Itzulia Basque Country 2026 preview: Rising stars Del Toro, Seixas and Ayuso set for Basque fireworks

Itzulia Basque Country is a race known for its steep climbs and punchy stages, which often produce explosive racing. In total, there have been 48 different winners, with José Antonio González and Alberto Contador holding the record for most victories with 4 apiece.

Twelve months ago, it was João Almeida who crushed the competition to win the GC in what he would describe at the time as “the biggest win of his career.” It was the first of three consecutive WorldTour stage race victories for Almeida, who would secure the Tour de Romandie in May, before adding the Tour de Suisse in June.

Maximilian Schachmann, who has an affinity with the race, narrowly pipped João Almeida and Florian Lipowitz on the opening time trial, with all three riders finishing on the same time. It was Schachmann’s fourth stage victory in total at the race. 

Stage 2 saw Caleb Ewan sprint to victory on what would be the final race day of the Australian’s professional career before he would retire a few weeks later. Alex Aranburu endured a rollercoaster of emotions after he crossed the line as the winner of stage 3 after a late attack, before being disqualified for seemingly taking a wrong turn, and then, upon further review, reinstated as the victor.

Almeida delivered the first GC blow on stage 4, finishing alone in Markina-Xemein, before Ben Healy produced one of the rides of the season with a 56km solo effort to win stage 5. The race was wrapped up by Almeida on a rain-soaked final stage in Eibar, where he outsprinted Enric Mas to seal the GC, by almost 2 minutes on Mas, with Schachmann taking 3rd. 

Almeida won’t be present to defend his title, but there are still plenty of stars set to battle it out for victory in what is set to be an exciting race in the Basque Country.

The race kicks off with a short individual time trial for the third consecutive year, this time in the city of Bilbao. The route is 13.9km in length and will test the riders from the get-go with a 2.4km ascent to Santo Domingo, averaging 7.3%. 

This is where the climbers will look to capitalise as the remainder of the route favours the specialists before a steep kicker to the finish line, where gradients reach up to 19%, and the first wearer of the yellow jersey will be decided.

Stages 2 and 3 are both described as difficult, but the race organisers have suggested that they could suit the breakaway rather than an all-out GC battle. Stage 2 begins in Pamplona and concludes 164.1km later in Cuevas de Mendukilo after covering 3,300 metres of elevation gain. 

Meanwhile, stage 3 takes place in and around Basauri, with a circuit-style route covering 152.8km with 2,900 metres of elevation gain.

Stage 4 presents another route that features over 3,000 metres of elevation gain, across 167.2km around Galdakao with seven categorised climbs in total. The stage ends with an uphill rise to the line, which could make for an explosive finish.

Stage 5 is both the queen stage and the longest of the 2026 Itzulia Basque Country at 176.2km in length. Taking place in and around Eibar, the stage features eight categorised climbs and a total of 3,841 metres of elevation gain. 

The stage is designed for aggressive racing, and the final categorised climb will be crested with little over 10km to the finish line. This is a day that the GC contenders will have highlighted in their calendars as being a crucial stage in the fight for the yellow jersey.

The race concludes with another difficult stage that will shake up the GC and decide the final outcome. It’s the shortest road stage of the race at 135.2km, beginning in Goizper-Antzuola, but it is still going to be another very difficult stage. 

In total, there are six categorised climbs that help make up nearly 3,000 metres of elevation gain, with the summit of the final climb coming with just under 10km from the finish in Bergara, where the 2026 winner of Itzulia Basque Country will be crowned.

Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) has both the talent and the momentum right now that make him one of the favourites for overall victory in the Basque Country. 

The Mexican Champion picked up where he left off at the end of a prolific 2025 season, claiming his first WorldTour stage race in the shape of the UAE Tour, before doubling up with an assured victory at Tirreno-Adriatico.

Itzulia has featured on Del Toro’s schedule in each of his previous professional seasons, finishing 7th in 2024, before ending 15th in 2025, supporting Juan Ayuso and Almeida to victory on each occasion. 

But make no mistake about it, this time it will be Del Toro gunning for overall glory as UAE look to win the race for the third edition in a row.

In the process, Del Toro could follow in the footsteps of his teammate Almeida by winning three consecutive WorldTour stage races for the first time in his career.

