2024 Itzulia Basque Country Stage 1 Results & Recap
Stage 1 of the 2024 Itzulia Basque Country is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
The opening stage of the 2024 Itzulia Basque Country delivered an immediate dose of drama and excitement as the race got underway with a hilly parcours that was never going to suit the pure sprinters. The stage wound its way through the Basque countryside, with the rolling terrain ensuring that the peloton was under pressure for much of the day.
A breakaway group got clear in the early kilometres and built up a reasonable advantage over the peloton, which was content to let the move go while the general classification teams kept a watchful eye on proceedings. The escapees worked well together and held their lead for a significant portion of the stage, but the bunch was never going to allow things to get out of hand with a potentially selective finish on the horizon.
As the race entered its final phase, the peloton reeled in the remnants of the break and the tempo began to rise sharply. The climbs in the closing kilometres caused splits in the bunch and whittled down the group of contenders considerably. Several riders who had hoped to contest the finish found themselves distanced as the pace became relentless.
Remco Evenepoel showed his class in the finale, demonstrating the kind of punchy acceleration that makes him so dangerous on this type of terrain. The Belgian rode away from his rivals in the closing kilometres and crossed the line to take the stage victory, immediately putting himself in the leaders jersey and sending out a clear message to his rivals that he has arrived at this race in superb condition.
Get our full coverage of the Itzulia Basque Country and every race we cover with our mobile app! The apps have over 100 additional exclusive features, including our award-winning Time Machine feature that lets you pause/rewind/replay the entire app to sync with delayed race video, integrated Fantasy Cycling, push notifications, an integrated news feed, live GPS tracking, world-class commentary, and our animated interactive maps and profiles.
