2026 Vuelta al País Vasco (World Tour)
Tour of the Basque Country
Euskal Herriko txirrindulari itzulia
65th edition: April 6 - April 11, 2026
Vuelta al País Vasco
podium history | 2025 edition | Start list
Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5 | Stage 6
Map of the 2026 edition of the race. The Basque Country is in the northeast corner of Spain, just touching France. It is was 6 stages long covering 809.3 kilometers.
Saturday, April 11: 6th & Final Stage, Goizper-Antzuola - Bergara, 135.2 km
AJ August solos across the line.
Bill & Carol McGann’s book The Story of the Tour de France, 2022: The Fastest Tour Ever is available in both Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Weather at the finish city of Bergara at 2:40 PM, local time: 12C (54F), raining, with the wind from the northwest at 16 km/hr (10 mph). The chances for rain vary between 52% and 70% the rest of the afternoon.
The stage: The finale is no mere formality. Despite its shorter distance, the stage packs in nearly 3,000 meters of elevation gain, ensuring high tension right to the end. If the general classification is close, it will be a day of constant vigilance. It could also provide an opportunity for one final long-range attack.
The race: Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike), Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ United), Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling Team), & Gotzon Martin (Euskaltel-Euskadi) did not start.
Here's the race organizer's stage six summary:
And so we reach the final stage of the Itzulia Basque Country, starting in Goizper-Antuzola and finishing in Bergara. A short circuit stage comprising two laps and featuring a total of six climbs.
The day began with the news that Pello Bilbao will retire from professional cycling at the end of the season. He announced it himself at the sign-on desk. At the start line, the riders were gearing themselves up for an exciting, rain-soaked stage.
In the opening kilometers, a breakaway of three strong riders formed: Marc Soler, Mattias Skjelmose, Ben Healy. They were 1 minute and 20 seconds ahead of the peloton when a chasing group of 32 riders formed, including five riders from Uno-X Mobility working to secure a podium finish for Tobias Halland Johannessen. The peloton allowed the breakaway to go clear, with the yellow jersey team always riding at the front. The leaders were 4 minutes ahead of the main group, and 1 minute 30 seconds ahead of the chasing group.
On the second ascent to Gorla, Romo attacked from the peloton. He saw an opportunity to move up in the general classification and in the team standings. This prompted the other favorites to respond, including the ever-active Lipowitz, who put the race leader under pressure. Izagirre was able to follow the early attacks from the Red Bull–Bora–hansgrohe rider.
The breakaway’s lead was shrinking as the peloton increased the pace. Seixas remained very strong and never dropped back during the attacks. The leader was feeling strong and launched such a powerful attack that no one else could keep up with him. Seixas was once again looking to make a decisive move, breaking away on his own with 57 kilometers to go.
The yellow jersey rider surged ahead without looking back, reducing the gap to 2 minutes and 40 seconds behind the leading trio. It was unlikely he’d be able to challenge for the stage. Up ahead, the Uno-X Mobility team held their pace as they battled for a podium finish. Skjelmose, Soler and Healy were still leading the race, 1 minute ahead of the second group. Only 40 kilometers remaining.
The field was completely split into groups. Soler was instructed to drop back to the chasing group to support Igor Arrieta. That same group caught the two breakaway riders with 23 kilometers to go. At that point, the leader was 2 minutes and 15 seconds behind the leading group.
On the final climb of the day, the attacks resumed, forming a split from the breakaway group. AJ August (IGD, 181) and Raúl García Pierna opened up a 15-second gap over the rest of the breakaway group. Seixas was unable to keep up and was losing time; he was already 3 minutes and 20 seconds behind the race leader, although still maintained his advantage over the other favorites.
The stage was decided on the climb to Asentzio. With 1 kilometer to go, García Pierna lost contact with the INEOS Grenadiers rider, and the Briton sprinted solo to the finish line in Bergara to raise his arms in victory.
Seixas secured his first overall World Tour victory and became the youngest rider ever to win the Itzulia. The podium was completed by Florian Lipowitz and Tobias Halland Johannessen.
Complete results:
135.2 kilometers raced at an average speed of 38.705 km/hr
| 1 | AJ August | INEOS Grenadiers | 3hr 29min 35sec |
| 2 | Raúl García | Movistar Team | @ 16sec |
| 3 | Frank van den Broek | Team Picnic PostNL | 0:34 |
| 4 | Gal Glivar | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 5 | Filippo Fiorelli | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 1:07 |
| 6 | Emiel Verstrynge | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 7 | Simone Velasco | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 8 | Tobias Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 1:09 |
| 9 | Ramses Debruyne | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 1:26 |
| 10 | Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet | Groupama-FDJ United | 1:33 |
| 11 | Ben Healy | EF Education-EasyPost | 1:38 |
| 12 | Fernando Barceló | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 1:45 |
| 13 | Domen Novak | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 2:37 |
| 14 | Marc Soler | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 15 | Igor Arrieta | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 16 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl-Trek | 2:42 |
| 17 | Ion Izagirre | Cofidis | 4:15 |
| 18 | Clément Champoussin | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 19 | Javier Romo | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 20 | Pello Bilbao | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 21 | Paul Seixas | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 22 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 23 | Felix Grossschartner | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 4:30 |
| 24 | Kévin Vauquelin | INEOS Grenadiers | 5:17 |
| 25 | James Shaw | EF Education-EasyPost | 5:44 |
| 26 | Johannes Kulset | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 27 | Alex Baudin | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 28 | Michael Leonard | EF Education-EasyPost | 5:47 |
| 29 | Torstein Træen | Uno-X Mobility | 5:52 |
| 30 | Bruno Armirail | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 7:25 |
| 31 | Tim Rex | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 7:41 |
| 32 | Markel Beloki | EF Education-EasyPost | 8:02 |
| 33 | Peter Øxenberg | INEOS Grenadiers | 9:53 |
| 34 | Brandon Rivera | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 35 | Steff Cras | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 36 | Yaël Joalland | Cofidis | 11:34 |
| 37 | Cian Uijtdebroeks | Movistar Team | 12:48 |
| 38 | Adria Pericas | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 39 | Maxime Decomble | Groupama-FDJ United | 14:45 |
| 40 | Attila Valter | Bahrain Victorious | 16:45 |
| 41 | Martin Svrcek | Soudal Quick-Step | 16:49 |
| 42 | Txomin Juaristi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 16:50 |
| 43 | Carlos Garcia | Burgos Burpellet BH | 16:52 |
| 44 | Jose Manuel Diaz | Burgos Burpellet BH | 16:54 |
| 45 | Hugo Houle | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 16:58 |
| 46 | Menno Huising | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 16:59 |
| 47 | Jorge Arcas | Movistar Team | 18:01 |
| 48 | Jan Castellon | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 49 | Ibon Ruiz | Equipo Kern Pharma | 18:06 |
| 50 | Jamie Meehan | Cofidis | 18:47 |
| 51 | Johannes Staune-Mittet | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 18:55 |
| 52 | Lorenzo Fortunato | XDS Astana Team | 20:45 |
| 53 | Harold Tejada | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 54 | Matthew Riccitello | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 21:04 |
| 55 | Primoz Roglic | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 23:29 |
| 56 | Gari Ugarte | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 23:59 |
| 57 | Mikel Bizkarra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 58 | Unai Iribar | Equipo Kern Pharma | 24:28 |
| 59 | Joseba Lopez | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 60 | Tijmen Graat | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 24:41 |
| 61 | Quentin Pacher | Groupama-FDJ United | 25:17 |
| 62 | Anders Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 25:46 |
| 63 | Bjoern Koerdt | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 64 | Reuben Thompson | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 65 | Lucas Hamilton | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 66 | Felix Ørn-Kristoff | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 67 | Jacob Eriksson | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 68 | Sinuhé Fernandez | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 69 | Alex Molenaar | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 70 | Unai Ramos | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 71 | Nicolas Alustiza | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 72 | Jonathan Lastra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 73 | Iker Mintegi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 74 | Martin Tjøtta | Uno-X Mobility | 27:25 |
| 75 | Andreas Kron | Uno-X Mobility | 28:55 |
Final GC after stage 6:
- GC winner: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Mountains classification winner: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Points classification winner: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Best young rider: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Teams classification winner: Movistar
809.3 kilometers raced at an average speed of 40.211 km/hr
| 1 | Paul Seixas | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 20hr 7min 35sec |
| 2 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | @ 2min 30sec |
| 3 | Tobias Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 2:33 |
| 4 | Ion Izagirre | Cofidis | 3:50 |
| 5 | Clément Champoussin | XDS Astana Team | 4:43 |
| 6 | Pello Bilbao | Bahrain Victorious | 5:03 |
| 7 | Javier Romo | Movistar Team | 5:05 |
| 8 | Igor Arrieta | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 5:25 |
| 9 | Alex Baudin | EF Education-EasyPost | 5:41 |
| 10 | Kévin Vauquelin | INEOS Grenadiers | 7:33 |
| 11 | Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet | Groupama-FDJ United | 11:34 |
| 12 | Cian Uijtdebroeks | Movistar Team | 13:15 |
| 13 | Markel Beloki | EF Education-EasyPost | 18:39 |
| 14 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl-Trek | 19:24 |
| 15 | Harold Tejada | XDS Astana Team | 20:59 |
| 16 | Primoz Roglic | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 22:54 |
| 17 | Matthew Riccitello | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 23:59 |
| 18 | Ibon Ruiz | Equipo Kern Pharma | 24:18 |
| 19 | Fernando Barceló | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 26:46 |
| 20 | Emiel Verstrynge | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 30:07 |
| 21 | Raúl García | Movistar Team | 30:21 |
| 22 | Txomin Juaristi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 30:34 |
| 23 | Simone Velasco | XDS Astana Team | 30:37 |
| 24 | Jose Manuel Diaz | Burgos Burpellet BH | 31:03 |
| 25 | Lorenzo Fortunato | XDS Astana Team | 31:34 |
| 26 | Jan Castellon | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 33:18 |
| 27 | Carlos Garcia | Burgos Burpellet BH | 35:06 |
| 28 | Marc Soler | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 36:48 |
| 29 | Tijmen Graat | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 37:36 |
| 30 | Ben Healy | EF Education-EasyPost | 39:48 |
| 31 | Jonathan Lastra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 46:26 |
| 32 | Adria Pericas | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 46:40 |
| 33 | James Shaw | EF Education-EasyPost | 49:11 |
| 34 | Johannes Kulset | Uno-X Mobility | 50:47 |
| 35 | Nicolas Alustiza | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 52:28 |
| 36 | Michael Leonard | EF Education-EasyPost | 54:34 |
| 37 | Yaël Joalland | Cofidis | 54:49 |
| 38 | Peter Øxenberg | INEOS Grenadiers | 55:16 |
| 39 | Gal Glivar | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 56:48 |
| 40 | Hugo Houle | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 57:01 |
| 41 | Sinuhé Fernandez | Burgos Burpellet BH | 57:17 |
| 42 | Quentin Pacher | Groupama-FDJ United | 1:00:30 |
| 43 | Reuben Thompson | Lotto-Intermarché | 1:00:37 |
| 44 | Tim Rex | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 1:00:43 |
| 45 | Unai Iribar | Equipo Kern Pharma | 1:01:49 |
| 46 | Steff Cras | Soudal Quick-Step | 1:02:17 |
| 47 | Mikel Bizkarra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 1:04:49 |
| 48 | Filippo Fiorelli | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 1:04:53 |
| 49 | AJ August | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:06:07 |
| 50 | Frank van den Broek | Team Picnic PostNL | 1:06:57 |
| 51 | Bruno Armirail | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 1:07:03 |
| 52 | Jorge Arcas | Movistar Team | 1:07:10 |
| 53 | Johannes Staune-Mittet | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 1:07:30 |
| 54 | Jamie Meehan | Cofidis | 1:08:43 |
| 55 | Anders Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 1:10:44 |
| 56 | Ramses Debruyne | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 1:11:51 |
| 57 | Maxime Decomble | Groupama-FDJ United | 1:11:56 |
| 58 | Felix Grossschartner | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 1:13:10 |
| 59 | Attila Valter | Bahrain Victorious | 1:14:08 |
| 60 | Brandon Rivera | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:16:43 |
| 61 | Bjoern Koerdt | Team Picnic PostNL | 1:17:24 |
| 62 | Andreas Kron | Uno-X Mobility | 1:19:40 |
| 63 | Domen Novak | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 1:20:34 |
| 64 | Martin Tjøtta | Uno-X Mobility | 1:21:09 |
| 65 | Joseba Lopez | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 1:25:08 |
| 66 | Alex Molenaar | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 1:26:09 |
| 67 | Menno Huising | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 1:27:16 |
| 68 | Torstein Træen | Uno-X Mobility | 1:30:05 |
| 69 | Unai Ramos | Equipo Kern Pharma | 1:35:46 |
| 70 | Iker Mintegi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 1:37:50 |
| 71 | Gari Ugarte | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 1:43:16 |
| 72 | Martin Svrcek | Soudal Quick-Step | 1:44:07 |
| 73 | Jacob Eriksson | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 1:44:36 |
| 74 | Lucas Hamilton | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:54:16 |
| 75 | Felix Ørn-Kristoff | Lotto-Intermarché | 1:54:18 |
Stage 6 map & profile:
Stage 6 map
Stage 6 profile
Friday, April 10: Stage 5, Eibar - Eibar, 176.2 km
GC leader Paul Seixas beats breakaway companion Florian Lipowitz for the stage win
Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2019: A Year of New Faces is available in both Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Weather at the start/finish city of Eibar at 2:30 PM, local time: 23C (74F), sunny, with the wind from the east-northeast at 6 km/hr (4 mph). There is just a 1% chance of rain.
The stage: The hardest day of the race. The 176.2 kilometers and 3,841 meters of climbing, combined with Eibar’s familiar terrain, make this a crucial day for the general classification. Expect head-to-head attacks between the top favorites. An ideal chance to create decisive gaps and determine much of the final standings.