Del Toro will be well supported by his UAE teammates, and Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) could also be handily placed in the GC. The American will be one of the riders to watch on the opening time trial stage, and this could set him up in a strong position in the GC alongside Del Toro.

Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) made a very strong start to life at Lidl-Trek when he secured overall victory at the Volta ao Algarve, winning the final stage on the Alto do Malhão to seal the GC in style. 

Things continued to look promising when Ayuso moved into the race lead at Paris-Nice following the team time trial on stage 3. However, a crash on stage 4 saw a pain-stricken Ayuso abandon the race in the yellow jersey. 

Following his crash, it remains to be seen how the Spanish rider’s preparations have progressed. However, if he has managed to reach the level he was operating pre-crash, he will be well and truly in the mix for the yellow jersey, and could win the Itzulia Basque Country for the second time, following victory in 2024

This will also mark the first time that Ayuso will line up alongside Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), after the Dane was ruled out of Paris-Nice. The Dane continued to build form at the recent Volta a Catalunya, where he finished 7th, ahead of his fourth consecutive appearance in the Basque Country.

Skjelmose was a presence in the GC battle in 2024, finishing 3rd, and 5th in 2025, and alongside Ayuso could be in the podium mix once more this time around.

The next stop on the Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) hype express is in the Basque Country. The Frenchman has been one of the most discussed riders of the 2026 season so far, and he has duly delivered on the attention.

This will be Seixas’s second stage race of the season after he finished runner-up in the Algarve behind Ayuso and claimed his first professional victory atop the Alto da Fóia on stage 2. 

Since then, Seixas has produced two more impressive performances, firstly soloing 42km to victory at the Faun-Ardèche Classic, before battling to a fine 2nd place on debut at Strade Bianche behind Tadej Pogačar. 

Seixas is set to make his Grand Tour debut this season, though it hasn’t been publicly confirmed which one the Frenchman will ride. However, Itzulia will be another opportunity for Seixas to gain valuable experience in a WorldTour stage race, against riders that he is expected to battle it out against for Grand Tour victories in the years to come, such as Del Toro.

Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM) has also made a strong start in his debut season with his new team. The American won the Tour de la Provence, finished 6th in the Algarve, before taking 9th in Catalunya, suggesting he is more than capable of finishing high in the standings in the Basque Country.

Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) appears to be building form nicely as the season progresses. After an 8th place in the Algarve, Lipowitz was towards the fore at the Volta a Catalunya, taking 3rd. 

Lipowitz took 4th twelve months ago, and based on his recent performances, will be targeting an improvement on that. Whether that is the race victory or a podium place remains to be seen, but we can expect the German to continue his positive trajectory.

The team have the experience of two-time champion Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) to call upon. Winner in 2018 and 2021, Roglič was 5th at Tirreno-Adriatico while playing a support role to Giulio Pellizzari, who ended 3rd. 

The duo have only raced with each other twice in a stage race as teammates, with both being successes, the 2024 Vuelta, which Roglič won, and last year's Tour, where Lipowitz ended 3rd.

Kévin Vauquelin (Ineos Grenadiers) should thrive on the punchy hills that the Basque Country has to offer. 5th place in the Algarve and 4th at Paris-Nice are solid performances in the early stages of his Ineos career. 

However, the Frenchman will be looking to go one step better and reach the podium places, and there aren’t many races that seem better suited to him than Itzulia. 

Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) is another rider who looks well-versed for the upcoming action. The Norwegian was impressive at Tirreno-Adriatico, finishing 4th in the GC, before taking second at Milano-Torino behind Tom Pidcock on the steep Superga climb.

Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) enjoyed a strong UAE Tour where he won on the difficult Jebel Mobrah and finished 2nd overall behind Del Toro. The Italian wasn't in the GC mix at Tirreno-Adriatico, but don't be surprised to see him back on track at the Basque Country.

Meanwhile Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) and Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar) continued to build into their seasons, finishing 15th and 8th at the recent Volta a Catalunya, and could progress further in the Basque Country.

Other riders to watch for the top 10 include Clément Braz Afonso (Groupama-FDJ United), Marco Brenner and Yannis Voisard (Tudor), Clément Champoussin and Harold Tejada (XDS Astana), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Johannes Kulset (Uno-X Mobility), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step), Javier Romo (Movistar) and Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike).