{"id":117543,"date":"2026-04-09T11:54:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T11:54:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/itzulia-basque-country-stage-4-live-seven-climbs-await-riders-on-tough-day-in-the-hills\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T11:54:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T11:54:39","slug":"itzulia-basque-country-stage-4-live-seven-climbs-await-riders-on-tough-day-in-the-hills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/itzulia-basque-country-stage-4-live-seven-climbs-await-riders-on-tough-day-in-the-hills\/","title":{"rendered":"Itzulia Basque Country stage 4 LIVE &#8211; Seven climbs await riders on tough day in the hills"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p>Refresh <i class=\"fa fa-refresh\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:54:39+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:54:39.145Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-190a384d-e67b-4013-8012-edc7ce04e705\">That group has been caught &#8211; it was too big and unruly to be allowed up the road.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:54:04+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:54:04.970Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-faccbae3-237a-4fea-9e01-d4444b76cc5f\">Pello Bilbao has managed to sneak into this group. He&#8217;s not too far down on GC, in 13th at 3:42.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:52:18+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:52:18.644Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-006da705-2b75-4090-b447-fff3773529ff\">A very large group of over 20 riders is trying to go clear. This is developing into a very hectic start!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:46:28+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:46:28.182Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-150km-to-go\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-150km-to-go\"><span>150KM TO GO<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-85099847-2664-40cb-bff0-9883d029da16\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Still no breakaway at this point. After descent of this climb comes the longest flat section of the day, lasting about 20km, so the battle to get into the break could rage for some time yet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:45:16+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:45:16.692Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-641fc54f-cb2d-4011-b2fe-d5e75e8f1dbc\">Here is the updated KOM classification:<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">1 Bou 21 points<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-641fc54f-cb2d-4011-b2fe-d5e75e8f1dbc-2\">2 Seixas 13<\/p>\n<p>3 Arrieta 13<\/p>\n<p>4 Skjelmose 8<\/p>\n<p>5 Baudin 6<\/p>\n<p>6 Mintegi 6<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:44:03+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:44:03.238Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-2d8aef16-b42b-4aa6-90d3-103bfb1462e4\">The peloton remains together as they descend the climb.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:43:42+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:43:42.473Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-kom-aretxabalgane\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-kom-aretxabalgane\"><span>KOM &#8211; ARETXABALGANE<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-ab959b72-bdb8-4674-8dbc-e56c9425e70f\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Bou made sure he was at the front of the bunch going over the climb to increases his lead in the KOM classification, with Pacher and Soler following behind.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:42:18+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:42:18.059Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-7da7127e-de9c-4797-92d2-e25938a6c103\">It&#8217;s been announced that Roger Adri\u00e0 has abanoned the race having started today. It&#8217;s unclear yet why.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:39:58+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:39:58.239Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-b5dc54cd-6bea-455a-9b84-d564e2193868\">He&#8217;s been brought, as has every other attempted attacker so far, and the race remains all together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:38:57+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:38:57.647Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-4e6758ce-d275-4c62-8003-c43139d62611\">Andreas Kron has used these gradients to attack out the bunch and gain a small lead.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:33:28+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:33:28.104Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-314f655c-3441-4bb8-b268-c7e35988e9ae\">They&#8217;re on the Aretxabalgane now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:30:52+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:30:52.135Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-8a651518-5228-4b26-b524-ac0ab33d0f0b\">The riders are about to start climbing, up the 4.5km, 5.3% Aretxabalgane. That should provide a springboard for strong climbers and puncheurs to try and form a breakaway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:29:58+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:29:58.275Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-cad5f124-a3b7-495c-b047-5c85521081d9\">There have been attacks, but nothing has stuck so far.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:22:01+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:22:01.737Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-official-start\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-official-start\"><span>OFFICIAL START<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-fbe9469f-d4a5-4e55-b485-17bd1b4ca46e\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">And they&#8217;re off!