The race: Here's the race organizer's stage five summary.
Paul Seixas wins his third stage at the Itzulia, further extending his lead in the general classification over the other favorites.
Seixas is just one step away from winning his first Itzulia.
Eibar returns to the Itzulia for another year; this time it will not host the final stage, but it will undoubtedly serve as the queen stage of this edition. Eight mountain passes lie ahead, with the ascent to Arrate—via the Krabelin climb—on the menu. At the start line, many riders remarked that the best strategy for the day was simply to have good legs.
The day began with a solo attack by Baptiste Veistroffer (LOI, 216), who was eventually caught by the peloton. After numerous attempts to form a breakaway, a group of 30 riders finally managed to open up a gap on the main bunch around the 39-kilometer mark. Little by little, they built a lead approaching five minutes. Among the riders in this group were Lorenzo Fortunato, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet, Clément Braz Afonso, Marc Soler, Juan Pedro López, Raúl García, Alex Aranburu, Ben Healy, Markel Beloki, and Kévin Vauquelin, among others.
As the first half of the stage drew to a close, the time gaps began to shrink; Team Bahrain Victorious shifted into high gear, cutting the lead held by the front of the race down to just two minutes. Among them, the chasing group—comprising 28 riders—trailed the lead group by 1 minute and 10 seconds. Everyone wanted to be well-positioned before beginning the grueling ascent of the Krabelin climb.
The race leader's team spearheaded the peloton at the foot of the climb. The yellow jersey group had been whittled down to a mere 40 to 50 riders due to the punishing pace being set. Less than 800 meters into the ascent, Florian Lipowitz launched an attack that shattered the leader's team, forcing the leader himself to personally step up and counter the move. The pair began overtaking riders from the earlier breakaway while leaving the main group behind. Haimar Etxeberria —who had been part of the original breakaway—helped them maintain a strong, steady rhythm on the climb. Paul Seixas remained glued to Lipowitz’s wheel, showing no signs of weakness. After Etxeberria peeled off to the side, Seixas took over the task of setting the pace; the race leader was certainly not hiding. A few meters further up the road, Kévin Vauquelin found himself riding solo at the front of the stage, holding a 19-second lead. Nicolas Prodhomme—who had come from the breakaway—began working hard in support of his team leader.
On the ascent, Lipowitz failed to open up a gap on the race leader, and he attempted to do so again—unsuccessfully—on the subsequent descent toward Markina-Xemein. The rest of the race favorites—including Pello Bilbao, Izagirre, Roglič, and Romo, among others—managed to bridge across to this same group. The only general classification contender missing from this group was Mattias Skjelmose.
Aranburu moved to the front to set the pace for the group on behalf of Ion Izagirre, who was fighting to secure a podium position. From within that same group, Marc Soler and Ben Healy launched attacks in pursuit of the stage victory. Only... With 32 kilometers remaining to the finish, the gap between the breakaway riders and the leader's group stood at 40 seconds.
As the climb to Izua began, the leader's team picked up the pace—closing the distance to the front of the race and dropping riders such as Bizkarra, Arrieta, Ibon Ruiz, and Aranburu. Ben Healy refused to give up and shifted gears to change the rhythm. Seixas's teammates didn't stay on the front for long, as the leader himself set a blistering pace; he caught Healy, whittling the lead group down to just five riders.
Only Roglic, Lipowitz, and Izagirre were able to hold his wheel. The Frenchman was once again demonstrating his immense potential. Lipowitz tested the waters again, taking the leader with him, while Roglic and Izagirre lost a few meters. Seixas glanced back, witnessing the havoc he was wreaking on the field. Roglic attempted to bridge the gap to the leading pair but found himself stranded in "no-man's-land" on the climb, while Izagirre continued at his own steady pace a few meters behind. Javier Romo—who had opted to tackle the climb at his own rhythm right from the base—rode a superb ascending race; he caught and dropped Roglic, eventually bridging the gap to the yellow jersey holder. However, a momentary lapse in concentration just before cresting the summit caused him to crash, costing him contact with Lipowitz and Seixas.
Romo decided to wait for Roglic—who was trailing by just a few seconds—and the pair began working together in an effort to catch the race leaders. No one was holding anything back. Seixas and Lipowitz continued to collaborate, maintaining a 27-second advantage over Roglic and Romo. Further back, the group containing Izagirre was riding 53 seconds behind the frontrunners.
Ultimately, the stage victory came down to a sprint finish between the two strongest riders in the race. Paul Seixas claimed the win in a tight sprint finish. Seixas further consolidates his lead in the general classification, while Lipowitz strengthens his hold on second place overall. Primoz Roglic remains in third place, trailing the leader by 3 minutes and 40 seconds.
Complete results:
176.2 kilometers raced at an average speed of 39.151 km/hr.
| 1 | Paul Seixas | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 4hr 30min 2sec |
| 2 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 3 | Javier Romo | Movistar Team | @ 1min 3sec |
| 4 | Kévin Vauquelin | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:11 |
| 5 | Ion Izagirre | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 6 | Harold Tejada | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 7 | Tobias Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 8 | Clément Champoussin | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 9 | Pello Bilbao | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 10 | Alex Baudin | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 11 | Cian Uijtdebroeks | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 12 | Primoz Roglic | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 13 | Igor Arrieta | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 2:46 |
| 14 | Matthew Riccitello | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 15 | Ibon Ruiz | Equipo Kern Pharma | 3:53 |
| 16 | Natnael Tesfazion | Movistar Team | 9:28 |
| 17 | Simone Velasco | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 18 | Tijmen Graat | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 19 | Txomin Juaristi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 20 | Manuel Diaz Jose | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 21 | Mattia Gaffuri | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 22 | Lorenzo Fortunato | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 23 | Markel Beloki | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 24 | Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 25 | Raúl García | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 26 | Emil Herzog | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 27 | Juan Pedro Lopez | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 28 | Adria Pericas | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 29 | Mikel Bizkarra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 30 | Nicolas Prodhomme | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 9:36 |
| 31 | Marc Soler | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 10:36 |
| 32 | Ben Healy | EF Education-EasyPost | 10:39 |
| 33 | Mauri Vansevenant | Soudal Quick-Step | 10:52 |
| 34 | Nicolas Alustiza | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 35 | Julen Arriola-Bengoa | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 10:53 |
| 36 | Carlos Garcia | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 37 | Baptiste Veistroffer | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 38 | Jonathan Lastra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 39 | Sinuhé Fernandez | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 40 | Jan Castellon | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 41 | Jorge Gutiérrez | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 42 | Ben Tulett | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 43 | Haimar Etxeberria | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 44 | Yaël Joalland | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 45 | Samuel Fernández Garcia | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 46 | Christian Scaroni | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 47 | Fernando Barceló | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 48 | Hugo Houle | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 49 | Johannes Staune-Mittet | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 50 | Carlos Verona | Lidl-Trek | 18:19 |
| 51 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 52 | Fabian Weiss | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 53 | Steven Kruijswijk | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 54 | Johannes Kulset | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 55 | Anders Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 56 | Lukas Nerurkar | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 57 | James Shaw | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 58 | Michael Leonard | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 59 | Quentin Pacher | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 60 | Juan Martinez | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 61 | Joan Bou | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 62 | Andreas Kron | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 63 | Léo Bisiaux | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 64 | Jardi Van Der Lee | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 65 | Alex Aranburu | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 66 | Gotzon Martín | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 21:16 |
| 67 | José Luis Faura | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 68 | Antonio Tiberi | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 69 | Alexy Faure-Prost | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 70 | Nil Gimeno | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 71 | Unai Ramos | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 72 | Tim Rex | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 73 | Luke Tuckwell | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 74 | Menno Huising | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 75 | Bruno Armirail | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 76 | Jorge Arcas | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 77 | Reuben Thompson | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 78 | Victor Langellotti | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 79 | Julien Bernard | Lidl-Trek | 27:49 |
| 80 | Gal Glivar | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 81 | Martin Svrcek | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 82 | Andrea Bagioli | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 83 | Quinn Simmons | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 84 | Jamie Meehan | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 85 | Roman Ermakov | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 86 | Filippo Fiorelli | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 87 | Nicola Conci | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 88 | Brandon McNulty | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 89 | Gari Ugarte | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 90 | Attila Valter | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 91 | Martin Tjøtta | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 92 | Jan Maas | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 93 | Torstein Træen | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 94 | Magnus Cort | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 95 | Paul Ourselin | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 96 | Robin Orins | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 97 | Felix Ørn-Kristoff | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 98 | Jacob Eriksson | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 99 | Alex Molenaar | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 100 | Joseba Lopez | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 101 | Iñigo Elosegui | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 102 | Unai Iribar | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 103 | Steff Cras | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 104 | Ilan Van Wilder | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 105 | Lorenzo Quartucci | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 106 | Adrian Fajardo Toledo | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 107 | Jordan Labrosse | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 108 | Aurélien Paret-Peintre | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 109 | Clément Braz Afonso | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 110 | Domen Novak | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 111 | Felix Grossschartner | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 112 | Gianni Moscon | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 113 | James Knox | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 114 | Ethan Hayter | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 115 | Bjoern Koerdt | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 116 | Maxime Decomble | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 117 | Enzo Paleni | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 118 | Ayco Bastiaens | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 119 | Matthew Dinham | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 120 | Lucas Hamilton | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 121 | Peter Øxenberg | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 122 | Oliver Stockwell | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 123 | AJ August | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 124 | Iker Mintegi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 125 | Emiel Verstrynge | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 126 | Ramses Debruyne | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 127 | Frank van den Broek | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 128 | Brandon Rivera | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 129 | Julian Alaphilippe | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 130 | Rainer Kepplinger | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
GC after stage 5:
- GC leader: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Mountains classification leader: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Points classification leader: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Best young rider: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Teams classification leader: XDS Astana
674.1 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 40.700 km/hr
| 1 | Paul Seixas | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 16hr 33min 45sec |
| 2 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | @ 2min 30sec |
| 3 | Primoz Roglic | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 3:40 |
| 4 | Ion Izagirre | Cofidis | 3:50 |
| 5 | Alex Baudin | EF Education-EasyPost | 4:12 |
| 6 | Harold Tejada | XDS Astana Team | 4:29 |
| 7 | Cian Uijtdebroeks | Movistar Team | 4:42 |
| 8 | Clément Champoussin | XDS Astana Team | 4:43 |
| 9 | Pello Bilbao | Bahrain Victorious | 5:03 |
| 10 | Javier Romo | Movistar Team | 5:05 |
| 11 | Tobias Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 5:39 |
| 12 | Kévin Vauquelin | INEOS Grenadiers | 6:31 |
| 13 | Igor Arrieta | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 7:03 |
| 14 | Matthew Riccitello | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 7:10 |
| 15 | Ibon Ruiz | Equipo Kern Pharma | 10:27 |
| 16 | Ben Tulett | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 13:50 |
| 17 | Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet | Groupama-FDJ United | 14:16 |
| 18 | Juan Pedro Lopez | Movistar Team | 14:20 |
| 19 | Markel Beloki | EF Education-EasyPost | 14:52 |
| 20 | Lorenzo Fortunato | XDS Astana Team | 15:04 |
| 21 | Tijmen Graat | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 17:10 |
| 22 | Txomin Juaristi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 17:59 |
| 23 | Jose Manuel Diaz | Burgos Burpellet BH | 18:24 |
| 24 | Mauri Vansevenant | Soudal Quick-Step | 19:03 |
