Tour of the Basque Country 2018 – Stage 1 [LAST 30 KM]

April 02, 2018

Tour of the Basque Country / Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco 2018 – Stage 1 – Zarautz – Zarautz : 162,1 km

Wedged between the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, the Pais Vasco is a key stage race for climbers and general classification riders. The stage race is also a key preparation event for the Ardennes classics with the plethora of short, and punchy ascents across the parcours.

For 2018, the race has attracted another strong start list starting with the home Movistar team. Mikel Landa and Nairo Quintana lead the Spanish squad and will be a formidable duo across the six stages. The Movistar duo aren’t the only contenders though with the likes of Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale), the Izagirre brothers on Bahrain-Merida, Richie Porte and Tejay van Garderen (BMC), Julian Alaphilippe (QuickStep-Floors), Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo), Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-Drapac), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin), Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky), and Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) all set to pin on a race number in the Basque Country.

Quick-Step Floors extended their winning streak into Spain, with Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe taking out the opening stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco in Zarautz over Primoz Roglic (LottoNl-Jumbo).

The pair escaped on the steep final climb with 9km to go with Movistar’s Nairo Quintana, but left the Colombian behind on the upper slopes before forging out a 23-second lead on the sinuous, hair-raising descent that followed.

Roglic led into the final 200 metres, giving Alaphilippe the jump. While the Slovenian mounted a spirited return, his bike-throw fell half a wheel shy and Alaphilippe claimed the stage and first leader’s jersey.

Pello Bilbao (Astana) led the chasing group to the line for third.

With the time bonus, Alaphilippe leads Roglic by four seconds, with Bilbao at 32 and the rest of the chase group at 33 seconds.

How it unfolded

Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco kicked off on Monday with some tired legs on the start line as riders like Vincenzo Nibali arrived to Zarautz after competing in the previous day’s Tour of Flanders.

It was no easy start to the six-day race with five categorised climbs during the 162.1km stage. The climbing started with Jaizkibel (8.8km/5.2%), a category 2 ascent at 57km.

A succession of category 3 ascents followed with Maddiola (8.4km/4.2%) at the 84km mark, Garate Gaina (3.5km/6.2%) at the 104km mark, and Aia (9.5km/3.4%) at 139km.

The stage finished with a category 2 climb over Elkano Gaina (2.4km/9%), and from the top it was seven kilometres to the finish line in Zarautz.

A breakaway of four riders cleared the field early on and gained 1:35. Those riders were Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier Werkilu (Dimension Data), Ibai Salas Zorrozua (Burgos BH), Jonathan Lastra Martinez (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Aitor Gonzalez (Euskadi Basque Country-Murias).

Their gap never reached beyond the two-minute mark, and finally on the category 3 Aia with 26km to go, they were swept up by the peloton.

Team Sky and Movistar drove the pace on the descent, hurtling down the twisty descent toward the final climb.

It was a flat-out lead-out into the base of the steep final climb, with Team Sky, Movistar and Bora-Hansgrohe battling to position their climbers at the head of the field.

Primoz Roglic (LottoNl-Jumbo) pushed the first split, joined by Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar), opening on a solid gap on the peloton mid-way into the Elkano Gaina.

Quiintana surprisingly failed to hold onto the wheel of Alaphilippe as Roglic pushed the pace with 1km to go to the top.

Cheered on by the throngs of Basque fans at the summit, Alaphilippe and Roglic hammered over the crest and onto the fast descent with a 22 second gap on the chasers Quintana was caught by them.

With Enric Mas disrupting the attempt to close the gap, the duo out front held onto 23 seconds at the line, with Alaphilippe scoring the top time bonus and race lead.

The Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco will continue on Tuesday with stage 2’s 152.7km race from Zarautz to Bermeo.

