Itzulia Basque Country 2023 – Stage 2

It will be a short preview this one.

Route

The longest stage of the race. Looking at the profile, it should be easy to control the size of the breakaway.

Moving on towards the finale, there is a fair bit of climbing. The most difficult one being Saldias (2.3 km at 9.2%). The thing is, it is far out and most of the sprinters are competent climbers.

This is the last climb of the day plus the descent to the line. The climb itself is 11 km at 3.2%. That itself is not difficult enough to create a split.

When I took a look at the descent, I think we could see a sneaky attack from a rider and potentially take a solo win. It looks tricky and fast. I imagine every team want to be near the front when they starting heading for the line.

Weather

A day with a headwind, 10 degrees C and no rain.

Contenders

Hayter – good effort yesterday from the team, securing him a good win after a disappointing showing in Catalunya. He should start the stage as one of the favorites. The team is strong, they should be able to push it over the top and keeping him at the front. If I recall correctly, Fraile is a strong descender – a good thing to have from a lead-out rider.

Aranburu – he is a brilliant descender himself, so do expect him to be near the front even if he may not get a lot of support from the team. I expect him to be the main threat for Hayter. I wonder if he dares to attack himself trying to win solo.

Schmid – he is going very well just now. A podium contender. Looking at the team, they should be able to get on the front for the descent.

Aberasturi – will hope to get another podium placement, which may prove difficult. A top-10.

UAE – I have a feeling they will launch an attack once near the top of the last climb. They have Formolo and Soler, both brilliant descenders while having strong climbers in McNulty and Grossschartner.

Who will win?

I think we will see an attack on the descent. Aranburu will know to watch out for this. I expect him to be the fastest rider in the best position, a win for local.

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