| 25 | Jan Castellon | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 19:32 |
| 26 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl-Trek | 21:03 |
| 27 | Carlos Garcia | Burgos Burpellet BH | 22:29 |
| 28 | Jonathan Lastra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 24:55 |
| 29 | Samuel Fernández Garcia | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 25:19 |
| 30 | Julen Arriola-Bengoa | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 25:53 |
| 31 | Mattia Gaffuri | Team Picnic PostNL | 28:17 |
| 32 | Fernando Barceló | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 29:16 |
| 33 | Christian Scaroni | XDS Astana Team | 29:26 |
| 34 | Natnael Tesfazion | Movistar Team | 29:44 |
| 35 | Nicolas Alustiza | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 30:57 |
| 36 | Jardi Van Der Lee | EF Education-EasyPost | 31:21 |
| 37 | Clément Braz Afonso | Groupama-FDJ United | 32:59 |
| 38 | Emiel Verstrynge | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 33:15 |
| 39 | Nicolas Prodhomme | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 33:24 |
| 40 | Simone Velasco | XDS Astana Team | 33:45 |
| 41 | Raúl García | Movistar Team | 34:26 |
| 42 | Jorge Gutiérrez | Equipo Kern Pharma | 34:37 |
| 43 | Sinuhé Fernandez | Burgos Burpellet BH | 35:46 |
| 44 | Luis Faura José | Burgos Burpellet BH | 36:12 |
| 45 | Haimar Etxeberria | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 36:25 |
| 46 | Luke Tuckwell | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 36:35 |
| 47 | Adria Pericas | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 38:07 |
| 48 | Marc Soler | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 38:28 |
| 49 | Alex Aranburu | Cofidis | 38:34 |
| 50 | Reuben Thompson | Lotto-Intermarché | 39:06 |
| 51 | Quentin Pacher | Groupama-FDJ United | 39:28 |
| 52 | Unai Iribar | Equipo Kern Pharma | 41:36 |
| 53 | Léo Bisiaux | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 41:43 |
| 54 | Ben Healy | EF Education-EasyPost | 42:29 |
| 55 | Carlos Verona | Lidl-Trek | 42:40 |
| 56 | Ilan Van Wilder | Soudal Quick-Step | 43:26 |
| 57 | Hugo Houle | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 44:18 |
| 58 | Steven Kruijswijk | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 44:27 |
| 59 | Mikel Bizkarra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 45:05 |
| 60 | Gotzon Martín | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 46:27 |
| 61 | Yaël Joalland | Cofidis | 47:30 |
| 62 | Fabian Weiss | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 47:33 |
| 63 | James Shaw | EF Education-EasyPost | 47:42 |
| 64 | Anders Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 49:13 |
| 65 | Johannes Kulset | Uno-X Mobility | 49:18 |
| 66 | Peter Øxenberg | INEOS Grenadiers | 49:38 |
| 67 | Enzo Paleni | Groupama-FDJ United | 52:35 |
| 68 | Johannes Staune-Mittet | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 52:50 |
| 69 | Lukas Nerurkar | EF Education-EasyPost | 53:01 |
| 70 | Michael Leonard | EF Education-EasyPost | 53:02 |
| 71 | Lorenzo Quartucci | Burgos Burpellet BH | 53:16 |
| 72 | Jorge Arcas | Movistar Team | 53:24 |
| 73 | Juan Martinez | Team Picnic PostNL | 53:46 |
| 74 | Ethan Hayter | Soudal Quick-Step | 53:55 |
| 75 | Jamie Meehan | Cofidis | 54:11 |
| 76 | Andreas Kron | Uno-X Mobility | 55:00 |
| 77 | Antonio Tiberi | Bahrain Victorious | 55:10 |
| 78 | Andrea Bagioli | Lidl-Trek | 55:30 |
| 79 | Joan Bou | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 55:42 |
| 80 | Bjoern Koerdt | Team Picnic PostNL | 55:53 |
| 81 | Baptiste Veistroffer | Lotto-Intermarché | 56:16 |
| 82 | Steff Cras | Soudal Quick-Step | 56:39 |
| 83 | Quinn Simmons | Lidl-Trek | 57:02 |
| 84 | Tim Rex | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 57:17 |
| 85 | Martin Tjøtta | Uno-X Mobility | 57:59 |
| 86 | Matthew Dinham | Team Picnic PostNL | 58:38 |
| 87 | Nicola Conci | XDS Astana Team | 1:00:23 |
| 88 | Gal Glivar | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 1:00:29 |
| 89 | Maxime Decomble | Groupama-FDJ United | 1:01:26 |
| 90 | Attila Valter | Bahrain Victorious | 1:01:38 |
| 91 | Victor Langellotti | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:02:32 |
| 92 | Alexy Faure-Prost | Team Picnic PostNL | 1:03:31 |
| 93 | Bruno Armirail | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 1:03:53 |
| 94 | Jordan Labrosse | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 1:04:25 |
| 95 | Alex Molenaar | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 1:04:38 |
| 96 | Gianni Moscon | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 1:04:55 |
| 97 | Joseba Lopez | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 98 | Brandon McNulty | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 1:07:08 |
| 99 | Julian Alaphilippe | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 1:07:56 |
| 100 | Filippo Fiorelli | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 1:08:01 |
| 101 | Julien Bernard | Lidl-Trek | 1:09:11 |
| 102 | AJ August | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:10:32 |
| 103 | Frank van den Broek | Team Picnic PostNL | 1:10:42 |
| 104 | Brandon Rivera | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:11:05 |
| 105 | Jan Maas | Cofidis | 1:11:45 |
| 106 | James Knox | Team Picnic PostNL | 1:11:49 |
| 107 | Roman Ermakov | Bahrain Victorious | 1:12:44 |
| 108 | Felix Grossschartner | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 1:12:55 |
| 109 | Oliver Stockwell | Bahrain Victorious | 1:13:34 |
| 110 | Aurélien Paret-Peintre | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 1:14:04 |
| 111 | Unai Ramos | Equipo Kern Pharma | 1:14:15 |
| 112 | Emil Herzog | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 1:14:24 |
| 113 | Menno Huising | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 1:14:32 |
| 114 | Ramses Debruyne | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 1:14:40 |
| 115 | Paul Ourselin | Cofidis | 1:15:42 |
| 116 | Iker Mintegi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 1:16:19 |
| 117 | Ayco Bastiaens | Soudal Quick-Step | 1:16:43 |
| 118 | Nil Gimeno | Equipo Kern Pharma | 1:16:45 |
| 119 | Rainer Kepplinger | Bahrain Victorious | 1:19:01 |
| 120 | Robin Orins | Lotto-Intermarché | 1:21:19 |
| 121 | Domen Novak | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 1:22:12 |
| 122 | Magnus Cort | Uno-X Mobility | 1:22:44 |
| 123 | Jacob Eriksson | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 1:23:05 |
| 124 | Gari Ugarte | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 1:23:32 |
| 125 | Torstein Træen | Uno-X Mobility | 1:28:28 |
| 126 | Iñigo Elosegui | Equipo Kern Pharma | 1:28:28 |
| 127 | Martin Svrcek | Soudal Quick-Step | 1:31:33 |
| 128 | Lucas Hamilton | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:32:45 |
| 129 | Felix Ørn-Kristoff | Lotto-Intermarché | 1:32:47 |
| 130 | Adrian Fajardo Toledo | Burgos Burpellet BH | 1:42:51 |
Stage 5 map & profile:
Stage 5 map
Stage 5 profile
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Thursday, April 9: Stage 4, Galdakao - Galdakao, 167.2 km
Stage winner Alex Aranburu has dropped everyone and is headed to a solo win. Photo: Getty Images.
Les Woodland's book The Olympics' 50 Craziest Stories: A Five Ring Circus is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Weather at the start/finish city of Galdakao at 2:35 PM, local time: 25C (76F), sunny, with the wind from the northwest at 15 km/hr (9 mph). There is a 4% chance of rain.
The stage: With an elevation gain of over 3,200 meters, this stage once again demands consistency and a keen sense of racecraft. No single finish stands out, which opens the door to attacks on the intermediate climbs. Teams with multiple well-placed riders can play their cards. Accumulated fatigue is beginning to take its toll, and the natural selection of the peloton will become evident.
The race: Here's the race report from stage winner Alex Aranburu's Team Cofidis.
The Basque rider Alex Aranburu secured a stunning victory on Thursday, clinching a narrow win at the summit of Galdakao. He had to hold on until the very end, fend off attacks from his rivals and give it his all in a race of unbearable suspense. Displaying breathtaking talent and daring, Alex has secured Cofidis’ fifth victory of the season. And Ion Izagirre, fourth on the day and fourth in the general classification, is determined to join the party in the final two stages.
It’s the sort of day that stays etched in the memory, the kind that sends shivers down your spine every time you think back on it. Alex Aranburu won a race that makes you love cycling because it had it all. It was a day when anything was possible, a scenario that remained undecided right to the very end, with daring riders who never gave up and, in the end, a rider who triumphed on home soil, watched by his loved ones, all those who have supported him since his debut.
Alex Aranburu had a score to settle with fate, having missed out on the action yesterday in a stage that was, in fact, right up his street. The former Spanish champion has too much experience not to know that today’s reality is never tomorrow’s, and that frustrations are sometimes the starting point for many great feats. But before he could let out his cry of victory, he had to be cunning.
Slip into a group of strong riders, wait patiently while some of them burned their bridges. And then, with about ten kilometres to go, he went on the attack, setting a blistering pace on the final climb, the Col de Legina. The two of them then engaged in an incredible battle, holding off the relentless attacks of the chasers who refused to give up. In this chase, Ion Izagirre was also closing in on the yellow jersey, worn by Paul Seixas.
Then came the final climb, stifling under the blazing sun, especially with the extra heat generated by the crowd of fans. They had eyes only for Alex and Ion, the two local heroes. Just a few meters from the finish line, Ion is back in the mix. But it is Alex who draws on that extra burst of energy to give it his all, take the win and experience that unparalleled thrill.
During the lengthy ceremony for the stage winner, Alex takes the time to savor the moment. Signing a jersey for a child, posing with spectators and, above all, taking a quick lap of honor with his lifelong friends, who wouldn’t have missed the stage for the world. Alex also quickly enquires about Ion’s performance, who finished 4th in the stage and 4th overall. The two embrace twice, delighted to be part of ‘their’ race and to be the pride of an entire nation. But there is also, deep down, the realisation that there are still more places of honor to be won and the certainty, with Cofidis, that nothing is impossible.
Alex Aranburu:
“It was incredible. Winning at home is an indescribable feeling, something very special. Yesterday, I wasn’t feeling great and I didn’t manage to get into the breakaway. I was feeling a bit frustrated when I lined up at the start today. I felt really good, I gave it my all and it ended in the best possible way. Right up to the end, there were some very strong riders in the final stretch; I was even surprised to see Ion (Izagirre) coming back. I was really motivated, especially in front of my family and friends. This might be the best victory of my career: there’s no greater reward than winning on home soil.”
Gorka Gerrikagoitia, sports director:
“We knew Alex had everything it takes to do well today, just as he did yesterday. We’d scouted the finish the day before the race and knew the route inside out. The aim was for Alex to join the breakaway and for that group to make it to the finish to challenge for the win. We had a great stage, a brilliant strategy, and Alex attacked at just the right moment. The next two stages look set to be tricky, but that won’t be a problem. We’ll do everything we can to help Ion get on the podium in the general classification. In any case, he’s got the form and the talent to get there!”
Complete results:
167.2 kilometers raced at an average speed of 42.644 k/hr
| 1 | Alex Aranburu | Cofidis | 3hr 55min 15sec |
| 2 | Tobias Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | @ 4sec |
| 3 | Christian Scaroni | XDS Astana Team | 0:06 |
| 4 | Ion Izagirre | Cofidis | 0:07 |
| 5 | Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet | Groupama-FDJ United | 0:13 |
| 6 | Pello Bilbao | Bahrain Victorious | 0:14 |
| 7 | Juan Pedro Lopez | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 8 | Paul Seixas | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 9 | Lorenzo Fortunato | XDS Astana Team | 0:17 |
| 10 | Igor Arrieta | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 0:24 |
| 11 | Emiel Verstrynge | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 12 | Ben Tulett | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 0:34 |
| 13 | Alex Baudin | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 14 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 15 | Harold Tejada | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 16 | Cian Uijtdebroeks | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 17 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 18 | Clément Champoussin | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 19 | Primoz Roglic | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 20 | Kévin Vauquelin | INEOS Grenadiers | 0:38 |
| 21 | Javier Romo | Movistar Team | 0:39 |
| 22 | Matthew Riccitello | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 0:41 |
| 23 | Ibon Ruiz | Equipo Kern Pharma | 0:48 |
| 24 | Léo Bisiaux | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 1:11 |
| 25 | Clément Braz Afonso | Groupama-FDJ United | 1:13 |
| 26 | Markel Beloki | EF Education-EasyPost | 1:38 |
| 27 | Jan Castellon | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 28 | Luke Tuckwell | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 1:42 |
| 29 | Anders Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 2:09 |
| 30 | Txomin Juaristi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 31 | Jose Manuel Diaz | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 32 | Marc Soler | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 2:25 |
| 33 | Jamie Meehan | Cofidis | 2:26 |
| 34 | Tijmen Graat | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 35 | Carlos Garcia | Burgos Burpellet BH | 2:35 |
| 36 | Gotzon Martín | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 2:40 |
| 37 | Mauri Vansevenant | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 38 | Jonathan Lastra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 39 | Yaël Joalland | Cofidis | 3:26 |
| 40 | Matthew Dinham | Team Picnic PostNL | 3:56 |
| 41 | Natnael Tesfazion | Movistar Team | 4:05 |
| 42 | Quentin Pacher | Groupama-FDJ United | 7:22 |
| 43 | Julien Bernard | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 44 | Carlos Verona | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 45 | Quinn Simmons | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 46 | Victor Langellotti | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 47 | Haimar Etxeberria | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 7:51 |
| 48 | Raúl García | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 49 | Fabian Weiss | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 50 | Nicolas Prodhomme | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 51 | Julen Arriola-Bengoa | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 52 | Jorge Gutiérrez | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 53 | Tim Rex | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 54 | Fernando Barceló | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 55 | José Luis Faura | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 56 | Sinuhé Fernandez | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 57 | Enzo Paleni | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 58 | Unai Iribar | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 59 | Jardi Van Der Lee | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 60 | Samuel Fernández Garcia | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 61 | Lorenzo Quartucci | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 62 | Simone Velasco | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 63 | Nicolas Alustiza | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 9:12 |
| 64 | Reuben Thompson | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 65 | Steven Kruijswijk | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 66 | Ben Healy | EF Education-EasyPost | 9:58 |
| 67 | Juan Martinez | Team Picnic PostNL | 10:32 |
| 68 | Jorge Arcas | Movistar Team | 11:54 |
| 69 | Ilan Van Wilder | Soudal Quick-Step | 12:02 |
| 70 | Ethan Hayter | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 71 | Baptiste Veistroffer | Lotto-Intermarché | 12:09 |