Results :
1 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors 4:17:36
2 Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:04
3 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:00:29
4 Enric Mas (Spa) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:33
5 Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
6 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
7 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
8 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
9 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
10 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team
11 Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
12 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
13 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
14 Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team
15 Eduard Prades Reverter (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:01:01
16 Pieter Serry (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
17 Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
18 Ion Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
19 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
20 Michael Woods (Can) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
21 Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
22 Bjorg Lambrecht (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:22
23 Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates
24 Igor Anton (Spa) Dimension Data
25 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
26 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
27 Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
28 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Trek-Segafredo
29 David De La Cruz (Spa) Team Sky
30 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo
31 Jesper Hansen (Den) Astana Pro Team
32 Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha-Alpecin
33 Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
34 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:45
35 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
36 Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
37 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data 0:01:56
38 Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
39 Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team
40 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Movistar Team
41 Luis Guillermo Mas Bonet (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:02:04
42 Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe
43 Jesus Ezquerra Muela (Spa) Burgos BH
44 Carlos Verona (Spa) Mitchelton-Scott
45 Oscar Cabedo Carda (Spa) Burgos BH
46 Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
47 Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain-Merida
48 Rob Power (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
49 Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
50 Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:02:34
51 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:02:53
52 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:02:56
53 Nathan Brown (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
54 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Katusha-Alpecin
55 Winner Anacona (Col) Movistar Team
56 Pierre Latour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
57 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
58 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team
59 Pablo Torres Muiño (Spa) Burgos BH
60 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez
61 Mark Padun (Ukr) Bahrain-Merida 0:03:06
62 Léo Vincent (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:04:04
63 Neilson Powless (USA) LottoNL-Jumbo
64 José Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team
65 Brendan Canty (Aus) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
66 Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
67 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky
68 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb
69 Omar Fraile (Spa) Astana Pro Team
70 Laurens ten Dam (Ned) Team Sunweb
71 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
72 Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Astana Pro Team
73 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:05:02
74 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky 0:05:25
75 Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
76 Rúben Guerreiro (Por) Trek-Segafredo
77 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Sky
78 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) LottoNL-Jumbo
79 Jordi Simon Casulleras (Spa) Burgos BH 0:05:52
80 James Knox (GBr) Quick-Step Floors 0:06:41
81 Damien Howson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
82 Fernando Barcelo Aragon (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:07:10
83 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:07:17
84 Jon Irisarri Rincon (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
85 Benjamin King (USA) Dimension Data
86 Igor Merino Kortazar (Spa) Burgos BH
87 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
88 Matteo Bono (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
89 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team
90 Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal
91 Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
92 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
93 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal
94 Romain Seigle (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
95 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Sky
96 Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Dimension Data
97 Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Eri) Dimension Data
98 Julen Amezqueta Moreno (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
99 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky
100 Alex Howes (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
101 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Team Sky
102 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
103 Aleksandr Riabushenko (Blr) UAE Team Emirates
104 Simon Gerrans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
105 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
106 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
107 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Quick-Step Floors
108 Steve Morabito (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
109 Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
110 Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data
111 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
112 Jai Hindley (Aus) Team Sunweb
113 Ian Boswell (USA) Katusha-Alpecin
114 Chad Haga (USA) Team Sunweb
115 Anass Ait El Abdia (Mar) UAE Team Emirates
116 Jhonatan Manuel Narvaez Prado
117 Aritz Bagues Kalparsoro (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:08:08
118 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb
119 Willie Smit (RSA) Katusha-Alpecin
120 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:08:21
121 Michael Albasini (Swi) Mitchelton-Scott 0:08:24
122 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
123 Floris De Tier (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo
124 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
125 Bruno Armirail (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
126 Patrick Bevin (NZl) BMC Racing Team
127 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal
128 Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal
129 Michael Storer (Aus) Team Sunweb
130 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott
131 Benoit Vaugrenard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
132 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
133 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
134 Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Katusha-Alpecin
135 Steff Cras (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
136 Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
137 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:08:34
138 Aitor Gonzalez Prieto (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:09:14
139 Victor De La Parte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:09:47
140 Michael Gogl (Aut) Trek-Segafredo
141 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team
142 Paul Martens (Ger) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:09:54
143 Ibai Salas Zorrozua (Spa) Burgos BH
144 Jonathan Lastra Martinez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
145 Moreno Moser (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:10:03
146 Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
147 Sepp Kuss (USA) LottoNL-Jumbo
148 Nelson Andres Soto Martinez (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
149 Manuele Mori (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
150 Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
151 Stephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data
152 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:11:54
153 Matvey Mamykin (Rus) Burgos BH 0:16:59