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:19:45+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:19:45.465Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-85c198cc-ac36-4014-bcc0-17ffbbfed8b2\">The peloton is one rider short of those who finished yesterday &#8211; Emanuel Buchmann, whose tough start to the season continues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:18:24+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:18:24.872Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-72ccb7c7-fcdf-4dad-a497-725b550d043a\">The riders have gathered at Galdakao, and have just set off from the unofficial start.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:14:02+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:14:02.366Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-2d07176a-8187-471b-95c5-efd712fddf7f\">Today\u2019s is the kind of parcours that can make for very unpredictable racing &#8211; there\u2019s lots of climbing, but not one standout climb in terms of difficulty. Of the seven climbs in total, six of them are rated category three, with just the final one rated category two.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:06:33+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:06:33.630Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-1469a49a-897a-4fd3-a9dd-2db099b3008e\">That was the case yesterday, when the bunch gave up the chase to allow the breakaway riders to make it to the finish, with Ineos&#8217; Axel Laurance coming out on top. Here&#8217;s a reminder of how the stage went down.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/itzulia-basque-country-axel-laurance-surges-ahead-of-igor-arrieta-in-two-rider-sprint-for-stage-3-victory\/\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/itzulia-basque-country-axel-laurance-surges-ahead-of-igor-arrieta-in-two-rider-sprint-for-stage-3-victory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Itzulia Basque Country: Axel Laurance surges ahead of Igor Arrieta in two-rider sprint for stage 3 victory<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:03:55+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:03:55.522Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-f831aafb-2d63-4dbb-89fb-44e2b3ca3164\">Alternatively, setting Seixas up for another stage win would involve lots of effort to control the race by his Decathlon CMA CGM team, as there are surely multiple teams and riders who will want to try attacking, and few who believe they could beat the Frenchman in a mano y mano battle. This does therefore seem like a promising day for a breakaway to succeed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T11:00:40+00:00\">2026-04-09T11:00:40.785Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-83bd6614-5e56-4787-a2aa-7278cf28d58e\">Paul Seixas remains in the yellow jersey, and, if he has the appetite, today could be an opportunity for a third stage win in four days. There&#8217;s more climbing than yesterday, when he went into defensive mode, including a late climb averaging 8% for 3.2km that looks like an ideal springboard.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"elk-510770c8-5d79-4c6d-8b91-c5848eb416b4\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:1024px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.70%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/aAky9PFdhtoZkn2FZnHtKN-1024-80.jpg.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/aAky9PFdhtoZkn2FZnHtKN-1024-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/aAky9PFdhtoZkn2FZnHtKN-970-80.jpg.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/aAky9PFdhtoZkn2FZnHtKN-650-80.jpg.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/aAky9PFdhtoZkn2FZnHtKN-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/aAky9PFdhtoZkn2FZnHtKN-320-80.jpg.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"><br \/>\n<\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-04-09T10:55:47+00:00\">2026-04-09T10:55:47.677Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-771e56e2-6480-4930-87ca-a3f5bde56465\">Hello and welcome to stage four of Itzulia Basque Country!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mt-6 lg:px-0 relative max-w-[1070px] mx-auto viafoura-twig-component px-4\" data-component-name=\"Viafoura:Comments\" style=\"--text-on-accent-color: white; --comment-widget-header-bg-color: var(--accent-color); --comment-widget-header-text-color: var(--text-on-accent-color); --comment-widget-header-link-color: var(--text-on-accent-color);\" x-data=\"ViafouraComments('300px')\" x-show=\"$store.Viafoura.showWidgets\" data-nosnippet=\"\" data-community-guidelines-text=\"&lt;p class=\" vfcustom-community-guidelines=\"\" follow=\"\" our=\"\" href=\"&quot;https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/about\/#section-community-guidelines&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;community\" guidelines=\"\" data-join-the-conversation-text=\"Join the Conversation\">\n<div class=\"absolute top-0 left-0 w-full h-full flex items-center justify-center z-50 bg-white\/90 border-1\" x-show=\"showConfirmDisplayNamePrompt\" x-cloak=\"\">\n<div class=\"p-2 text-center\">\n<p class=\"mb-3 !text-lg\">You must confirm your public display name before commenting<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3 !text-sm\">Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.<\/p>\n<p><button x-on:click=\"$store.ViafouraAuthModal.logout()\" type=\"button\" class=\"block mb-3 w-full justify-center px-3 py-2 text-sm font-semibold text-white shadow-sm button-primary\"><br \/>\nLogout<br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/live\/itzulia-basque-country-stage-4-live-seven-climbs-await-riders-on-tough-day-in-the-hills\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Refresh 2026-04-09T11:54:39.145Z That group has been caught &#8211; it was too big and unruly to be allowed up the road. 2026-04-09T11:54:04.970Z Pello Bilbao has managed to sneak into this group. He&#8217;s not too far down on GC, in 13th at 3:42. 2026-04-09T11:52:18.644Z A very large group of over 20 riders is trying to go clear. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":117544,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117543"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117543\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}