| 72 | Martin Tjøtta | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 73 | Gal Glivar | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 74 | Bjoern Koerdt | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 75 | Johannes Kulset | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 76 | Lukas Nerurkar | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 77 | Felix Grossschartner | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 78 | Ramses Debruyne | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 79 | Hugo Houle | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 80 | Mattia Gaffuri | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 81 | Maxime Decomble | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 82 | Steff Cras | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 83 | Mikel Bizkarra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 84 | Andrea Bagioli | Lidl-Trek | 12:23 |
| 85 | Iker Mintegi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 14:08 |
| 86 | Brandon Rivera | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 87 | Jordan Labrosse | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 14:18 |
| 88 | Nicola Conci | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 89 | Paul Ourselin | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 90 | Jan Maas | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 91 | Menno Huising | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 92 | Attila Valter | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 93 | Joseba Lopez | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 94 | Adria Pericas | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 95 | Alex Molenaar | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 96 | Michael Leonard | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 97 | James Shaw | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 98 | Johannes Staune-Mittet | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 99 | Ayco Bastiaens | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 100 | Gianni Moscon | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 101 | James Knox | Team Picnic PostNL | 14:30 |
| 102 | Andreas Kron | Uno-X Mobility | 14:39 |
| 103 | Peter Øxenberg | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 104 | Magnus Cort | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 105 | Frank van den Broek | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 106 | Roman Ermakov | Bahrain Victorious | 17:05 |
| 107 | Filippo Fiorelli | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 17:15 |
| 108 | Aurélien Paret-Peintre | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 109 | Axel Laurance | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 110 | Bruno Armirail | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 111 | Antonio Tiberi | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 112 | Joan Bou | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 113 | Rainer Kepplinger | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 114 | Oliver Stockwell | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 115 | Alexy Faure-Prost | Team Picnic PostNL | 18:41 |
| 116 | Julian Alaphilippe | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 117 | Domen Novak | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 19:47 |
| 118 | Brandon McNulty | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 119 | Gari Ugarte | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 22:00 |
| 120 | Iñigo Elosegui | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 121 | Nil Gimeno | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 122 | Bauke Mollema | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 123 | Unai Ramos | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 124 | Torstein Træen | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 125 | AJ August | INEOS Grenadiers | 25:31 |
| 126 | Lucas Hamilton | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 127 | Martin Svrcek | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 128 | Robin Orins | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 129 | Jacob Eriksson | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 130 | Felix Ørn-Kristoff | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 131 | Emil Herzog | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 132 | Adrian Fajardo Toledo | Burgos Burpellet BH | 33:37 |
GC after stage 4:
- GC leader: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Mountains classification leader: Joan Bou (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)
- Points classification leader: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Best young rider: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Teams classification leader: XDS Astana
497.9 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 41.269 km/hr
| 1 | Paul Seixas | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 12hr 3min 53sec |
| 2 | Primoz Roglic | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | @ 2min 19sec |
| 3 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 2:28 |
| 4 | Ion Izagirre | Cofidis | 2:29 |
| 5 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl-Trek | 2:34 |
| 6 | Ben Tulett | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 2:47 |
| 7 | Alex Baudin | EF Education-EasyPost | 2:51 |
| 8 | Harold Tejada | XDS Astana Team | 3:08 |
| 9 | Cian Uijtdebroeks | Movistar Team | 3:21 |
| 10 | Clément Champoussin | XDS Astana Team | 3:22 |
| 11 | Pello Bilbao | Bahrain Victorious | 3:42 |
| 12 | Javier Romo | Movistar Team | 3:57 |
| 13 | Igor Arrieta | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 4:07 |
| 14 | Matthew Riccitello | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 4:14 |
| 15 | Tobias Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 4:18 |
| 16 | Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet | Groupama-FDJ United | 4:38 |
| 17 | Pedro Lopez Juan | Movistar Team | 4:42 |
| 18 | Clément Braz Afonso | Groupama-FDJ United | 5:00 |
| 19 | Kévin Vauquelin | INEOS Grenadiers | 5:10 |
| 20 | Markel Beloki | EF Education-EasyPost | 5:14 |
| 21 | Emiel Verstrynge | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 5:16 |
| 22 | Lorenzo Fortunato | XDS Astana Team | 5:26 |
| 23 | Ibon Ruiz | Equipo Kern Pharma | 6:24 |
| 24 | Tijmen Graat | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 7:33 |
| 25 | Mauri Vansevenant | Soudal Quick-Step | 8:01 |
| 26 | Txomin Juaristi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 8:21 |
| 27 | Jan Castellon | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 8:29 |
| 28 | Jose Manuel Diaz | Burgos Burpellet BH | 8:46 |
| 29 | Carlos Garcia | Burgos Burpellet BH | 11:26 |
| 30 | Jardi Van Der Lee | EF Education-EasyPost | 12:52 |
| 31 | Unai Iribar | Equipo Kern Pharma | 13:37 |
| 32 | Jonathan Lastra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 13:52 |
| 33 | Samuel Fernández Garcia | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 14:16 |
| 34 | José Luis Faura | Burgos Burpellet BH | 14:46 |
| 35 | Julen Arriola-Bengoa | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 14:50 |
| 36 | Luke Tuckwell | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 15:09 |
| 37 | Ilan Van Wilder | Soudal Quick-Step | 15:27 |
| 38 | Reuben Thompson | Lotto-Intermarché | 17:40 |
| 39 | Fernando Barceló | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 18:13 |
| 40 | Christian Scaroni | XDS Astana Team | 18:23 |
| 41 | Mattia Gaffuri | Team Picnic PostNL | 18:39 |
| 42 | Nicolas Alustiza | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 19:55 |
| 43 | Natnael Tesfazion | Movistar Team | 20:06 |
| 44 | Alex Aranburu | Cofidis | 20:11 |
| 45 | Quentin Pacher | Groupama-FDJ United | 20:59 |
| 46 | Peter Øxenberg | INEOS Grenadiers | 21:39 |
| 47 | Léo Bisiaux | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 23:14 |
| 48 | Jorge Gutiérrez | Equipo Kern Pharma | 23:34 |
| 49 | Nicolas Prodhomme | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 23:42 |
| 50 | Simone Velasco | XDS Astana Team | 24:07 |
| 51 | Carlos Verona | Lidl-Trek | 24:11 |
| 52 | Enzo Paleni | Groupama-FDJ United | 24:36 |
| 53 | Sinuhé Fernandez | Burgos Burpellet BH | 24:43 |
| 54 | Raúl García | Movistar Team | 24:48 |
| 55 | Gotzon Martín | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 25:01 |
| 56 | Lorenzo Quartucci | Burgos Burpellet BH | 25:17 |
| 57 | Haimar Etxeberria | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 25:22 |
| 58 | Ethan Hayter | Soudal Quick-Step | 25:56 |
| 59 | Steven Kruijswijk | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 25:58 |
| 60 | Jamie Meehan | Cofidis | 26:13 |
| 61 | Andrea Bagioli | Lidl-Trek | 27:31 |
| 62 | Marc Soler | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 27:42 |
| 63 | Bjoern Koerdt | Team Picnic PostNL | 27:54 |
| 64 | Adria Pericas | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 28:29 |
| 65 | Steff Cras | Soudal Quick-Step | 28:40 |
| 66 | Quinn Simmons | Lidl-Trek | 29:03 |
| 67 | Fabian Weiss | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 29:04 |
| 68 | James Shaw | EF Education-EasyPost | 29:13 |
| 69 | Martin Tjøtta | Uno-X Mobility | 30:00 |
| 70 | Matthew Dinham | Team Picnic PostNL | 30:39 |
| 71 | Anders Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 30:44 |
| 72 | Johannes Kulset | Uno-X Mobility | 30:49 |
| 73 | Ben Healy | EF Education-EasyPost | 31:40 |
| 74 | Jorge Arcas | Movistar Team | 31:58 |
| 75 | Axel Laurance | INEOS Grenadiers | 32:15 |
| 76 | Nicola Conci | XDS Astana Team | 32:24 |
| 77 | Gal Glivar | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 32:30 |
| 78 | Hugo Houle | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 33:15 |
| 79 | Maxime Decomble | Groupama-FDJ United | 33:27 |
| 80 | Attila Valter | Bahrain Victorious | 33:39 |
| 81 | Antonio Tiberi | Bahrain Victorious | 33:44 |
| 82 | Lukas Nerurkar | EF Education-EasyPost | 34:32 |
| 83 | Michael Leonard | EF Education-EasyPost | 34:33 |
| 84 | Juan Martinez | Team Picnic PostNL | 35:17 |
| 85 | Mikel Bizkarra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 35:27 |
| 86 | Tim Rex | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 35:51 |
| 87 | Jordan Labrosse | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 36:26 |
| 88 | Yaël Joalland | Cofidis | 36:27 |
| 89 | Andreas Kron | Uno-X Mobility | 36:31 |
| 90 | Alex Molenaar | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 36:39 |
| 91 | Gianni Moscon | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 36:56 |
| 92 | Joseba Lopez | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 36:56 |
| 93 | Joan Bou | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 37:13 |
| 94 | Brandon McNulty | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 39:09 |
| 95 | Julian Alaphilippe | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 39:57 |
| 96 | Filippo Fiorelli | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 40:02 |
| 97 | Victor Langellotti | INEOS Grenadiers | 41:06 |
| 98 | Julien Bernard | Lidl-Trek | 41:12 |
| 99 | Johannes Staune-Mittet | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 41:47 |
| 100 | Alexy Faure-Prost | Team Picnic PostNL | 42:05 |
| 101 | Bruno Armirail | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 42:27 |
| 102 | AJ August | INEOS Grenadiers | 42:33 |
| 103 | Frank van den Broek | Team Picnic PostNL | 42:43 |
| 104 | Brandon Rivera | INEOS Grenadiers | 43:06 |
| 105 | Bauke Mollema | Lidl-Trek | 43:32 |
| 106 | Jan Maas | Cofidis | 43:46 |
| 107 | James Knox | Team Picnic PostNL | 43:50 |
| 108 | Roman Ermakov | Bahrain Victorious | 44:45 |
| 109 | Felix Grossschartner | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 44:56 |
| 110 | Baptiste Veistroffer | Lotto-Intermarché | 45:13 |
| 111 | Oliver Stockwell | Bahrain Victorious | 45:35 |
| 112 | Aurélien Paret-Peintre | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 46:05 |
| 113 | Ramses Debruyne | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 46:41 |
| 114 | Paul Ourselin | Cofidis | 47:43 |
| 115 | Iker Mintegi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 48:20 |
| 116 | Ayco Bastiaens | Soudal Quick-Step | 48:44 |
| 117 | Rainer Kepplinger | Bahrain Victorious | 51:02 |
| 118 | Unai Ramos | Equipo Kern Pharma | 52:49 |
| 119 | Menno Huising | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 53:06 |
| 120 | Robin Orins | Lotto-Intermarché | 53:20 |
| 121 | Domen Novak | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 54:13 |
| 122 | Magnus Cort | Uno-X Mobility | 54:45 |
| 123 | Jacob Eriksson | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 55:06 |
| 124 | Nil Gimeno | Equipo Kern Pharma | 55:19 |
| 125 | Gari Ugarte | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 55:33 |
| 126 | Torstein Træen | Uno-X Mobility | 1:00:29 |
| 127 | Iñigo Elosegui | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 128 | Martin Svrcek | Soudal Quick-Step | 1:03:34 |
| 129 | Emil Herzog | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 1:04:46 |
| 130 | Lucas Hamilton | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:04:46 |
| 131 | Felix Ørn-Kristoff | Lotto-Intermarché | 1:04:48 |
| 132 | Adrian Fajardo Toledo | Burgos Burpellet BH | 1:14:52 |
Stage 4 map & profile:
Stage 4 map
Stage 4 profile
Wednesday, April 8: Stage 3, Basauri - Basauri, 152.8 km
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Axel Laurance is first to the line. Photo: Sprint Cycling Agency
Les Woodland's book Paris-Roubaix: The Inside Story - All the bumps of cycling's cobbled classic is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Weather at the start/finish city of Basauri at 2:30 PM, local time: 28C (82F), sunny, with the wind from the northwest at 13 km/hr (8 mph). There is just a 3% chance of rain.
The stage: An average-length stage, featuring almost 2,900 meters of elevation gain. The circuit-style route tends to produce a fast pace from the start, leaving little room for respite. Breakaways could form at this point if the GC standings are unsettled. While not clearly decisive, the stage poses risks for riders who are poorly placed or backed by less capable teams.
The race: Here's the race organizer's stage three report.
A Hat-Trick of Stage Wins for French Cyclists at Itzulia: Axel Laurance wins the third stage of Itzulia, breaking away from the breakaway group.
The third stage of the 2026 Itzulia—a Basauri-to-Basauri route covering 152 km—featured three mountain passes. On paper, it appeared to be an uncomplicated day—one ripe for a breakaway—yet it promised a wide-open finish.
The day's breakaway took some time to materialize; there were numerous attempts, with many teams and high-caliber riders keen to join the move. It wasn't until the 60-kilometer mark that a group of 11 riders finally managed to open up a gap on the peloton. Behind them, Euskaltel-Euskadi worked to reel the peloton closer to the escapees, aiming to launch Bizkarra and Lastra across to join the front group. Ultimately, they succeeded in bridging the gap and joining the race leaders. The breakaway's maximum advantage reached two minutes.
The peloton—led by the Decathlon CMA CGM Team and Cofidis—controlled the race tempo to ensure the escapees were given no further leeway. While the overall classification remained secure, the stage victory itself was very much at stake. With 37 kilometers remaining, the breakaway maintained a lead of 1’45” over the peloton. More teams began positioning themselves at the front of the pack. A fast finish was looming, and everyone wanted to be well-placed. With 3 km left to the summit of Bikotx Gane, Jardi Van Der Lee attacked from the breakaway; he was followed closely by Lorenzo Fortunato, Igor Arrieta , and Tobias Halland Johannessen. The gap widened to 2 minutes, although the breakaway group eventually regrouped.
Behind them, the pace intensified, the gap to the race leaders narrowed, and Juan Ayuso lost contact with the peloton. On the descent, the breakaway managed to extend their lead once again. Igor Arrieta and Axel Laurance led the race with a slight margin over the rest of the breakaway riders.
With just 16 km to the finish, the gap held by Arrieta and Laurance stood at 2’56” over the peloton and 30” over the chasing group. The breakaway was set to contest the stage victory at the finish line in Basauri.
In the final kilometers of the stage, the outcome boiled down to a duel between Arrieta and Laurance; the chasing group had fallen more than 1’10” behind, while the leading duo showed no signs of slowing down.
Axel Laurance wins stage three.
The day's final ramp—which led directly to the finish line—determined the winner of Stage 3. Axel Laurance ultimately claimed the victory in a hard-fought finish. Regarding the General Classification, the time gaps remained unchanged, and Paul Seixas retains the yellow jersey for another day.
