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Scratch that – it’s not Riccitello who is with Seixas, but a Caja Rural rider who was dropped from the break. The Frenchman is having to do all the work himself for now.
As strong as Seixas is, he will likely need Riccitello for this move, as he still has over 50km to ride until the finish.
Riccitello has indeed dropped back from the break and is pacing the yellow jersey. This might always have been the plan from Decathlon.
Seixas is on a mission. He’s already brough the gap between himself and the big chase group to 1:45, and 3:15 to the leaders.
Seixas has a big gap over the others! And he’s also got a teammate in Riccitello up the road. He’ll presumably wait up for him soon.
That was a viscious, out-the-saddle-acceleration, and Seixas has gapped them all.
Seixas has moved to the front of this group and is setting the pace.
Those five riders have caught Romo.
Four riders have gone wirh Vauquelin – Seixas, Lipowitz, Izagirre and an Astana rider, possibly Tejada.
The peloton is very small now, and attacks keep being made. Vauquelin is the latest to have a go.
Lipowitz has indeed attacked! But Seixas is on his wheel.
Romo has attacked, but will either of the Red Bull duo of Lipowitz and Roglič follow suit? They’re the best-placed on GC to challenge Seixas, in second and third respectively, but have a lot of ground to make up: 2:30 and 3:40 to be specific.
They haven’t had any joy in taking on the Frenchman yet, but might today be different in the wet conditions?
Back at the front, Skjelmose has re-joined the leading duo.
Romo looked very strong yesterday, but remains far down on GC in 10th at 5:05. He might spy an oppertunity to climb higher today.
Attack from Javier Romo in the peloton.
Soler has managed to stick to Healy’s wheel.
Skjelmose has been dropped, as Healy presses on.
He doesn’t go clear, and Skjelmose takes to the front to ride tempo.
Now Soler attacks!
This increase in pace has helped their gap to the chase grow again, to 35 seconds.
Healy and Soler have managed to follow him, but not the other two.
Skjelmose attacks! He’s got a small gap ahead of the rest of the lead group.
The chase group are right behind them now, at just 20 seconds.
The leading 5 have started climbing again, up the 6.9km, 7.5% Alto de Elosua.
The weather remains foul out there, with many layers being worn by all.
Tomorrow, all the attention in the cycling world will turn to France for one of the occasions of the season: Paris-Roubaix. As always, anticipation has reached fever pitch – be sure to have a read of our analysis to get in the mood.
The riders are taking on a long flat section before the start of the day’s third climb, coming up in about 10km.
Here is the chase group in full:
Tobias Halland Johannessen, Andreas Kron, Torstein Træen, Martin Tjøtta, Johannes Kulset (all Uno-X Mobility), Bruno Armirail, Tim Rex, Menno Huising, Filippo Fiorelli (all Visma-Lease a Bike), Igor Arrieta, Felix Großschartner, Domen Novak (all UAE Team Emirates XRG), Gal Gilvar, Emiel Verstrynge, Ramses Debruyne (all Alpecin-Premier Tech), Jan Castellon, Fernando Barceló, Alex Molenaar (all Caja Rural – Seguros RGA), Guillaume Martin, Clément Braz Afonso (both Groupama-FDJ United), Raúl García Pierna, Natnael Tesfatsion (both Movistar), Markel Beloki, Michael Leonard (both EF Education-EasyPost), Steff Crass (Soudal-QuickStep), Brandon Rivera (Ineos Grenadiers), Oliver Stockwell (Bahrain Victorious), Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM), Frank van den Broek (Picnic-PostNL), Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek), Simone Velasco (XDS Astana) and José Manuel Díaz (Burgos Burpellet BH).
Soler and Øxenberg have dragged their way back to them.
The lead group has broken up on this climb – López, Healy and Skjelmose are clear of ther other two.
The riders are climbing again, up the 3km, 7.1% Alto de Azkarate.
Riders have varying degrees of confidence descending in these conditions. In the break, López took it cautiously, and has only just rejoined the other leads now the road has flattened out.
Uno-X Moblity leading the chase group.
Other stand out names present in it include Igor Arrieta, Matthew Riccitello, Guillaume Martin and Raúl García Pierna.
In the chase group, Uno-X Moblity is the best represented team with five riders, though Visma-Lease a Bike have four (including Armirail), while Alpecin-Premier Tech and Caja Rural – Seguros RGA have three each.
Juan Pedro López and Peter Øxenberg have joined the three leaders on the descent.
There are about 30 riders in this chase group led by Uno-X Mobility. The highest ranked rider on GC appears to be Tobias Halland Johannessen at 5:39.
The group being led by Uno-X Mobility isn’t the peloton, but rather a very large chasing group. Paul Seixas and his main GC rivals are in the peloton, further behind.
The pace set by Uno-X Mobility on the climb has seen the peloton significantly reduced in size already.
The three rides leading the race.
Uno-X Mobility are leading the chase in the peloton. They don’t have a GC man, so are doing so to try to form a new break with their riders represented in it.
Peter Øxenberg has joined López in the chase.
Here’s more on the news today that Pello Bilbao has announced his retirement from racing.
Juan Pedro López attacks out the peloton.
The peloton has split as they ascend this climb.
Bagioli has abandoned the race. In these conditions, there’s bound to be a high drop put rate, as riders protect their health and fitness.
The three leaders crested the first climb together ahead of the bunch, with Skjelmose taking the 3 points, Healy 2 points and Soler 1 point. Each of these riders do have some points in the KOM classification, but are some way down from the leader Paul Seixas.
2 Bou 22
3 Anders Johannessen 19
4 Lipowitz 18
5 Soler 15
The weather really has turned nasty today. This could make for a complicated final stage – and a new test for Paul Seixas, should his GC rivals want to put him under pressure in these conditions.
Soler and Healy are reuniting having attacked together yesterday. It’s no surprise to see two riders with such an insatiable appetite for attacking get up the road again today.
Three riders have gone clear from the bunch, and it’s a strong trio – Soler, Healy, and Skjelmose.
As feared, the weather has taken a turn for the worse, and it’s started raining.
Van der Lee on the attack.
He’s been brought back, and the peloton is all together.
Jardi Christiaan van der Lee has attacked on the climb. The Dutchman has ridden aggressively throughout this week.
The climbing has begun pretty much straight away, with the riders already taking on the first of the day’s 6 categorised ascents: the 4.6km, 7.6% Alto de Asentzio.
We’ll bring you more on that Bilbao news later.
A major announcement was made during sign-in today – Pello Bilbao will retire at the end of the season. The 36-year-old has been one of the best Basque riders of his generation, winning stages at and finishing in the top 6 at both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.
As forecasted, the temperature has dipped from the highs of the week so far, but there’s no rain – at least not yet. Should the heavens open, this could become a complicated stage, what with all the descending as well as ascending.
The riders will be racing soon – they’re just making their way through the neutralised zone towards the official start.
Also missing from the start having pulled out are Julian Alaphilippe, Enzo Paleni and Gotzon Martin.
There are a handful of riders who won’t be starting today – most notably Ben Tulett. The Brit had been 6th overall on GC, before being dropped early yesterday to slide down to 16th.
Florian Lipowitz nearly managed to get the better of Seixas yesterday, sticking to his wheel throughout the stage, but came out second best in the final sprint between the two.
It’s time for the final stage of Itzulia Basque Country and the question is the same as it has been for most days at this race – can anybody stop Paul Seixas? The teenage sensation has won three of the five stages so far, and has what feels like an assailable lead on the GC.
Hello and welcome to the sixth and final stage of the 2026 Itzulia Basque Country!
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