Itzulia Basque Country

The 2018 ‘Itzulia’ will save the best for the end for the first time in many years, having changed the order of the mountain-top finish in Arrate -now tackled on the final day of racing- and the ITT, which becomes stage four of this six-day stagerace. The 2018 Vuelta al País Vasco offers a more rational route while maintaining its classical notes, a race which always makes things tough for the sprinters and shows the best landscapes of this famous region of northern Spain through its extremely hilly roads.

Zarautz will be the opening town this season (Tuesday 2nd April) with a demanding 162km stage one, through the climbs of Jaizkibel (Cat-2), Maddiola (Cat-3), Garate (Cat-3), Aia (Cat-3) through its longest side and Elkano (Cat-2; 2.4km at 9%), the latter crested with less than seven kilometers remaining. The race will then head westbound to Bermeo (Tuesday 3rd), with a 168km route that crosses the Sollube pass (Cat-1) halfway through the course and tackles San Pelaio (Cat-2; 3.4km at 8%) just before the finish, just like on day one. The first half of the race will be completed with the most sprinter-suited route (Wenesday 4th): 187km through roads of the Álava province, with the La Barrerilla (Cat-2) climb as main obstacle before a rolling second half of the stage.

A 19km ITT in Navarra (Thursday 5th), in and around Lodosa, with no slopes and lots of wind-exposed roads, will break away from the usual scheme of tough time trials in the ‘Itzulia’, offering a bigger chance to allrounderswho don’t only climb well in order to aim for the GC. Friday 6th will see the race going back to climbing, on longer ascents than the previous days: Elosua (Cat-2), Endoia (Cat-2) and Azurki (Cat-1), the latter with its top at 20km from the end, will be the challenge en route to Eibar. And finally, on Saturday 7th, a very tough showdown with eight (!!) climbs in just 122km: Trabakua (Cat-2), Gontzgaraigana (Cat-3), Bizkaiko Begiratokia (Cat-3) and Montecalvo (Cat-3) into the first 40km; Elgeta (Cat-2) midway through; and a traditional closing part through Ixua (Cat-1), San Miguel (Cat-3) and Usartza (Cat-3), via the demanding side from Matsaria -already used in 2017- before the downhill finish at the Santuario de Arrate.