Complete results:
152.8 kilometers raced at an average speed of 41.949 km/hr
| 1 | Axel Laurance | INEOS Grenadiers | 3hr 38min 33sec |
| 2 | Igor Arrieta | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | @ 2sec |
| 3 | Natnael Tesfazion | Movistar Team | 0:14 |
| 4 | Ilan Van Wilder | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 5 | Tobias Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 0:18 |
| 6 | James Shaw | EF Education-EasyPost | 0:21 |
| 7 | Clément Braz Afonso | Groupama-FDJ United | 0:24 |
| 8 | Lorenzo Fortunato | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 9 | Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 10 | Reuben Thompson | Lotto-Intermarché | 0:34 |
| 11 | Jardi Van Der Lee | EF Education-EasyPost | 0:49 |
| 12 | Paul Seixas | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 1:04 |
| 13 | Ben Tulett | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 14 | Alex Baudin | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 15 | Javier Romo | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 16 | Kévin Vauquelin | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 17 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 18 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 19 | Ion Izagirre | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 20 | Cian Uijtdebroeks | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 21 | Harold Tejada | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 22 | Ibon Ruiz | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 23 | Primoz Roglic | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 24 | Haimar Etxeberria | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 25 | Emiel Verstrynge | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 26 | Clément Champoussin | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 27 | Ethan Hayter | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 28 | Sergio Higuita | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 29 | Lorenzo Quartucci | Burgos Burpellet BH | 1:09 |
| 30 | Bjoern Koerdt | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 31 | Markel Beloki | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 32 | Julen Arriola-Bengoa | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 33 | Antonio Tiberi | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 34 | Pello Bilbao | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 35 | Samuel Fernández Garcia | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 36 | Tijmen Graat | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 37 | Matthew Riccitello | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 38 | José Luis Faura | Burgos Burpellet BH | 1:14 |
| 39 | Jose Manuel Diaz | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 40 | Juan Pedro Lopez | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 41 | Txomin Juaristi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 42 | Jonathan Lastra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 43 | Jan Castellon | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 44 | Unai Iribar | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 45 | Carlos Garcia | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 46 | Quentin Pacher | Groupama-FDJ United | 1:24 |
| 47 | Mauri Vansevenant | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 48 | Martin Tjøtta | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 49 | Enzo Paleni | Groupama-FDJ United | 1:29 |
| 50 | Gotzon Martín | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 51 | Simone Velasco | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 52 | Fernando Barceló | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 1:32 |
| 53 | Mattia Gaffuri | Team Picnic PostNL | 1:36 |
| 54 | Luke Tuckwell | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 1:44 |
| 55 | Adria Pericas | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 56 | Steven Kruijswijk | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 1:58 |
| 57 | Alex Molenaar | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 2:01 |
| 58 | Jorge Gutiérrez | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 59 | Christian Scaroni | XDS Astana Team | 2:02 |
| 60 | Nicola Conci | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 61 | Léo Bisiaux | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 2:08 |
| 62 | Maxime Decomble | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 63 | Peter Øxenberg | INEOS Grenadiers | 2:18 |
| 64 | Andrea Bagioli | Lidl-Trek | 2:30 |
| 65 | Filippo Fiorelli | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 66 | Steff Cras | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 67 | Nicolas Alustiza | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 2:37 |
| 68 | Attila Valter | Bahrain Victorious | 3:01 |
| 69 | AJ August | INEOS Grenadiers | 3:17 |
| 70 | Bauke Mollema | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 71 | Jorge Arcas | Movistar Team | 3:19 |
| 72 | Carlos Verona | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 73 | Sinuhé Fernandez | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 74 | Nicolas Prodhomme | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 3:47 |
| 75 | Gal Glivar | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 4:25 |
| 76 | Alex Aranburu | Cofidis | 5:18 |
| 77 | Fabian Weiss | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 5:33 |
| 78 | Michael Leonard | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 79 | Quinn Simmons | Lidl-Trek | 6:15 |
| 80 | Brandon Rivera | INEOS Grenadiers | 6:21 |
| 81 | Ben Healy | EF Education-EasyPost | 6:33 |
| 82 | Lukas Nerurkar | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 83 | Hugo Houle | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 84 | Johannes Kulset | Uno-X Mobility | 6:46 |
| 85 | Gianni Moscon | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 6:47 |
| 86 | Jordan Labrosse | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 6:50 |
| 87 | Julian Alaphilippe | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 6:54 |
| 88 | Johannes Staune-Mittet | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 7:04 |
| 89 | Raúl García | Movistar Team | 7:13 |
| 90 | Joan Bou | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 7:24 |
| 91 | Andreas Kron | Uno-X Mobility | 7:46 |
| 92 | Brandon McNulty | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 93 | Joseba Lopez | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 11:34 |
| 94 | Roman Ermakov | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 95 | Robin Orins | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 96 | Matthew Dinham | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 97 | Oliver Stockwell | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 98 | Juan Martinez | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 99 | Bruno Armirail | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 100 | Jan Maas | Cofidis | 13:09 |
| 101 | Jacob Eriksson | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 102 | Rainer Kepplinger | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 103 | Tim Rex | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 104 | Ayco Bastiaens | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 105 | Marc Soler | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 13:23 |
| 106 | Unai Ramos | Equipo Kern Pharma | 13:27 |
| 107 | Iker Mintegi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 108 | Domen Novak | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 109 | Mikel Bizkarra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 110 | James Knox | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 111 | Julien Bernard | Lidl-Trek | 13:30 |
| 112 | Juan Ayuso | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 113 | Victor Langellotti | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 114 | Emanuel Buchmann | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 115 | Felix Grossschartner | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 116 | Aurélien Paret-Peintre | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 117 | Frank van den Broek | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 118 | Ramses Debruyne | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 13:35 |
| 119 | Aaron Dockx | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 17:34 |
| 120 | Jamie Meehan | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 121 | Baptiste Veistroffer | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 122 | Gari Ugarte | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 123 | Yaël Joalland | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 124 | Ander Okamika | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 125 | Paul Ourselin | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 126 | Iñigo Elosegui | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 127 | Nil Gimeno | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 128 | Martin Svrcek | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 129 | Adrian Fajardo Toledo | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 130 | Felix Ørn-Kristoff | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 131 | Anders Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 132 | Lucas Hamilton | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 133 | Menno Huising | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 134 | Magnus Cort | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 135 | Alexy Faure-Prost | Team Picnic PostNL | 17:46 |
| 136 | Lennert Belmans | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 17:50 |
| 137 | Torstein Træen | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 138 | Emil Herzog | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 19:03 |
| 139 | Roger Adrià | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 140 | Kevin Geniets | Groupama-FDJ United | 19:11 |
GC after stage 3:
- GC leader: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Mountains classification leader: Joan Bou (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)
- Points classification leader: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Best young rider: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Teams classification leader: XDS Astana
330.7 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 40.627 km/hr
| 1 | Paul Seixas | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 8hr 8min 24sec |
| 2 | Primoz Roglic | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | @ 1min 59sec |
| 3 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 2:08 |
| 4 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl-Trek | 2:14 |
| 5 | Ben Tulett | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 2:27 |
| 6 | Alex Baudin | EF Education-EasyPost | 2:31 |
| 7 | Ion Izagirre | Cofidis | 2:36 |
| 8 | Harold Tejada | XDS Astana Team | 2:48 |
| 9 | Cian Uijtdebroeks | Movistar Team | 3:01 |
| 10 | Clément Champoussin | XDS Astana Team | 3:02 |
| 11 | Javier Romo | Movistar Team | 3:32 |
| 12 | Ilan Van Wilder | Soudal Quick-Step | 3:39 |
| 13 | Pello Bilbao | Bahrain Victorious | 3:42 |
| 14 | Matthew Riccitello | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 3:47 |
| 15 | Markel Beloki | EF Education-EasyPost | 3:50 |
| 16 | Igor Arrieta | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 3:57 |
| 17 | Clément Braz Afonso | Groupama-FDJ United | 4:01 |
| 18 | Sergio Higuita | XDS Astana Team | 4:34 |
| 19 | Tobias Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 20 | Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet | Groupama-FDJ United | 4:41 |
| 21 | Juan Pedro Lopez | Movistar Team | 4:42 |
| 22 | Kévin Vauquelin | INEOS Grenadiers | 4:46 |
| 23 | Lorenzo Fortunato | XDS Astana Team | 5:03 |
| 24 | Emiel Verstrynge | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 5:10 |
| 25 | Jardi Van Der Lee | EF Education-EasyPost | 5:15 |
| 26 | Tijmen Graat | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 5:21 |
| 27 | Mauri Vansevenant | Soudal Quick-Step | 5:35 |
| 28 | Ibon Ruiz | Equipo Kern Pharma | 5:50 |
| 29 | Unai Iribar | Equipo Kern Pharma | 6:00 |
| 30 | Txomin Juaristi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 6:26 |
| 31 | Samuel Fernández Garcia | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 6:39 |
| 32 | Mattia Gaffuri | Team Picnic PostNL | 6:44 |
| 33 | Jose Manuel Diaz | Burgos Burpellet BH | 6:51 |
| 34 | Jan Castellon | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 7:05 |
| 35 | José Luis Faura | Burgos Burpellet BH | 7:09 |
| 36 | Julen Arriola-Bengoa | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 7:13 |
| 37 | Peter Øxenberg | INEOS Grenadiers | 7:14 |
| 38 | Reuben Thompson | Lotto-Intermarché | 8:42 |
| 39 | Carlos Garcia | Burgos Burpellet BH | 9:05 |
| 40 | Fernando Barceló | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 10:36 |
| 41 | Nicolas Alustiza | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 10:57 |
| 42 | Jonathan Lastra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 11:26 |
| 43 | Luke Tuckwell | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 13:41 |
| 44 | Quentin Pacher | Groupama-FDJ United | 13:51 |
| 45 | Ethan Hayter | Soudal Quick-Step | 14:08 |
| 46 | Adria Pericas | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 14:25 |
| 47 | James Shaw | EF Education-EasyPost | 15:09 |
| 48 | Axel Laurance | INEOS Grenadiers | 15:14 |
| 49 | Andrea Bagioli | Lidl-Trek | 15:22 |
| 50 | Jorge Gutiérrez | Equipo Kern Pharma | 15:57 |
| 51 | Bjoern Koerdt | Team Picnic PostNL | 15:59 |
| 52 | Nicolas Prodhomme | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 16:05 |
| 53 | Natnael Tesfazion | Movistar Team | 16:15 |
| 54 | Juan Ayuso | Lidl-Trek | 16:21 |
| 55 | Simone Velasco | XDS Astana Team | 16:30 |
| 56 | Antonio Tiberi | Bahrain Victorious | 16:43 |
| 57 | Steff Cras | Soudal Quick-Step | 16:45 |
| 58 | Enzo Paleni | Groupama-FDJ United | 16:59 |
| 59 | Steven Kruijswijk | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 17:00 |
| 60 | Carlos Verona | Lidl-Trek | 17:03 |
| 61 | Sinuhé Fernandez | Burgos Burpellet BH | 17:06 |
| 62 | Raúl García | Movistar Team | 17:11 |
| 63 | AJ August | INEOS Grenadiers | 17:16 |
| 64 | Lorenzo Quartucci | Burgos Burpellet BH | 17:40 |
| 65 | Haimar Etxeberria | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 17:45 |
| 66 | Martin Tjøtta | Uno-X Mobility | 18:05 |
| 67 | Emanuel Buchmann | Cofidis | 18:18 |
| 68 | Nicola Conci | XDS Astana Team | 18:20 |
| 69 | Christian Scaroni | XDS Astana Team | 18:35 |
| 70 | Johannes Kulset | Uno-X Mobility | 18:54 |
| 71 | Attila Valter | Bahrain Victorious | 19:35 |
| 72 | Brandon McNulty | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 19:36 |
| 73 | Joan Bou | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 20:12 |
| 74 | Jorge Arcas | Movistar Team | 20:18 |
| 75 | Michael Leonard | EF Education-EasyPost | 20:29 |
| 76 | Alex Aranburu | Cofidis | 20:35 |
| 77 | Gal Glivar | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 20:35 |
| 78 | Hugo Houle | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 21:20 |
| 79 | Fabian Weiss | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 21:27 |
| 80 | Julian Alaphilippe | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 21:30 |
| 81 | Maxime Decomble | Groupama-FDJ United | 21:32 |
| 82 | Bauke Mollema | Lidl-Trek | 21:46 |
| 83 | Quinn Simmons | Lidl-Trek | 21:55 |
| 84 | Ben Healy | EF Education-EasyPost | 21:56 |
| 85 | Andreas Kron | Uno-X Mobility | 22:06 |
| 86 | Léo Bisiaux | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 22:17 |
| 87 | Jordan Labrosse | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 22:22 |
| 88 | Gotzon Martín | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 22:35 |
| 89 | Alex Molenaar | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 90 | Lukas Nerurkar | EF Education-EasyPost | 22:37 |
| 91 | Gianni Moscon | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 22:52 |
| 92 | Joseba Lopez | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 93 | Filippo Fiorelli | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 23:01 |
| 94 | Mikel Bizkarra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 23:32 |
| 95 | Alexy Faure-Prost | Team Picnic PostNL | 23:38 |
| 96 | Jamie Meehan | Cofidis | 24:01 |
| 97 | Ander Okamika | Burgos Burpellet BH | 24:04 |
| 98 | Juan Martinez | Team Picnic PostNL | 24:59 |
| 99 | Bruno Armirail | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 25:26 |
| 100 | Marc Soler | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 25:31 |
| 101 | Matthew Dinham | Team Picnic PostNL | 26:57 |
| 102 | Johannes Staune-Mittet | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 27:43 |
| 103 | Roman Ermakov | Bahrain Victorious | 27:54 |
| 104 | Robin Orins | Lotto-Intermarché | 28:03 |
| 105 | Tim Rex | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 28:14 |
| 106 | Frank van den Broek | Team Picnic PostNL | 28:18 |
| 107 | Oliver Stockwell | Bahrain Victorious | 28:34 |
| 108 | Anders Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 28:55 |
| 109 | Aurélien Paret-Peintre | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 29:04 |
| 110 | Brandon Rivera | INEOS Grenadiers | 29:12 |
| 111 | James Knox | Team Picnic PostNL | 29:34 |
| 112 | Jan Maas | Cofidis | 29:42 |
| 113 | Jacob Eriksson | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 29:49 |
| 114 | Unai Ramos | Equipo Kern Pharma | 31:03 |
| 115 | Felix Grossschartner | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 33:01 |
| 116 | Yaël Joalland | Cofidis | 33:15 |
| 117 | Baptiste Veistroffer | Lotto-Intermarché | 33:18 |
| 118 | Nil Gimeno | Equipo Kern Pharma | 33:33 |
| 119 | Paul Ourselin | Cofidis | 33:39 |
| 120 | Gari Ugarte | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 33:47 |
| 121 | Victor Langellotti | INEOS Grenadiers | 33:58 |
| 122 | Rainer Kepplinger | Bahrain Victorious | 34:01 |
| 123 | Julien Bernard | Lidl-Trek | 34:04 |
| 124 | Iker Mintegi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 34:26 |
| 125 | Lennert Belmans | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 34:35 |
| 126 | Ayco Bastiaens | Soudal Quick-Step | 34:40 |
| 127 | Domen Novak | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 128 | Ramses Debruyne | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 34:46 |
| 129 | Kevin Geniets | Groupama-FDJ United | 37:12 |
| 130 | Martin Svrcek | Soudal Quick-Step | 38:17 |
| 131 | Aaron Dockx | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 38:18 |
| 132 | Torstein Træen | Uno-X Mobility | 38:43 |
| 133 | Iñigo Elosegui | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 134 | Menno Huising | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 39:02 |
| 135 | Emil Herzog | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 39:29 |
| 136 | Lucas Hamilton | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 137 | Felix Ørn-Kristoff | Lotto-Intermarché | 39:31 |
| 138 | Magnus Cort | Uno-X Mobility | 40:20 |
| 139 | Roger Adrià | Movistar Team | 41:00 |
| 140 | Adrian Fajardo Toledo | Burgos Burpellet BH | 41:29 |
Stage 3 map & profile:
Stage 3 map
Stage 3 profile
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Tuesday, April 7: Stage 2, Pamplona-Iruña - Lekunberri (Mendukilo Kobaluzoa), 164.1 km
GC leader Paul Seixas wins stage two. Photo: CX Cycling.
