In the streets of Bilbao, the Itzulia Basque Country got off to a dynamic start this Monday with a demanding opening individual time trial of 13.8 kilometres. Paul Seixas won the stage, while Clément Braz Afonso set the best time for the Groupama-FDJ United cycling team, finishing just over a minute behind the day’s winner.
As in 2021, the Itzulia Basque Country began this Monday from the regional capital, and for the occasion, it used exactly the same time trial course as back then. The riders competing in the Spanish race thus had to cover 13.8 kilometres individually on a course that was far from straightforward. “It was quite a versatile route,” explained team coach Anthony Bouillod. “The riders started straight away with a 2.4-kilometer climb averaging 7%. Then there was a fairly fast, downhill section with a few bends, but not very technical. To finish, there was a 400-meter wall at 12%. So you had to be able to go hard on the first climb, but still keep something in the tank to make the most of the faster sections and push big gears at high speed. The weather forecast predicted little difference in wind conditions between the early and late starters. From what we felt on the ground, it was indeed quite similar throughout the afternoon.” Rémy Rochas got things underway for Groupama-FDJ United at 2:49 p.m., and his young compatriot Maxime Decomble followed about twenty minutes later.
“The main goal was to limit the losses” – Anthony Bouillod
“We have a well-balanced team but without a true time-trial specialist, except for Maxime,” Anthony added. “He started quite well, but unfortunately he crashed on a fast section, which reduced our ambitions for the stage classification. The crash looked quite serious, but he seems to have come out of it relatively well.” The young rider was able to reach the finish, and the medical report indicates abrasions and wrist contusions. “For the others, the main goal was to limit the losses,” Anthony continued. “Guillaume, for example, finished with roughly the same time gap to the winner as in 2021. Compared to Roglič, who won back then, he even reduced the gap slightly. It’s a solid time trial. Clément delivered a very good performance. He finished 1’05 behind the winner, and 42 seconds behind second place. Kevin, meanwhile, didn’t have any specific objective today, so together with the sports directors, he set himself the small challenge of going very hard on the first climb. That’s why he finished a bit more conservatively afterward.”
Starting Tuesday, the peloton will face significant climbs, notably the ascent of San Miguel de Aralar (9.5 km at 8%), located twenty kilometres from the finish.
