Itzulia Basque Country 2026

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Itzulia Basque Country 2026 Results

Stage 6: Isolated Paul Seixas clinches first WorldTour stage race title as AJ August wins rain-battered final stage / As it happened

In atrocious weather, race leader Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) was put under pressure and fought back solo to secure his first-ever WorldTour stage race victory. The 19-year-old finished atop GC with 2:30 on Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and 2:33 up on Tobias Johannessen (Uno- Mobility). AJ August (Ineos Grenadiers) attacked the break on the final climb to take a solo victory.

Stage 5: Paul Seixas extends lead with third victory after thrilling duel with Florian Lipowitz / As it happened

Race leader Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) took the stage win and more GC gains on stage 5, winning a Queen stage battle with Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) at the end of an attacking day. The pair animated the race, going away together over the penultimate climb and then battling it out for the line in Eibar.

Stage 4: Alex Aranburu blasts ahead of Tobias Halland Johannessen on final uphill section for stage 4 win / As it happened

Alex Aranburu (Cofidis) won a fierce day of aggressive riding on stage 4, sprinting ahead of breakaway partner Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) in the final kilometre. Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana), another rider from the front group, finished third.

A large front group made separation from GC leader Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM), but he managed to accelerate behind and finish eighth. Seixas extended his lead over Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's Primož Roglič, in second by 2:19, and Florian Lipowitz, in third by 2:28.

Stage 3: Axel Laurance surges ahead of Igor Arrieta in two-rider sprint for stage 3 victory / As it happened

From a two-rider breakaway, Axel Laurance (Ineos Grenadiers) came around companion Igor Arrieta (AE Team Emirates-XRG) for the stage 3 victory on Wednesday. Natnael Tesfatsion (Movistar), who was also part of the original, crossed the line in third from a nine-rider group. Leading the peloton 1:04 back was Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team), who retained his race lead.

Stage 2: Paul Seixas stuns again with victory in the mountains on stage 2 to create huge GC lead / As it happened

Using an attack on the final categorised climb, race leader Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) rode solo for a second surprise victory in two days at Itzulia Basque Country. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) followed 1:25 later to win a bunch sprint for second, ahead of Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

Stage 1: Paul Seixas pours on the power to win individual time trial opener and claim leader's jersey / As it happened

Talented young French rider Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) rocketed across the hilly 13.8-kilometre opening time trial and won stage 1 of the 2026 Itzulia Basque Country. The 19-year-old recorded his first WorldTour stage win in Bilbao, with a 23-second margin on Kévin Vauquelin (Ineos Grenadiers) and a 27-second gap on Felix Großschartner (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).

Former two-time champion Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) was another second back in fourth. The 2024 champion Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) lost 1:16. Along with the victory, Seixas took the first leader's jersey of the six-day stage race.

Itzulia Basque Country information

The Itzulia Basque Country will be in its 81st edition in 2026.

The Tour of the Basque country 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.

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.

in 2024 Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) won the overall Itzulia Basque Country after favourites Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič all crashed on the third stage, with the two-time Tour de France winner the most injured.

in 2025 João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) clinched overall victory and a second stage win by powered away with Enric Mas (Movistar) in the very rugged finale. He then outsprinted the Spaniard for his second triumph in three days, and the overall victory

2026 Itzulia Basque Country route

Read all of the details of the 2026 Itzulia Basque Country route

2026 Itzulia Basque Country teams

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