | Sebastian HENAO GOMEZ |
104 | Salvatore PUCCIO |
105 | Brandon Smith RIVERA VARGAS |
106 | Carlos RODRIGUEZ CANO |
107 | Ivan Ramiro SOSA CUERVO |
TOTAL DIRECT ENERGIE | |
111 | Jeremy CABOT |
112 | Victor DE LA PARTE |
113 | Valentin FERRON |
114 | Marlon GAILLARD |
115 | Fabien GRELLIER |
116 | Cristian RODRIGUEZ MARTIN |
117 | Julien SIMON |
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | |
121 | Santiago BUITRAGO SANCHEZ |
122 | Mikel LANDA MEANA |
123 | Gino MÄDER |
124 | Domen NOVAK |
125 | Mark PADUN |
126 | Rafael VALLS FERRI |
127 | Stephen WILLIAMS |
TEAM QHUBEKA ASSOS | |
131 | Sander ARMEE |
132 | Carlos BARBERO |
133 | Kilian FRANKINY |
134 | Bert-Jan LINDEMAN |
135 | Rob POWER |
136 | Dylan SUNDERLAND |
137 | Emil VINJEBO |
TEAM BIKEEXCHANGE | |
141 | Brent BOOKWALTER |
142 | Kevin COLLEONI |
143 | Tsgabu Gebremaryam GRMAY |
144 | Mikel NIEVE ITURRALDE |
145 | Nicholas SCHULTZ |
146 | Robert STANNARD |
147 | Simon Philip YATES |
JUMBO-VISMA | |
151 | Koen BOUWMAN |
152 | Chris HARPER |
153 | Lennard HOFSTEDE |
154 | Nathan VAN HOOYDONCK |
155 | Sam OOMEN |
156 | Antwan TOLHOEK |
157 | Jonas VINGEGAARD |
COFIDIS | |
161 | Ruben FERNANDEZ |
162 | Fernando BARCELO ARAGON |
163 | André RODRIGUES DE CARVALHO |
164 | Nathan HAAS |
165 | Jose HERRADA |
166 | Anthony PEREZ |
167 | Pierre Luc PERICHON |
CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA | |
171 | Jonathan LASTRA MARTINEZ |
172 | Julen AMEZQUETA MORENO |
173 | Aritz BAGÜES KALPARSORO |
174 | Jon IRISARRI RICON |
175 | Alejandro OSORIO CARVAJAL |
176 | Oier LAZKANO LOPEZ |
177 | Hector SAEZ BENITO |
EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI | |
181 | Mikel BIZKARRA ETXEGIBEL |
182 | Mikel ITURRIA SEGUROLA |
183 | Gotzon MARTIN SANZ |
184 | Unai CUADRADO RUIZ DE GAUNA |
185 | Ibai AZURMENDI SAGASTIBELTZA |
186 | Luis Angel MATE MARDONES |
187 | Xabier Mikel AZPARREN IRURZUN |
INTERMARCHÉ - WANTY - GOBERT MATÉRIAUX | |
191 | Jan BAKELANTS |
192 | Odd Christian EIKING |
193 | Quinten HERMANS |
194 | Simone PETILLI |
195 | Lorenzo ROTA |
196 | Kevin VAN MELSEN |
197 | Loïc VLIEGEN |
TEAM DSM | |
201 | Romain COMBAUD |
202 | Chad HAGA |
203 | Christopher HAMILTON |
204 | Jai HINDLEY |
205 | Nicolas ROCHE |
206 | Kevin VERMAERKE |
207 | Ilan VAN WILDER |
BURGOS-BH | |
211 | Ander OKAMIKA BENGOETXEA |
212 | Daniel NAVARRO GARCIA |
213 | Carlos CANAL BLANCO |
214 | Alex MOLENAAR |
215 | Oscar CABEDO CARDA |
216 | Angel MADRAZO RUIZ |
217 | Pelayo SANCHEZ MAYO |
LOTTO SOUDAL | |
221 | Filippo CONCA |
222 | Kobe GOOSSENS |
223 | Stefano OLDANI |
224 | Harrison SWEENY |
225 | Maxim VAN GILS |
226 | Viktor VERSCHAEVE |
227 | Xandres VERVLOESEM |
TEAM ARKEA - SAMSIC | |
231 | Winner Andrew ANACONA |
232 | Warren BARGUIL |
233 | Miguel Eduardo FLOREZ LOPEZ |
234 | Matis LOUVEL |
235 | Alan RIOU |
236 | Diego ROSA |
237 | Clément RUSSO |
EQUIPO KERN PHARMA | |
241 | Raul GARCIA PIERNA |
242 | Daniel Alejandro MENDEZ NOREÑA |
243 | Savva NOVIKOV |
244 | Urko BERRADE FERNANDEZ |
245 | Roger ADRIA OLIVERAS |
246 | Diego LOPEZ FUENTES |
247 | Jose Felix PARRA CUERDA |