Juan Ayuso wins 2024 Itzulia Basque Country(Image credit: Getty Images)
Stage 5 winner Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) celebrates his first WorldTour victory(Image credit: Getty Images)
Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Wanty), wearing the Polka Dot Mountain Jersey, won the neutralised stage 4 from the front group of six riders(Image credit: Getty Images)
Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) celebrates a third day in the Yellow Leader Jersey after stage 3(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Paul Lapeira of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team wins hectic sprint on stage 2(Image credit: Getty Images)
2024 Itzulia Basque Country stage 1: Primoz Roglic heads to win on individual time trial(Image credit: Getty Images)
A searing late attack has netted Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) the overall of Itzulia Basque Country and the biggest win of his career, while Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos-Grenadiers) claimed the final ultra-tough stage 6 victory.
Rodriguez's and Ayuso’s unspoken alliance allowed the two to power into the finish line with roughly 40 seconds advantage on over night leader Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) - Rodriguez taking the stage, and both moving onto the GC podium.
Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) won stage 5 of Itzulia Basque Country in a bike throw across the line, out-pacing Orluis Aular (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), who finished second. Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) took third in a reduced field sprint.
Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) retained his hold on the yellow jersey for a second day, headed to the finale on Saturday. He is just two seconds ahead of Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and four seconds better than Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates).
Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Wanty) broke free of his five breakaway partners with 10km to go and crossed the finish line first on Thursday's fourth day at Itzulia Basque Country. It was an understated victory for the South African, as the final 35km were neutralised for the peloton after a major crash on a descent brought down many riders, including race leader Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe), second-placed Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and contender Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).
Organisers allowed the breakaway to complete the race, after taking out the Untzilla mountain pass, and all riders were given the same time on general classification. With both Roglič and Evenepoel out the race, Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) moved from third to first as race leader.
Quinten Hermans won a hectic field sprint on stage 3 of Itzulia Basque Country in Altsasu for his first win with Alpecin-Deceuninck. Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) retained the race leader's jersey after chasing back into the front group following a crash with 40km to go.
Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) won stage 2 of the Itzulia Basque Country at the front of a reduced group of favourites. From the chaotic finale on wet roads in Kanbo, the young Frenchman passed Astana Qazaqstan rider Samuele Bastistella for his first WorldTour victory. Bastistella finished second and Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep) was third.
Race leader Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Jonas Vingegaard (VIsma-Lease a Bike) finished safely in the front group of some 30 riders, ahead of a large crash with around four kilometres. Caught behind and finishing 23 seconds back was Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates), who dropped from second overall to 14th.
Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) recorded the fastest time in the individual time trial at Itzulia Basque Country's opening day, 12:34, and took the first leader’s jersey. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) placed second, seven seconds back, and Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) was three seconds farther back in third.
An early crash by Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) kept him off the podium by one second and he was fourth across the 10km course. Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) completed his ride in 12:49, good for fifth place.
Just 15 seconds separate the top five riders, Roglič in pursuit of his third title at the Spanish stage race.
Itzulia Basque Country information
The Itzulia Basque Country has its 63rd edition in 2024 with a short time trial and mountainous final stage the main features of the 2024 Itzulia Basque Country route.
The race began in 1924 when it was known as the GP Excelsior, with early winners including Francis Pellissier, 1929 Tour de France winner Maurice De Waele, and, in 1935, Gino Bartali.
In 1936, the race shut down seemingly for good due to the Spanish Civil War. Despite Francisco Franco's oppressive reign though, there were several attempts to resume the race in Bilbao and San Sebastián, none of which took hold.
In the 1950s, it was resurrected as a race in Eibar, which became the Eibarko Bizikleta, later the Euskal Bizikleta, and then the Tour of the Basque Country in 1969.
Jacques Anquetil, Luis Ocaña (twice), Sean Kelly (three times), and record four-time winner José Antonio González Linares were among the winners in the 18 years before the race split apart again, with the Euskal Bizikleta going solo in until re-merging with the Tour of the Basque Country after the global financial crisis of 2008.
In the meantime, Tony Rominger dominated the race in the early 1990s, while Iban Mayo, Denis Menchov and Danilo Di Luca were among the notable victors of the 2000s. UCI regulations introduced in 2006 heralded the end of the split-stage format – one road stage, one time trial – which had been part of the race since 1969, substituted by the six-day structure that exists today.
Race organisers rejected a buyout proposal from Vuelta a España organisers Unipublic shortly after the 2008 financial crisis, while the Euskal Bizikleta merger brought aboard the Alto de Arrate climb in 2009, forming the race we know today.
In 2012, financial problems reappeared as the local government backers ran into trouble, with the race at serious risk of stopping altogether. However, a combination of fund-raising channels – including from fans, and sponsorship from Banco Sabadell Guipuzcoano – saved it.
Four years later, Alberto Contador won his fourth edition of the race, equalling José Antonio González Linares record in one of the final victories of his storied career. Primož Roglič's win in 2021 was his second, his final day comeback adding another strand of history to the famed Arrate.
