Itzulia Basque Country: Isolated Paul Seixas clinches first WorldTour stage race title as AJ August wins rain-battered final stage

Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) conquered the 2026 Itzulia Basque Country and, in the process, became France's first overall winner of a WorldTour stage race in 19 years, but having dominated for five straight days, the 19-year-old's previously iron grip on the yellow jersey faltered dangerously at the last.

Riding through atrociously wet and windy conditions on a short but very punchy 135.2 kilometre stage, a mass assault by Uno-X Mobility and their leader Tobias Johannessen, 5:39 down on Seixas at the beginning of the day, saw the Frenchman eventually lose around three minutes of his lead on the Norwegian racer after he was forced to chase alone for the best part of the final hour.

Whilst an attack on the final Cat. 3 ascent of Asentzio allowed young Ineos Grenadiers AJ August to take an impressive solo stage win and the biggest victory of his career; the main GC battle of the day emerged between Johannessen, previously eleventh overall, but ahead in a group with four Uno-X teammates and the dangerously isolated Seixas.

Finally swept up by a group of chasers with their own interests in distancing third-placed Primoz Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), the EF Education-Easy Post-led pursuit effectively gave the Frenchman an armchair ride to the finish over the Asentzio and just when he was beginning to struggle on the final climb.

Seixas finally finished a comfortable 2:30 overall ahead of Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and 2:33 up on Johannessen on GC. But in a thrilling, rainblasted final stage where the peloton shattered in such tough conditions, Seixas had to dig much deeper than had been expected to ensure he retained his overall lead all the way through to the end.

"It was an insane day, I'm so happy to take the win," Seixas said. "It was not easy but I stayed strong in the end."

"I thought about what the team had done for me, to always put me in the best position possible, and I never gave up."

How it unfolded

While one new French champion received acclaim and applause at the end of stage 6, his compatriot and former double World Champion Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) quietly dropped out of Itzulia before the start of the day. As soon as it had begun, though, three notable breakaway specialists used the opening - and final - ascent of the stage, the Cat.3 Asentzio, to move away: former long-distance stage winner Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), 2024 Itzulia podium finisher Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) and Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), fourth overall that same year.

It felt almost inevitable that such a high-quality break could gain as much as 90 seconds' margin prior to the next climb of six, the Cat. 2 Elosua, particularly as none of them was anywhere near an overall threat to Seixas. Their hold on the front strengthened, too, when they were joined by two more important reinforcements, Juanpe López (Movistar) and young Danish racer Peter Øxenberg (Ineos Grenadiers) on the first ascent of two of the Cat.3 Azkarate.

Things got even more interesting, though, when a further 32 riders from a whole selection of different squads, excluding - crucially - that of the leader and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, tried their best to bridge across as well. They didn't make it for another 100 kilometres, but what created the biggest interest all the same was the presence of Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), the former Tour de l'Avenir winner aiming for a late bid to take a GC podium spot behind Seixas - at the least - in the move. He had four teammates to back him up, too.

With Johannessen sitting 5:39 down on Seixas on GC, the Decathlon peloton began accelerating to try to reel him in, and with 53 kilometres to go, Seixas began to try to bridge across to the Johannessen group in person. Uno-X drove on relentlessly, nonetheless a move which allowed them to maintain over two minutes advantage and counting on the young Frenchman as the fate of the GC, seemingly so securely in Seixas favour, suddenly began to hang in the balance.

Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), second overall, was unable to follow as Seixas continued to drive on alone, the Decathlon leader picking up Steff Cras (Soudal-QuckStep) for company, but still essentially facing a fight of one against five Uno-X riders in the final hour. Soler, dropped in the freezing conditions and waving his hands as the rain teemed down, was unable to stay with Healy and Skjelmose as they faced the final, seven-kilometre ascent of Asentzio, its hardest part at the top.

The Irishman and Dane were then swept up by the Johannessen group, reduced now to some 20 riders, but still retaining a key core of UAE - also on the front now, Soler had been brought back - and Uno-X riders to support their Norwegian leader. However, just as UAE brought the Johannssen group up the lower slopes, there was a big development behind when Seixas was finally caught up by a large number of chasers, spearheaded by EF and also containing Lipowitz, which offered him some relief. On the downside, though, there was the question of whether all the energy Seixas had spent in his lone chase and whether he'd have enough fuel left in the tank to stay with that group.

Given it was a very benign ascent, despite its length, it turned out Seixas was able to stay in contact with the chasing EF, and the odds tipped back in Seixas' favour yet more when AJ August (Ineos Grenadiers) launched a hard attack, 12 kilometres from the line. Only Raúl García Pierna (Movistar) was able to follow, but as the chasing group blew apart, a searing acceleration by the American then allowed the Ineos racer to go clear, roughly a kilometre from the top.

August's battle for solo victory could not have been more impressive, powering down the waterlogged descent of Asentzio to claim the biggest victory of his incipient career. But Seixas' dogged defence of his lead, coming home in a group in 21st place, 4:15 back on August, but crucially only three minutes behind last-minute challenger Johannessen, was no less dramatic to watch.

For France, too, taking their first overall victory in Itzulia since Laurent Jalabert in 1999 and their first at WorldTour level since Christophe Moreau in the Criterium du Dauphiné in 2007, has given them much to hope for as well. For one thing, there's been the way Seixas has got there too, with three stage wins including the first two, dominating affairs from beginning to end - albeit with a big wobble on the last day - and taking the best young riders, the points and the mountains classification in the process. If there ever was a breakthrough event for a rider still not yet in his third decade and in only his second year as a pro, the 2026 Itzulia Basque Country was it.

Stage 6 Results

Final general classification