Les Woodland's book Cycling's 50 Triumphs and Tragedies: The rise and fall of bicycle racing's champions is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Weather in the finish city of Lekunberri at 2:50 PM, local time: 22C (72F), mostly sunny, with the wind from the south-southeast at 17 km/hr (10 mph). No rain is forecast.
The stage: The second stage fully embraces the classic terrain of the Itzulia. With more than 3,300 meters of accumulated elevation gain, the route is long and consistent, without an explosive finish, but with continuous wear and tear. It could be a day ripe for well-organized breakaways or for the GC contenders to start pushing the pace. The favorites will need to be vigilant, although they are unlikely to launch a decisive attack just yet.
The race: Here's the race organizer's stage two summary.
A double for Paul Seixas, who extends his lead over the second-placed rider to nearly two minutes.
For the second consecutive year, the Itzulia once again sets out from Pamplona-Iruña, promising a truly comprehensive stage featuring the ascent of San Miguel de Aralar and an uphill finish at the Mendukilo Caves.
Paul Seixas arrived at the start smiling and clad in the yellow jersey. At the start line, he made his intentions clear: "The Itzulia is very tough every single day, and we have to ride aggressively."
The day began with an early breakaway forming within the opening kilometers, comprising seven riders: Ethan Hayter (SOQ, 7), Adrian Fajardo Toledo (BBH, 77), Raúl García (MOV, 94), Frank van den Broek (TPP, 101), Joan Bou (CJR, 156), Iker Mintegi (EUS, 167), and Bruno Armirail (TVL, 191). The gap to the peloton reached a maximum of 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
The breakaway group worked well together, but back in the main field, the Decathlon CMA CGM Team was working to keep it under control. The most dangerous rider in the breakaway regarding the general classification was Bruno Armirail (TVL, 191), sitting 50 seconds back.
The gap began to tumble just before the start of the Itzulia’s first Category 1 climb: San Miguel de Aralar—a 9.9 km ascent with an average gradient of 7.7%. As the climb began, the breakaway was whittled down to just three riders: Ethan Hayter (SOQ, 7), Raúl García (MOV, 94), and Joan Bou (CJR, 156). They maintained an excellent pace through the opening kilometers. However, back in the main field, the race leader's team shifted into a higher gear, steadily closing the gap.
The peloton stretched out into a long line, though all the pre-race favorites remained safely within it. With 6.6 km remaining to the finish, the yellow jersey wearer launched a devastating attack that no one else could match; only Mattias Skjelmose of Lidl-Trek managed to respond initially, but he eventually cracked and fell behind. The leader was riding solo—with another 26 km still lying ahead before the finish line.
Paul Seixas was absolutely flying; he caught the remnants of the breakaway and never looked back, while behind him, Florian Lipowitz (53, RBH) began to lose ground. What a magnificent display from the 19-year-old Frenchman! Meanwhile, Juan Ayuso and Pello Bilbao lost contact with the main chasing group.
Stage winner Paul Seixas with 19 km to go, 55 seconds ahead of his chasers. Getty Sport photo
The leader held a 50-second advantage over the main group with 2 km remaining until the summit. Behind him, the chasers couldn't find a rhythm and were riding in fits and starts. Del Toro and Lipowitz were the most active riders within the pursuit group.
Paul Seixas continued to extend his lead on the descent. It looked like a time trial effort; he knew that the riders behind him were not working together cohesively, giving him a golden opportunity to widen his margin even further. During the descent, Mikel Landa crashed and was forced to abandon the race.
Ultimately, Paul Seixas claimed victory in Stage 2, with Mattias Skjelmose taking second place and Primož Roglič finishing third. Seixas thereby increased his lead in the general classification over Primož Roglič—now the second-placed rider—to 1 minute and 59 seconds. A very important difference heading into the remaining stages.
Complete results:
164.1 kilometers raced at an average speed of 39.102 km/hr
| 1 | Paul Seixas | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 4hr 11min 48sec |
| 2 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl-Trek | @ 1min 25sec |
| 3 | Primoz Roglic | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 4 | Cian Uijtdebroeks | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 5 | Ben Tulett | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 6 | Alex Baudin | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 7 | Ion Izagirre | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 8 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 9 | Clément Champoussin | XDS Astana Team | 1:31 |
| 10 | Harold Tejada | XDS Astana Team | 1:43 |
| 11 | Isaac del Toro | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 12 | Juan Ayuso | Lidl-Trek | 2:29 |
| 13 | Markel Beloki | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 14 | Sergio Higuita | XDS Astana Team | 2:34 |
| 15 | Juan Pedro Lopez | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 16 | Javier Romo | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 17 | Matthew Riccitello | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 18 | Pello Bilbao | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 19 | Emiel Verstrynge | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 3:28 |
| 20 | Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet | Groupama-FDJ United | 3:30 |
| 21 | Igor Arrieta | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 22 | Tijmen Graat | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 23 | Clément Braz Afonso | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 24 | Jardi Van Der Lee | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 25 | Lorenzo Fortunato | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 26 | Unai Iribar | Equipo Kern Pharma | 3:38 |
| 27 | Ilan Van Wilder | Soudal Quick-Step | 3:50 |
| 28 | Mauri Vansevenant | Soudal Quick-Step | 4:13 |
| 29 | Tobias Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 4:13 |
| 30 | Ander Okamika | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 31 | Kévin Vauquelin | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 32 | Emanuel Buchmann | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 33 | Ibon Ruiz | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 34 | José Luis Faura | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 35 | Jose Manuel Diaz | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 36 | Mattia Gaffuri | Team Picnic PostNL | 4:18 |
| 37 | Samuel Fernández Garcia | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 4:20 |
| 38 | Alexy Faure-Prost | Team Picnic PostNL | 4:23 |
| 39 | Jan Castellon | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 40 | Jamie Meehan | Cofidis | 4:31 |
| 41 | Txomin Juaristi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 42 | Julen Arriola-Bengoa | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 4:36 |
| 43 | Peter Øxenberg | INEOS Grenadiers | 4:57 |
| 44 | Reuben Thompson | Lotto-Intermarché | 6:41 |
| 45 | Nicolas Alustiza | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 46 | Fernando Barceló | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 47 | Carlos Garcia | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 48 | Jonathan Lastra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 8:43 |
| 49 | Mikel Bizkarra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 50 | Raúl García | Movistar Team | 9:45 |
| 51 | Joseba Lopez | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 52 | Anders Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 10:58 |
| 53 | Joan Bou | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 11:02 |
| 54 | Johannes Kulset | Uno-X Mobility | 11:22 |
| 55 | Luke Tuckwell | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 56 | Juan Martinez | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 57 | Nicolas Prodhomme | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 12:01 |
| 58 | Quentin Pacher | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 59 | Sinuhé Fernandez | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 60 | Andrea Bagioli | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 61 | Jorge Gutiérrez | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 62 | Carlos Verona | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 63 | Marc Soler | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 64 | Brandon McNulty | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 65 | Adria Pericas | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 66 | Ethan Hayter | Soudal Quick-Step | 13:08 |
| 67 | Mikel Landa | Soudal Quick-Step | 13:11 |
| 68 | Steven Kruijswijk | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 14:00 |
| 69 | Steff Cras | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 70 | Tim Rex | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 71 | Bruno Armirail | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 72 | Nil Gimeno | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 73 | Hugo Houle | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 74 | Matthew Dinham | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 75 | Bjoern Koerdt | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 76 | Natnael Tesfazion | Movistar Team | 14:11 |
| 77 | Yaël Joalland | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 78 | Andreas Kron | Uno-X Mobility | 14:13 |
| 79 | AJ August | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 80 | James Shaw | EF Education-EasyPost | 14:17 |
| 81 | Julian Alaphilippe | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 14:19 |
| 82 | Simone Velasco | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 83 | Frank van den Broek | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 84 | Fabian Weiss | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 15:04 |
| 85 | Quinn Simmons | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 86 | Martin Tjøtta | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 87 | Antonio Tiberi | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 88 | Gal Glivar | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 89 | Jan Maas | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 90 | Baptiste Veistroffer | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 91 | Paul Ourselin | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 92 | Gari Ugarte | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 93 | Haimar Etxeberria | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 94 | Unai Ramos | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 95 | Alex Aranburu | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 96 | Jorge Arcas | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 97 | Christian Scaroni | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 98 | James Knox | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 99 | Jacob Eriksson | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 100 | Robin Orins | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 101 | Lorenzo Quartucci | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 102 | Lukas Nerurkar | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 103 | Roman Ermakov | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 104 | Oliver Stockwell | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 105 | Nicola Conci | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 106 | Gianni Moscon | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 107 | Attila Valter | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 108 | Lennert Belmans | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 109 | Aurélien Paret-Peintre | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 110 | Axel Laurance | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 111 | Michael Leonard | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 112 | Ben Healy | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 113 | Enzo Paleni | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 114 | Kevin Geniets | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 115 | Bauke Mollema | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 116 | Maxime Decomble | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 117 | Jordan Labrosse | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 118 | Johannes Staune-Mittet | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 19:55 |
| 119 | Iñigo Elosegui | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 120 | Julien Bernard | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 121 | Alberto Bruttomesso | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 122 | Léo Bisiaux | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 19:58 |
