The 2024 edition of Itzulia Basque Country is likely to be remembered more for one potentially season-defining crash than the racing itself. And that incident wasn't the only strike against the hapless event after a bewilderingly dramatic opening time trial – not in a good way – and numerous other smaller crashes throughout the week.
But while it finished without a large number of key protagonists – Jonas Vingegaard, Primož Roglič, Remco Evenepoel, Jay Vine and Mikel Landa just some of those left watching from the sofa or a hospital bed – the race went on, and a number of brilliant battles were played out under the shadow of stage 4's horrific crash.
- Roglič took his first win in Bora-Hansgrohe colours in the 10-kilometre opening time trial despite taking a wrong turn close to the finish. That put him in the first yellow jersey of the race, seven seconds ahead of Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates), with Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) sitting third. Other high-finishing favourites for the overall title included Evenepoel in fourth spot – the ITT world champion had crashed early in his run – while the defending champ Vingegaard came home fifth on the stage. With Tom Pidcock unable even to start after a crash during recon, it was a dramatic TT even before the first rider rolled off the ramp.
- The week proved a good one for the up-and-comers of the sport, especially in the French cohort. 23-year-old Paul Lapeira (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) and 21-year-old Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) took victory on stage 2 and 5 respectively, marking a debut WorldTour win for both of them. Alpecin-Deceuninck's cyclocross-turned-road specialist Quinten Hermans also took his first win at the highest level on stage 3, almost two years since his second pro victory on the road at the 2022 Baloise Belgium Tour.
- It had been shaping up to be a thrilling race with so many top riders present, but it all came crashing down on stage 4. With a breakaway of six still up the road and a potentially decisive steep climb to come, the peloton was speeding down a fast descent when a crinkle in the road launched some of the leading riders off the road. The number of riders affected, and badly, meant that the race had to be neutralised to allow the medical services to look after everyone. The result was 11 abandons including race leader Roglič and several top favourites. From there on, the stage was completely neutralised for the stunned peloton, leaving the sextet up the road to fight for victory, hollow though it might have been – Louis Meintjes took the spoils.
- The list of injuries was horrible, but given the number of prone bodies, stretchers and widely broadcast grimaces, many expected it could have been even worse: Roglič got away with no broken bones but a rash of abrasions on top of those picked up in a stage 3 crash; Evenepoel broke his right collarbone and scapula; Vingegaard collected a broken collarbone, several broken ribs, pulmonary contusion (injury to the lung) and pneumothorax (collapsed lung); Vine is still in ICU under observation for three spinal fractures, mercifully with no neurological implications, and as of Saturday morning, he shouldn't need surgery but will be in a neck brace for six weeks; Natnael Tesfatsion (Lidl-Trek) was one of the first to go down but escaped without any broken bones; Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost) joins Wout van Aert with a broken sternum, along with concussion; and Steff Cras (TotalEnergies) also suffered a collapsed lung, along with multiple associated fractures to his ribs and two dorsal vertebrae. Just the following day, Mikel Landa would join the list of abandons with a broken collarbone – Soudal-QuickStep cannot catch a break. It was an awful day, and one that raised serious questions about rider safety and appropriate TV coverage in what seems to have been a particularly crash-infested season so far.
- At long last, stage 6 arrived, and with 23 riders within a minute of Skjelmose's yellow jersey, it was sure to be a fierce battle over the 3,470 metres of climbing ahead. The race leader seemed to have good protection from his Lidl-Trek teammates, but Juan Ayuso – who started the day just four seconds in arrears – seemed fresher and perhaps better suited to the relentless and often steep terrain. The Spaniard and his UAE Team Emirates team had a pretty perfect day, getting a couple of riders into the very large breakaway and sending Marc Soler up the road mid-stage to set up a snatch-and-grab in the eleventh hour. After leaving behind his main GC rivals, Ayuso made an ally in Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) in the last 15-or-so kilometres, culminating in overall victory for Ayuso and the stage win for his compatriot at Ineos Grenadiers who also climbed to second overall ahead of overnight leader Skjelmose.
- With this win, Ayuso becomes another member of the aforementioned first-timers club. He's come close a number of times, including third at the 2022 Vuelta a España, but remarkably, this is just his first general classification title, and at WorldTour level to boot.
Brief stage-by-stage results:
- Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe)
- Paul Lapeira (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale)
- Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
- Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Wanty)
- Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ)
- Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers)
Quote of the week:
“A year ago I was training on these same roads, curiously enough, as I was recovering from my injuries, and now I’ve got my victory here in the Basque Country. It’s a huge win. Getting my first overall stage race victory and in the WorldTour as well – it couldn’t be better.”
Juan Ayuso after stage 6
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