2025 Itzulia Basque Country Stage 3 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 3 of the 2025 Itzulia Basque Country! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
Stage 3 of the Tour of the Basque Country takes the riders over hilly terrain from Zarautz to Beasain. They must conquer 3,170 metres of climbing over a 156.3-kilometre route, with the final ramp of 1.4 kilometres at a 10% gradient crested with 6.4 kilometres remaining.
The riders face a total of seven climbs, with five packed into the first 80 kilometres. Climbing begins after 15 kilometres with a 2.2-kilometre ascent at 5%, serving as a gentle warm-up. Straight from the descent, the road kicks up again, initially featuring rolling gradients before merging into the longest climb of the day. Stretching 13.9 kilometres at an average of 2.6%, this climb is far from the toughest, although the first half is steeper than the numbers suggest.
A 7-kilometre descent takes the riders to the base of the climb to Alkiza — 4 kilometres at 6.6%, with the summit reached after 50 kilometres of racing.
After the descent and a short stretch on the valley floor, it’s time for the Santa Ageda climb. This climb averages 6.9% over 9 kilometres, but that statistic is a bit misleading, as the gentle opening section skews the numbers—most of the climb maintains a gradient around 8%.
Once again, the descent leads straight onto another uphill drag, though this one presents a more modest gradient. The climb to Mandubia is 5.3 kilometres long, averaging 5.3%.
After the descent, the race passes through Ormaiztegi, the hometown of the Izagirre brothers. From there, the riders tackle two short uphills on their way to the intermediate sprint in Beasain — where, 45.3 kilometres later, they will also find the finish line. But before that, the final lap introduces two brutal walls to shake things up.
The first climb ascends to Gainza. It’s still far from the finish, but it provides a solid test of how the legs handle extremely steep gradients. Officially, it measures 2.2 kilometres at 12.1%, with ramps of up to 20%. However, the opening stretch is deceptively easy, making it more like 1.7 kilometres at a brutal 15.1%.
Following a rolling section and a descent, the riders enjoy a 20-kilometre breather on the flat before facing the last challenge of the day. Yes, it’s another brutal wall — 1.4 kilometres of agony at 10%. To add to the difficulty, it’s wildly inconsistent, starting with a savage 500-metre stretch at 16.5%.
After topping this climb, just 6.4 kilometres remain. Aside from the last 1.5 kilometres, the route is all downhill to the finish.
The first three riders to cross the line earn 10, 6, and 4 bonus seconds, while the intermediate sprints offer 3, 2, and 1 seconds.
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