Another demanding stage at the 15th World Tour race of the season.
Soudal Quick-Step was once again one of the main animators at the Itzulia Basque Country, which on Thursday took the bunch over a course around Galdakao. Seven classified climbs, 3200 vertical meters and an uphill finish to spice up things were the main ingredients of this day that brought some changes to the general classification of this 65th edition.
Just like on Wednesday, more than an hour was needed for a breakaway to form, and when the elastic finally snapped, almost two dozen riders were there. Steff Cras and Mauri Vansevenant were the two members of our team in that move, and they did an impressive amount of work in the group, who managed to hold off the peloton despite a margin that didn’t reach more than three minutes. On the last hill of the stage, the brutally steep Legina, Mauri tried his chance and attacked, but the others reeled him in after initially opening a small gap.
The Belgian was the first Soudal Quick-Step rider home in Galdakao, where Alex Aranburu (Cofidis) took the victory from the breakaway, and now is our team’s best placed rider on the general classification going into the last two stages of the race.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
