In what was the longest stage of this Tour of the Basque Country, the riders were presented with six climbs, a total of more than 3,000 meters of elevation gain. The favorites could measure themselves for the first time, but with the last pass 18 kilometers from the finish, it was also possible to sprint with a large group in the finish town of Altsasu.
Four riders certainly had no doubts and opted for the open water. Their names: Alan Jousseaume (TotalEnergies), James Fouché (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Eric Fagundez (Burgos-BH) and our compatriot Tom Paquot (Intermarché-Wanty). Their maximum lead was just under 5 minutes.
With the penultimate climb in sight, the peloton gradually increased the pace. Jousseaume, Fouché and Fagundez were so grateful for the effort. Paquot struggled a bit, but the Belgian was caught a few kilometers before the foot of the Olaberria (1.6 km at 7.5%).
Val Roglic
And then there was suddenly a commotion in the peloton, because Primoz Roglic had also fallen to the ground in a crash. The yellow jersey was groggy for a moment, but then jumped back on the bike. With a deficit of two minutes, the situation did not look rosy for the Slovenian, who seemed to escape with only a few injuries.
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Roglic was lucky, because there was no attack on the Olaberria. And because the pace at the front dropped considerably after the climb, he was eventually able to join up again. The Bora-Hansgrohe leader could thank not only his teammates Sobrero and Buchmann, but also the entire peloton.
With the return of the yellow jersey, the race could now really get going. The Lizarrusti (6.4 km at 4.7%) offered the ideal backdrop for this. On the flanks of that final climb, Ineos Grenadiers and Visma-Lease a Bike dictated the pace. Remco Evenepoel was well hidden a little further away. An indication that he wouldn’t try anything today?
No fireworks
Because none of the top riders went, Louis Meintjes only accelerated about two kilometers from the top. And since none of the favorites moved, the South African from Intermarché-Wanty was able to round the top with a lead of 15 seconds. But Meintjes was apparently only concerned about the mountain points, because a little later he stopped his legs and let the peloton catch up.
We headed to the finish in Altsasu with a large group. In the run-up to this, Evenepoel showed up briefly. He won the intermediate sprint for the bonus seconds.
In the run-up to the sprint, the peloton was again startled by a crash. Juan Ayuso and Carlos Rodriguez, among others, were on the ground. In the subsequent sprint there was ultimately no limit for Quinten Hermans, who came out at the right time and was faster than Edoardo Zambanini and Alex Aranburu.
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In the rankings, Primoz Roglic retains his yellow leader’s jersey. After winning the intermediate sprint, Remco Evenepoel is still 7 seconds behind the Slovenian.
The Tour of the Basque Country ends on Saturday in Eibar. On Thursday the riders will have a trip between Etxarri Aranatz and Legutio over 157.5 kilometers. Last year the overall victory in the Basque Country went to the Danish two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard. Primoz Roglic won the Basque Cycling Tour in 2018 and 2021.