| 123 | Ayco Bastiaens | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 124 | Felix Grossschartner | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 125 | Aaron Dockx | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 126 | Filippo Fiorelli | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 127 | Matthew Fox | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 128 | Alex Molenaar | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 129 | Rémy Rochas | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 130 | Lucas Hamilton | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 131 | Iker Mintegi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 132 | Magnus Cort | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 133 | Martin Svrcek | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 134 | Rainer Kepplinger | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 135 | Torstein Træen | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 136 | Domen Novak | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 137 | Menno Huising | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 138 | Georg Zimmermann | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 139 | Gotzon Martín | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 140 | Victor Langellotti | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 141 | Ramses Debruyne | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 142 | Emil Herzog | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 143 | Felix Ørn-Kristoff | Lotto-Intermarché | 20:25 |
| 144 | Roger Adrià | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 145 | Brandon Rivera | INEOS Grenadiers | 21:49 |
| 146 | Adrian Fajardo Toledo | Burgos Burpellet BH | 22:18 |
GC after stage 2:
- GC leader: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Mountains classification leader: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Points classification leader: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Best young rider: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
- Teams classification leader: XDS Astana
177.9 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 39.712 km/hr
| 1 | Paul Seixas | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 4hr 28min 47sec |
| 2 | Primoz Roglic | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | @ 1min 59sec |
| 3 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 2:08 |
| 4 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl-Trek | 2:14 |
| 5 | Ben Tulett | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 2:27 |
| 6 | Alex Baudin | EF Education-EasyPost | 2:31 |
| 7 | Ion Izagirre | Cofidis | 2:36 |
| 8 | Isaac del Toro | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 2:44 |
| 9 | Harold Tejada | XDS Astana Team | 2:48 |
| 10 | Cian Uijtdebroeks | Movistar Team | 3:01 |
| 11 | Clément Champoussin | XDS Astana Team | 3:02 |
| 12 | Javier Romo | Movistar Team | 3:32 |
| 13 | Pello Bilbao | Bahrain Victorious | 3:37 |
| 14 | Matthew Riccitello | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 3:42 |
| 15 | Markel Beloki | EF Education-EasyPost | 3:45 |
| 16 | Juan Ayuso | Lidl-Trek | 3:55 |
| 17 | Ilan Van Wilder | Soudal Quick-Step | 4:29 |
| 18 | Juan Pedro Lopez | Movistar Team | 4:32 |
| 19 | Sergio Higuita | XDS Astana Team | 4:34 |
| 20 | Clément Braz Afonso | Groupama-FDJ United | 4:45 |
| 21 | Kévin Vauquelin | INEOS Grenadiers | 4:46 |
| 22 | Emiel Verstrynge | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 5:10 |
| 23 | Igor Arrieta | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 5:11 |
| 24 | Mauri Vansevenant | Soudal Quick-Step | 5:15 |
| 25 | Tijmen Graat | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 5:16 |
| 26 | Tobias Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 5:20 |
| 27 | Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet | Groupama-FDJ United | 5:21 |
| 28 | Jardi Van Der Lee | EF Education-EasyPost | 5:30 |
| 29 | Lorenzo Fortunato | XDS Astana Team | 5:45 |
| 30 | Ibon Ruiz | Equipo Kern Pharma | 5:50 |
| 31 | Unai Iribar | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 32 | Emanuel Buchmann | Cofidis | 5:52 |
| 33 | Peter Øxenberg | INEOS Grenadiers | 6:00 |
| 34 | Mattia Gaffuri | Team Picnic PostNL | 6:12 |
| 35 | Txomin Juaristi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 6:16 |
| 36 | Samuel Fernández Garcia | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 6:34 |
| 37 | Jose Manuel Diaz | Burgos Burpellet BH | 6:41 |
| 38 | Jan Castellon | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 6:55 |
| 39 | Alexy Faure-Prost | Team Picnic PostNL | 6:56 |
| 40 | Luis Faura José | Burgos Burpellet BH | 6:59 |
| 41 | Julen Arriola-Bengoa | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 7:08 |
| 42 | Jamie Meehan | Cofidis | 7:31 |
| 43 | Ander Okamika | Burgos Burpellet BH | 7:34 |
| 44 | Carlos Garcia | Burgos Burpellet BH | 8:55 |
| 45 | Reuben Thompson | Lotto-Intermarché | 9:12 |
| 46 | Nicolas Alustiza | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 9:24 |
| 47 | Fernando Barceló | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 10:08 |
| 48 | Raúl García | Movistar Team | 11:04 |
| 49 | Mikel Bizkarra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 11:09 |
| 50 | Jonathan Lastra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 11:16 |
| 51 | Joseba Lopez | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 12:22 |
| 52 | Anders Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 12:25 |
| 53 | Brandon McNulty | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 12:54 |
| 54 | Luke Tuckwell | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 13:01 |
| 55 | Marc Soler | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 13:12 |
| 56 | Johannes Kulset | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 57 | Nicolas Prodhomme | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 13:22 |
| 58 | Quentin Pacher | Groupama-FDJ United | 13:31 |
| 59 | Adria Pericas | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 13:45 |
| 60 | Joan Bou | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 13:52 |
| 61 | Andrea Bagioli | Lidl-Trek | 13:56 |
| 62 | Ethan Hayter | Soudal Quick-Step | 14:14 |
| 63 | Mikel Landa | Soudal Quick-Step | 14:16 |
| 64 | Juan Martinez | Team Picnic PostNL | 14:29 |
| 65 | Carlos Verona | Lidl-Trek | 14:48 |
| 66 | Sinuhé Fernandez | Burgos Burpellet BH | 14:51 |
| 67 | Bruno Armirail | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 15:00 |
| 68 | Jorge Gutiérrez | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 69 | AJ August | INEOS Grenadiers | 15:03 |
| 70 | Steff Cras | Soudal Quick-Step | 15:19 |
| 71 | Andreas Kron | Uno-X Mobility | 15:24 |
| 72 | Julian Alaphilippe | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 15:40 |
| 73 | Hugo Houle | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 15:51 |
| 74 | Frank van den Broek | Team Picnic PostNL | 15:52 |
| 75 | James Shaw | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 76 | Bjoern Koerdt | Team Picnic PostNL | 15:54 |
| 77 | Michael Leonard | EF Education-EasyPost | 16:00 |
| 78 | Simone Velasco | XDS Astana Team | 16:05 |
| 79 | Steven Kruijswijk | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 16:06 |
| 80 | Tim Rex | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 16:09 |
| 81 | Alex Aranburu | Cofidis | 16:21 |
| 82 | Ben Healy | EF Education-EasyPost | 16:27 |
| 83 | Matthew Dinham | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 84 | Axel Laurance | INEOS Grenadiers | 16:28 |
| 85 | Enzo Paleni | Groupama-FDJ United | 16:34 |
| 86 | Jordan Labrosse | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 16:36 |
| 87 | Antonio Tiberi | Bahrain Victorious | 16:38 |
| 88 | Aurélien Paret-Peintre | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 89 | Quinn Simmons | Lidl-Trek | 16:44 |
| 90 | Yaël Joalland | Cofidis | 16:45 |
| 91 | Baptiste Veistroffer | Lotto-Intermarché | 16:48 |
| 92 | Fabian Weiss | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 16:58 |
| 93 | Nil Gimeno | Equipo Kern Pharma | 17:03 |
| 94 | Lukas Nerurkar | EF Education-EasyPost | 17:08 |
| 95 | Paul Ourselin | Cofidis | 17:09 |
| 96 | Gianni Moscon | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 97 | Natnael Tesfazion | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 98 | James Knox | Team Picnic PostNL | 17:11 |
| 99 | Gal Glivar | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 17:14 |
| 100 | Gari Ugarte | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 17:17 |
| 101 | Nicola Conci | XDS Astana Team | 17:22 |
| 102 | Roman Ermakov | Bahrain Victorious | 17:24 |
| 103 | Robin Orins | Lotto-Intermarché | 17:33 |
| 104 | Lorenzo Quartucci | Burgos Burpellet BH | 17:35 |
| 105 | Jan Maas | Cofidis | 17:37 |
| 106 | Christian Scaroni | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 107 | Attila Valter | Bahrain Victorious | 17:38 |
| 108 | Jacob Eriksson | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 17:44 |
| 109 | Martin Tjøtta | Uno-X Mobility | 17:45 |
| 110 | Haimar Etxeberria | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 111 | Lennert Belmans | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 17:49 |
| 112 | Jorge Arcas | Movistar Team | 18:03 |
| 113 | Oliver Stockwell | Bahrain Victorious | 18:04 |
| 114 | Unai Ramos | Equipo Kern Pharma | 18:40 |
| 115 | Kevin Geniets | Groupama-FDJ United | 19:05 |
| 116 | Bauke Mollema | Lidl-Trek | 19:33 |
| 117 | Maxime Decomble | Groupama-FDJ United | 20:28 |
| 118 | Felix Grossschartner | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 20:35 |
| 119 | Léo Bisiaux | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 21:13 |
| 120 | Emil Herzog | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 21:30 |
| 121 | Victor Langellotti | INEOS Grenadiers | 21:32 |
| 122 | Filippo Fiorelli | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 21:35 |
| 123 | Julien Bernard | Lidl-Trek | 21:38 |
| 124 | Alex Molenaar | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 125 | Johannes Staune-Mittet | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 21:43 |
| 126 | Martin Svrcek | Soudal Quick-Step | 21:47 |
| 127 | Aaron Dockx | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 21:48 |
| 128 | Rémy Rochas | Groupama-FDJ United | 21:49 |
| 129 | Rainer Kepplinger | Bahrain Victorious | 21:56 |
| 130 | Torstein Træen | Uno-X Mobility | 21:57 |
| 131 | Iker Mintegi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 22:03 |
| 132 | Georg Zimmermann | Lotto-Intermarché | 22:05 |
| 133 | Gotzon Martín | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 22:10 |
| 134 | Iñigo Elosegui | Equipo Kern Pharma | 22:13 |
| 135 | Ramses Debruyne | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 22:15 |
| 136 | Domen Novak | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 22:17 |
| 137 | Menno Huising | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 22:32 |
| 138 | Ayco Bastiaens | Soudal Quick-Step | 22:35 |
| 139 | Matthew Fox | Lotto-Intermarché | 22:53 |
| 140 | Lucas Hamilton | INEOS Grenadiers | 22:59 |
| 141 | Felix Ørn-Kristoff | Lotto-Intermarché | 23:01 |
| 142 | Roger Adrià | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 143 | Alberto Bruttomesso | Bahrain Victorious | 23:28 |
| 144 | Magnus Cort | Uno-X Mobility | 23:50 |
| 145 | Brandon Rivera | INEOS Grenadiers | 23:55 |
| 146 | Adrian Fajardo Toledo | Burgos Burpellet BH | 24:59 |
Stage 2 map & profile:
Stage 2 map
Stage 2 profile
Monday, April 6: Stage 1, Bilbao 13.8 km individual time trial
Paul Seixas on his way to winning the stage and becoming the first GC leader. Photo: Sprint Cycling
Bill & Carol McGann’s book The Story of the Tour de France, 2022: The Fastest Tour Ever is available in both Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Weather at the race city of Bilbao at 2:35 PM, local time: 29C (83F), sunny, with the wind from the south-southeast at 21 km/hr (13 mph). No rain is forecast.
The stage: The Itzulia will kick off with a short individual time trial, ideal for setting the first time differences. After being held without spectators in 2021 due to the pandemic, the time trial is back. At 13.9 kilometers, significant gaps are unlikely, but the stage will mark the first rankings in the overall standings. Strong riders and specialists could lead, while climbers look to minimize their deficits. It may not be decisive, but it will influence the strategy for the opening days.
The race: First rider off was Georg Zimmerman (Lotto-Intermarché) at 2:30 PM.
Here's the race report from second-place Kévin Vauquelin's Team INEOS Grenadiers:
Kevin Vauquelin got his Itzulia Basque Country challenge off to a strong start with the second fastest time in the opening time trial.
An undulating, 13.8-kilometre course in Bilbao put the riders to the test in warm conditions, with Vauquelin clocking an effort of 17 minutes and 32 seconds.
His time was 23 seconds back on stage winner Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM), with his compatriot moving into an early race lead with five days to go.
Vauquelin’s strong ride was also backed up by teammate AJ August, with the young American producing one of the best time trials of his career to date with the seventh fastest time. Peter Øxenberg also impressed with 23rd position.
Felix Grossschartner (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) rounded out the top-three on the day, four seconds back on Vauquelin across a tricky course which both started and finished with climbing efforts.
Reaction
Kevin Vauquelin: "The [effort] started really fast but I gave it a go. At times I felt like I was lacking a bit of energy, but I think it’s the same for everyone out there. It’s easy to get caught out but it’s a time trial, so we had to go out fast. The last three kilometres are tough, and with the headwind you can lose a lot of time. I’m happy and I’m second, so that’s good.
"I’m feeling good. I’ve had some big training weeks and trained well. I think I’m coming in in good form. In the race you never know what can happen, with the heat for example."
