Itzulia Basque Country

Max Schachmann enjoyed a pretty quiet first day as leader of the general classification thanks to a solid work of his Soudal Quick-Step teammates, who controlled the stage and made sure of keeping him well positioned and out of the wind the entire time.

As the peloton left behind Pamplona, the capital of Navarra, a breakaway of five formed and animated the day until two kilometers to go, when they were reeled in, in part also as a result of the strong effort of our riders, who chewed into that advantage throughout the stage. As expected, it came down to a bunch sprint, won by Caleb Ewan (Ineos-Grenadiers), at the peloton’s return after seven years in Lodosa.

Schachmann avoided a late crash that saw several riders hit the ground and came in the same time, remaining at the top of the standings ahead of the hard stage to Beasain, which is set to feature seven classified climbs.

“It was a beautiful day in the yellow jersey. The final kilometers were a bit chaotic, but I was protected by my teammates and luckily, I wasn’t involved in that pile-up. On Wednesday we’ll take on some demanding hilly roads, there’s also that tough climb not far from the finish, so things will be completely different, but we are determined to do our best again”, said Max after the podium ceremony, where he took the sixth Itzulia Basque Country yellow jersey of his career.

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images