After Monday’s time trial, it was normal for the sprinters in the Tour of the Basque Country on Tuesday. With only a third category climb at the start of the stage to Kanbo. Remco Evenepoel did not want to go all out in the 160 kilometer ride. “It could be a bit of anything,” said the Belgian champion. “I expect a sprint with a very large group. It may be a long start to the flight, but it will generally hold together and be a sprint. Am I going to keep calm today? Yes, indeed (laughs).”
It was not a long start for the flight, as Evenepoel predicted. The Spaniards Enekoitz Azparren (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Ivan Cobo (Equipo Kern Pharma), Xabier Mikel Azparren (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), the Dutchman Jetse Bol (Burgos-BH) and the French Alexis Vuillermoz (TotalEnergies) took after six kilometers along the hare path and were immediately given a safe conduct. Halfway through the ride, one of Cobo dropped out, but the foursome still fought for a lead of almost five minutes.
Twelve kilometers from the finish in Kanbo, the escapees’ story was over and the sprint preparations could begin. As so often happens, this caused a nervous situation in the rain, which also resulted in several casualties. Not the least: ex-Giro winner Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek), Esteban Chaves (EF Education-EasyPost), the Spanish rough diamond Igor Arrieta (UAE Emirates) and Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ).
Evenepoel was spared the misery and was well at the front for the disrupted sprint. But Groupama-FDJ in particular proved extremely strong. Despite the fall of their leader Grégoire, the French formation entered the final stretch undisturbed. Bruno Armirail rolled out the red carpet for his country and teammate Lapeira, who then held off Battistella and Vervaeke. With Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck), another Belgian finished in the top ten.
It is already the third victory this season for the young Frenchman Lapeira. He previously won the French one-day races Cholet Agglo Tour and Classic Loire Atlantique.
- Refugees are caught 13 km from the finish
- Young Frenchman Paul Lapeira sprints to victory
- Primoz Roglic has a quiet day in his leader’s jersey
Top five1. Paul Lapeira
2. Samuele Battistella
3. Louis Vervaeke
4. Pau Miguel
5. Alex Aranburu
Evenepoel is safe and sound inside; Vervaeke comes thirdRemco Evenepoel crossed the line safe and sound. We see that teammate Louis Vervaeke sprinted to third place. Great work by our compatriot. The Italian Samuele Battistella came second.
The Frenchman from Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale surprises everyone in the disrupted sprint.
Red ragThe falls cause us to have a disrupted sprint. Who still has some gravy and courage in their legs?
Next crashRomaine Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ) slides down. Fortunately, he doesn’t take anyone along with him in his sliding party.
Fall At 4 km from the finish, some boys crash. We see Tao Geoghegan Hart from lidl-Trek and Alexander Cepeda from EF Education-EasyPost.
On to the sprintWe are on our way to the expected mass sprint. We are on our way to the final kilometers at great speed.
Evenepoel participatesRemco Evenepoel rushes to the bonus seconds. He takes at least a second. Ayuso and Skjelmose seem a fraction faster. We are still waiting for the official result of the intermediate sprint.
GrabbedThe escapees are swallowed up by the peloton. The Azparren brothers pat each other on the back. This is a ride for the history books for these two Basques.
Tight paceThe tendon is firmly applied at the back. They see the escapees driving. This will be a plus for the intermediate sprint.
20 secondsAt 15 kilometers from the finish, the escapees still have a 20-second lead. For example, they will not make it to the intermediate sprint in Ezpeleta.
Not a good fallerJetse Bol is the least good of the four in the front. The Dutchman from Burgos-BH has to leave a gap on the Spanish tandem and the Frenchman Vuillermoz. Xabier Berasategi from Euskaltel – Euskadi falls in the peloton. The Spaniard escapes unscathed. In the meantime, Bol has to clean up the wheel of his companions.
Green pawnsThe BORA-hansgrohe team will do it themselves. They are now approaching very quickly the four escapees. The intermediate sprint is located in Ezpeleta nine kilometers from the finish. The differences in the time trial yesterday were small. Maybe we will get a sprint between the classification men.
Alex AranburuWe will soon have to look out for the Spaniard Alex Aranburu. The Movistar man has a quick sprint in his legs and can do more and more in his own country. Three years ago he won the second stage of the Tour of the Basque Country by holding off Omar Fraille and Tadej Pogacar.
Minute Things are serious in the peloton. The classification men’s teams put an extra layer on the vicious kinks. Remco Evenepoel’s teammates also move up. Of course it goes very quickly this way.
One and a half minutesNow things are going a lot faster in the peloton. They come within a minute and a half of the four escapees. Their song seems almost finished. So we are on our way to the chronicle of an announced bunch sprint.