Complete results & GC after stage 1:
- GC leader: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team)
- Mountains classification leader: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team)
- Points classification leader: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team)
- Best young rider: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team)
- Teams classification leader: INEOS Grenadiers
13.8 km raced at an average speed of 48.280 km/hr
| 1 | Paul Seixas | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 17min 9sec |
| 2 | Kévin Vauquelin | INEOS Grenadiers | @ 23sec |
| 3 | Felix Grossschartner | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 0:27 |
| 4 | Primoz Roglic | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 0:28 |
| 5 | Ilan Van Wilder | Soudal Quick-Step | 0:29 |
| 6 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 0:33 |
| 7 | AJ August | INEOS Grenadiers | 0:40 |
| 8 | Brandon McNulty | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 0:43 |
| 9 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl-Trek | 0:45 |
| 10 | Michael Leonard | EF Education-EasyPost | 0:46 |
| 11 | Javier Romo | Movistar Team | 0:48 |
| 12 | Bruno Armirail | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 0:50 |
| 13 | Isaac del Toro | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 0:51 |
| 14 | Ben Tulett | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 0:52 |
| 15 | Mauri Vansevenant | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 16 | Pello Bilbao | Bahrain Victorious | 0:53 |
| 17 | Harold Tejada | XDS Astana Team | 0:55 |
| 18 | Mikel Landa | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 19 | Alex Baudin | EF Education-EasyPost | 0:56 |
| 20 | Ethan Hayter | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 21 | Tobias Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 0:57 |
| 22 | Matthew Riccitello | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 0:58 |
| 23 | Peter Øxenberg | INEOS Grenadiers | 0:59 |
| 24 | Ion Izagirre | Cofidis | 1:01 |
| 25 | Andreas Kron | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 26 | Marc Soler | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | s.t. |
| 27 | Marco Brenner | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 1:02 |
| 28 | Clément Braz Afonso | Groupama-FDJ United | 1:05 |
| 29 | Léo Bisiaux | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 30 | Markel Beloki | EF Education-EasyPost | 1:06 |
| 31 | Alex Aranburu | Cofidis | 1:07 |
| 32 | Steff Cras | Soudal Quick-Step | 1:09 |
| 33 | Raúl García | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 34 | Julian Alaphilippe | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 1:11 |
| 35 | Nicolas Prodhomme | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 36 | Ben Healy | EF Education-EasyPost | 1:13 |
| 37 | Axel Laurance | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:14 |
| 38 | Juan Ayuso | Lidl-Trek | 1:16 |
| 39 | Anders Halland Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 1:17 |
| 40 | Clément Champoussin | XDS Astana Team | 1:19 |
| 41 | Quentin Pacher | Groupama-FDJ United | 1:20 |
| 42 | Enzo Paleni | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 43 | Jordan Labrosse | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 1:22 |
| 44 | Emil Herzog | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 45 | Frank van den Broek | Team Picnic PostNL | 1:23 |
| 46 | Victor Langellotti | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:24 |
| 47 | Aurélien Paret-Peintre | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | s.t. |
| 48 | Antonio Tiberi | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 49 | James Shaw | EF Education-EasyPost | 1:25 |
| 50 | Cian Uijtdebroeks | Movistar Team | 1:26 |
| 51 | Ibon Ruiz | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 52 | Filippo Fiorelli | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 53 | Luke Tuckwell | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 1:29 |
| 55 | Emanuel Buchmann | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 56 | Alex Molenaar | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 1:30 |
| 57 | Quinn Simmons | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 58 | Igor Arrieta | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 1:31 |
| 59 | Emiel Verstrynge | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 1:32 |
| 60 | Julien Bernard | Lidl-Trek | 1:33 |
| 61 | Adria Pericas | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 1:34 |
| 62 | Txomin Juaristi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 1:35 |
| 63 | Tijmen Graat | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 1:36 |
| 64 | Simone Velasco | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 65 | Johannes Staune-Mittet | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 1:38 |
| 66 | Martin Svrcek | Soudal Quick-Step | 1:39 |
| 67 | Johannes Kulset | Uno-X Mobility | 1:40 |
| 68 | Aaron Dockx | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 69 | Hugo Houle | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 1:41 |
| 70 | Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 71 | Rémy Rochas | Groupama-FDJ United | s.t. |
| 72 | Mattia Gaffuri | Team Picnic PostNL | 1:44 |
| 73 | Bjoern Koerdt | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 74 | Fabian Weiss | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 75 | Andrea Bagioli | Lidl-Trek | 1:45 |
| 76 | Rainer Kepplinger | Bahrain Victorious | 1:48 |
| 77 | Juan Pedro Lopez | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 78 | Torstein Træen | Uno-X Mobility | 1:49 |
| 79 | Sergio Higuita | XDS Astana Team | 1:50 |
| 80 | Jardi Van Der Lee | EF Education-EasyPost | s.t. |
| 81 | Tim Rex | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 1:52 |
| 82 | Lukas Nerurkar | EF Education-EasyPost | 1:54 |
| 83 | Iker Mintegi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 1:55 |
| 84 | Paul Ourselin | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 85 | Gianni Moscon | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 86 | Brandon Rivera | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:56 |
| 87 | Steven Kruijswijk | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 88 | Georg Zimmermann | Lotto-Intermarché | 1:57 |
| 89 | James Knox | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 90 | Gal Glivar | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 2:00 |
| 91 | Gotzon Martín | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 2:02 |
| 92 | Unai Iribar | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 93 | Gari Ugarte | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 2:03 |
| 94 | Samuel Fernández Garcia | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 2:04 |
| 95 | Carlos Garcia | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 96 | Lorenzo Fortunato | XDS Astana Team | 2:05 |
| 97 | Ramses Debruyne | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 2:07 |
| 98 | Nicola Conci | XDS Astana Team | 2:08 |
| 99 | Iñigo Elosegui | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 100 | Domen Novak | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 2:09 |
| 101 | Roman Ermakov | Bahrain Victorious | 2:10 |
| 102 | Mikel Bizkarra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 2:16 |
| 103 | Matthew Dinham | Team Picnic PostNL | 2:17 |
| 104 | Jose Manuel Diaz | Burgos Burpellet BH | 2:18 |
| 105 | Hannes Wilksch | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 2:19 |
| 106 | Robin Orins | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 107 | Reuben Thompson | Lotto-Intermarché | 2:21 |
| 108 | Lorenzo Quartucci | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 109 | Jan Castellon | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 2:22 |
| 110 | Julen Arriola-Bengoa | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 111 | Jan Maas | Cofidis | 2:23 |
| 112 | Alexy Faure-Prost | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 113 | Jonathan Lastra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 114 | Christian Scaroni | XDS Astana Team | s.t. |
| 115 | Yaël Joalland | Cofidis | 2:24 |
| 116 | Menno Huising | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | s.t. |
| 117 | Attila Valter | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 118 | Felix Ørn-Kristoff | Lotto-Intermarché | 2:26 |
| 119 | Roger Adrià | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 120 | Joseba Lopez | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 2:27 |
| 121 | Jacob Eriksson | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 2:30 |
| 122 | Adrian Fajardo Toledo | Burgos Burpellet BH | 2:31 |
| 123 | Haimar Etxeberria | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 124 | Martin Tjøtta | Uno-X Mobility | s.t. |
| 125 | Nicolas Alustiza | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 2:33 |
| 126 | Ayco Bastiaens | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 127 | Lennert Belmans | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 2:35 |
| 128 | José Luis Faura | Burgos Burpellet BH | 2:36 |
| 129 | Carlos Verona | Lidl-Trek | 2:37 |
| 130 | Joan Bou | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 2:40 |
| 131 | Sinuhé Fernandez | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 132 | Matthew Fox | Lotto-Intermarché | 2:45 |
| 133 | Natnael Tesfazion | Movistar Team | 2:48 |
| 134 | Jorge Arcas | Movistar Team | 2:49 |
| 135 | Jorge Gutiérrez | Equipo Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 136 | Oliver Stockwell | Bahrain Victorious | 2:50 |
| 137 | Jamie Meehan | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 138 | Lucas Hamilton | INEOS Grenadiers | 2:51 |
| 139 | Nil Gimeno | Equipo Kern Pharma | 2:53 |
| 140 | Juan Martinez | Team Picnic PostNL | 2:57 |
| 141 | Ander Okamika | Burgos Burpellet BH | 3:11 |
| 142 | Luc Wirtgen | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 3:13 |
| 143 | Fernando Barceló | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 3:17 |
| 144 | Alberto Bruttomesso | Bahrain Victorious | 3:23 |
| 145 | Unai Ramos | Equipo Kern Pharma | 3:26 |
| 146 | Magnus Cort | Uno-X Mobility | 3:42 |
| 147 | Luca Vergallito | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 3:47 |
| 148 | Kevin Geniets | Groupama-FDJ United | 3:51 |
| 149 | Yannis Voisard | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 3:52 |
| 150 | Bauke Mollema | Lidl-Trek | 4:19 |
| 151 | Maxime Decomble | Groupama-FDJ United | 5:14 |
| 152 | Mathieu Kockelmann | Lotto-Intermarché | 5:56 |
Stage 1 map & profile:
Stage 1 map
Stage 1 profile
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The organizer's race description:
Itzulia 2026 will once again bring together an international peloton for a week of racing on the roads of the Basque Country. The race will be contested by 154 cyclists in 22 teams, supported by 330 staff members and 110 team vehicles throughout the race.
The route will be made up of six stages covering a total of 810.1 kilometres, climbing a total of more than 16,154 metres. The race programme will include an individual time trial, four medium-mountain stages and one full mountain stage, over a route which is made up of a variety of terrains which will once again put all-rounders to the test.
The organisers will deploy extensive logistical resources to make sure the event runs smoothly. There will be 31 official cars, 35 support motorcycles, 2 medical cars and 4 ambulances in action during the race, as well as team vehicles and other operational resources needed to ensure that the race runs safely and is well organised.
The international coverage of the race will continue to grow. The Itzulia will be broadcast in 190 countries, with 9.9 million* hours of TV viewing time. In addition to that, 162 journalists and photographers from 63 media organisations will be accredited to cover the race.
The riding community continues to grow in the digital world. The Itzulia’s social media accounts have a total of 86,800 followers, while the race’s official app has been downloaded over 10,000 times.
These numbers mean that the Itzulia will once again put Basque cycling on the international map, with a week of racing that will bring together teams, riders, organisers and cycling fans for one of the highlights of the season.
Start list with back-numbers, April 5, 2026:
| Soudal Quick-Step | |
| 1 | Mikel Landa |
| 2 | Ayco Bastiaens |
| 3 | Steff Cras |
| 4 | Mauri Vansevenant |
| 5 | Martin Svrcek |
| 6 | Ilan Van Wilder |
| 7 | Ethan Hayter |
| XDS Astana Team | |
| 11 | Clément Champoussin |
| 12 | Lorenzo Fortunato |
| 13 | Sergio Higuita |
| 14 | Harold Tejada |
| 15 | Nicola Conci |
| 16 | Christian Scaroni |
| 17 | Simone Velasco |
| Groupama-FDJ United | |
| 21 | Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet |
| 22 | Clément Braz Afonso |
| 23 | Maxime Decomble |
| 24 | Kevin Geniets |
| 25 | Quentin Pacher |
| 26 | Enzo Paleni |
| 27 | Rémy Rochas |
| UAE Team Emirates-XRG | |
| 31 | Isaac del Toro |
| 32 | Brandon McNulty |
| 33 | Igor Arrieta |
| 34 | Felix Großschartner |
| 35 | Domen Novak |
| 36 | Adria Pericas |
| 37 | Marc Soler |
| Lidl-Trek | |
| 41 | Juan Ayuso |
| 42 | Bauke Mollema |
| 43 | Andrea Bagioli |
| 44 | Julien Bernard |
| 45 | Carlos Verona |
| 46 | Mattias Skjelmose |
| 47 | Quinn Simmons |
| Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | |
| 51 | Primoz Roglic |
| 52 | Haimar Etxeberria |
| 53 | Florian Lipowitz |
| 54 | Finn Fisher-Black |
| 55 | Gianni Moscon |
| 56 | Luke Tuckwell |
| 57 | Emil Herzog |
| Decathlon CMA CGM Team | |
| 61 | Paul Seixas |
| 62 | Matthew Riccitello |
| 63 | Léo Bisiaux |
| 64 | Jordan Labrosse |
| 65 | Nicolas Prodhomme |
| 66 | Johannes Staune-Mittet |
| 67 | Aurélien Paret-Peintre |
| Burgos Burpellet BH | |
| 71 | Ander Okamika |
| 72 | Lorenzo Quartucci |
| 73 | José Luis Faura |
| 74 | Sinuhé Fernandez |
| 75 | Carlos Garcia |
| 76 | Jose Manuel Diaz |
| 77 | Adrian Fajardo Toledo |
| Equipo Kern Pharma | |
| 81 | Iñigo Elosegui |
| 82 | Ivan Cobo |
| 83 | Nil Gimeno |
| 84 | Unai Iribar |
| 85 | Unai Ramos |
| 86 | Jorge Gutiérrez |
| 87 | Ibon Ruiz |
| Movistar Team | |
| 91 | Cian Uijtdebroeks |
| 92 | Jorge Arcas |
| 93 | Juan Pedro Lopez |
| 94 | Raúl García |
| 95 | Natnael Tesfazion |
| 96 | Roger Adrià |
| 97 | Javier Romo |
| Team Picnic PostNL | |
| 101 | Frank van den Broek |
| 102 | Matthew Dinham |
| 103 | Alexy Faure-Prost |
| 104 | James Knox |
| 105 | Bjoern Koerdt |
| 106 | Juan Martinez |
| 107 | Mattia Gaffuri |
| Bahrain Victorious | |
| 111 | Pello Bilbao |
| 112 | Roman Ermakov |
| 113 | Rainer Kepplinger |
| 114 | Alberto Bruttomesso |
| 115 | Oliver Stockwell |
| 116 | Antonio Tiberi |
| 117 | Attila Valter |
| Alpecin-Premier Tech | |
| 121 | Hugo Houle |
| 122 | Ramses Debruyne |
| 123 | Lennert Belmans |
| 124 | Emiel Verstrynge |
| 125 | Aaron Dockx |
| 126 | Gal Glivar |
| 127 | Luca Vergallito |
| Tudor Pro Cycling Team | |
| 131 | Julian Alaphilippe |
| 132 | Fabian Weiss |
| 133 | Marco Brenner |
| 134 | Jacob Eriksson |
| 135 | Yannis Voisard |
| 136 | Hannes Wilksch |
| 137 | Luc Wirtgen |
| Cofidis | |
| 141 | Ion Izagirre |
| 142 | Alex Aranburu |
| 143 | Emanuel Buchmann |
| 144 | Jamie Meehan |
| 145 | Yaël Joalland |
| 146 | Jan Maas |
| 147 | Paul Ourselin |
| Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
| 151 | Fernando Barceló |
| 152 | Jan Castellon |
| 153 | Samuel Fernández Garcia |
| 154 | Alex Molenaar |
| 155 | Julen Arriola-Bengoa |
| 156 | Joan Bou |
| 157 | Joseba Lopez |
| Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
| 161 | Gari Ugarte |
| 162 | Mikel Bizkarra |
| 163 | Txomin Juaristi |
| 164 | Jonathan Lastra |
| 165 | Nicolas Alustiza |
| 166 | Gotzon Martín |
| 167 | Iker Mintegi |
| EF Education-EasyPost | |
| 171 | Ben Healy |
| 172 | Markel Beloki |
| 173 | James Shaw |
| 174 | Lukas Nerurkar |
| 175 | Jardi Van Der Lee |
| 176 | Alex Baudin |
| 177 | Michael Leonard |
| INEOS Grenadiers | |
| 181 | AJ August |
| 182 | Lucas Hamilton |
| 183 | Kévin Vauquelin |
| 184 | Victor Langellotti |
| 185 | Axel Laurance |
| 186 | Peter Øxenberg |
| 187 | Brandon Rivera |
| Team Visma | Lease a Bike | |
| 191 | Bruno Armirail |
| 192 | Tijmen Graat |
| 193 | Menno Huising |
| 194 | Ben Tulett |
| 195 | Steven Kruijswijk |
| 196 | Tim Rex |
| 197 | Filippo Fiorelli |
| Uno-X Mobility | |
| 201 | Magnus Cort |
| 202 | Tobias Halland Johannessen |
| 203 | Anders Halland Johannessen |
| 204 | Andreas Kron |
| 205 | Johannes Kulset |
| 206 | Martin Tjøtta |
| 207 | Torstein Træen |
| Lotto-Intermarché | |
| 211 | Mathieu Kockelmann |
| 212 | Matthew Fox |
| 213 | Felix Ørn-Kristoff |
| 214 | Robin Orins |
| 215 | Reuben Thompson |
| 216 | Baptiste Veistroffer |
| 217 | Georg Zimmermann |