General Classification after Stage 1 :
1 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors 4:17:36
2 Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:04
3 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:00:32
4 Enric Mas (Spa) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:33
5 Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
6 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
7 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
8 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
9 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
10 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team
11 Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
12 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
13 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
14 Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team
15 Eduard Prades Reverter (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:01:01
16 Pieter Serry (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
17 Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
18 Ion Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
19 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
20 Michael Woods (Can) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
21 Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
22 Bjorg Lambrecht (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:22
23 Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates
24 Igor Anton (Spa) Dimension Data
25 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
26 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
27 Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
28 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Trek-Segafredo
29 David De La Cruz (Spa) Team Sky
30 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo
31 Jesper Hansen (Den) Astana Pro Team
32 Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha-Alpecin
33 Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
34 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:45
35 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
36 Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
37 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data 0:01:56
38 Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
39 Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team
40 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Movistar Team
41 Luis Guillermo Mas Bonet (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:02:04
42 Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe
43 Jesus Ezquerra Muela (Spa) Burgos BH
44 Carlos Verona (Spa) Mitchelton-Scott
45 Oscar Cabedo Carda (Spa) Burgos BH
46 Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
47 Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain-Merida
48 Rob Power (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
49 Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
50 Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:02:34
51 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:02:53
52 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:02:56
53 Nathan Brown (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
54 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Katusha-Alpecin
55 Winner Anacona (Col) Movistar Team
56 Pierre Latour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
57 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
58 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team
59 Pablo Torres Muiño (Spa) Burgos BH
60 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez
61 Mark Padun (Ukr) Bahrain-Merida 0:03:06
62 Léo Vincent (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:04:04
63 Neilson Powless (USA) LottoNL-Jumbo
64 José Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team
65 Brendan Canty (Aus) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
66 Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
67 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky
68 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb
69 Omar Fraile (Spa) Astana Pro Team
70 Laurens ten Dam (Ned) Team Sunweb
71 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
72 Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Astana Pro Team
73 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:05:02
74 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky 0:05:25
75 Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
76 Rúben Guerreiro (Por) Trek-Segafredo
77 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Sky
78 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) LottoNL-Jumbo
79 Jordi Simon Casulleras (Spa) Burgos BH 0:05:52
80 James Knox (GBr) Quick-Step Floors 0:06:41
81 Damien Howson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
82 Fernando Barcelo Aragon (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:07:10
83 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:07:17
84 Jon Irisarri Rincon (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
85 Benjamin King (USA) Dimension Data
86 Igor Merino Kortazar (Spa) Burgos BH
87 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
88 Matteo Bono (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
89 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team
90 Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal
91 Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
92 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
93 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal
94 Romain Seigle (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
95 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Sky
96 Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Dimension Data
97 Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Eri) Dimension Data
98 Julen Amezqueta Moreno (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
99 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky
100 Alex Howes (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
101 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Team Sky
102 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
103 Aleksandr Riabushenko (Blr) UAE Team Emirates
104 Simon Gerrans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
105 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
106 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
107 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Quick-Step Floors
108 Steve Morabito (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
109 Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
110 Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data
111 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
112 Jai Hindley (Aus) Team Sunweb
113 Ian Boswell (USA) Katusha-Alpecin
114 Chad Haga (USA) Team Sunweb
115 Anass Ait El Abdia (Mar) UAE Team Emirates
116 Jhonatan Manuel Narvaez Prado
117 Aritz Bagues Kalparsoro (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:08:08
118 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb
119 Willie Smit (RSA) Katusha-Alpecin
120 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:08:21
121 Michael Albasini (Swi) Mitchelton-Scott 0:08:24
122 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
123 Floris De Tier (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo
124 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
125 Bruno Armirail (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
126 Patrick Bevin (NZl) BMC Racing Team
127 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal
128 Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal
129 Michael Storer (Aus) Team Sunweb
130 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott
131 Benoit Vaugrenard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
132 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
133 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
134 Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Katusha-Alpecin
135 Steff Cras (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
136 Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
137 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:08:34
138 Aitor Gonzalez Prieto (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:09:14
139 Victor De La Parte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:09:47
140 Michael Gogl (Aut) Trek-Segafredo
141 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team
142 Paul Martens (Ger) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:09:54
143 Ibai Salas Zorrozua (Spa) Burgos BH
144 Jonathan Lastra Martinez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
145 Moreno Moser (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:10:03
146 Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
147 Sepp Kuss (USA) LottoNL-Jumbo
148 Nelson Andres Soto Martinez (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
149 Manuele Mori (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
150 Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
151 Stephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data
152 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:11:54
153 Matvey Mamykin (Rus) Burgos BH 0:16:59