Itzulia Basque Country 2025, April 7th-12th

[Berniece]

The max steepness isn't the issue for him i think, just that it can't be too long (compared to punchy climbers). So the average over that length is less steep. It being steeper for 800m isn't an issue imho.

But is the length a real issue for him? Last year he won that mountain stage in Hungary. Sure the opposition wasn't that amazing, but it would show he's at least able to follow a steady pace for a longer time.

 

[Red Rick]

But is the length a real issue for him? Last year he won that mountain stage in Hungary. Sure the opposition wasn't that amazing, but it would show he's at least able to follow a steady pace for a longer time.

Duration and level of climber should be an issue. The climb is close enough that it should be a GC battle, if the GC riders start racing against each other, they'll race to keep each other behind, etc.

There's also no immediate descent, which tends to hurt the chances of coming back.

 

[Red Rick]

Why do I seem to remember Gaintza being the climb Contador dropped Valverde on in 2014?

 

[Berniece]

Duration and level of climber should be an issue. The climb is close enough that it should be a GC battle, if the GC riders start racing against each other, they'll race to keep each other behind, etc.

There's also no immediate descent, which tends to hurt the chances of coming back.

Sure, but the top is 35km's out from the finish, riders need to ride very aggressively, Nys should be dropped, and riders need to work together after this. I'm not sure he will be dropped actually. Another year under his belt, comes from altitude, I would expect him to just being able to follow.

 

[search]

Why do I seem to remember Gaintza being the climb Contador dropped Valverde on in 2014?

Gaintza was the final climb of stage 1 in 2014, so your memory is right. They did show highlights of it on EITB yesterday.

 

[search]

Sure, but the top is 35km's out from the finish, riders need to ride very aggressively, Nys should be dropped, and riders need to work together after this. I'm not sure he will be dropped actually. Another year under his belt, comes from altitude, I would expect him to just being able to follow.

I don't think he is talking about the climb with 35k to go?! The 800m at 15% one comes with 5k to go.

I think it should be okay for Nys to stay in contention, but there's also the chance that someone like Buitrago for example manages to jump.

 

[Red Rick]

Sure, but the top is 35km's out from the finish, riders need to ride very aggressively, Nys should be dropped, and riders need to work together after this. I'm not sure he will be dropped actually. Another year under his belt, comes from altitude, I would expect him to just being able to follow.

I'm talking about Lazkaomendi, not Gaintza.

 

[altigraphs]

This for example, you'll see what I mean:

Stage 4 - Tour de France 2025 | Amiens > Rouen

Profile of stage 4 of Tour de France 2025 starting from Amiens and finishing at Rouen. A hilly type stage, with a distance of 175 km and a total accumulated elevation gain of 2,072 m. Detailed map and extended information on the key passes.

www.altigraphs.com

Ah, I see what you mean! I created all the stages for the TdF but I need to tweak the profiles. thanks for spotting that. I'm just one person working on that and I'm now focusing on the stages for the Giro.

But rest assure, before the TdF everything will be ready 💪

 

[Berniece]

I'm talking about Lazkaomendi, not Gaintza.

Oh in that case I definitely don't see an issue. He should be able to just follow the steep section, since his main target is FW. After that he can just recover.

 

[search]

why does watching Michael Leonard interviews make me feel unwell?

Watch leonard | Streamable

Watch "leonard" on Streamable.

streamable.com

 

[tobydawq]

I don't know if he will necessarily DNS the next day,

I stand corrected.

Aggressive move.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Just straight up admitted it too, none of that fake knee injury nonsense.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1909919326468988930

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Maybe this will be the year where Ewan scores victories in all 3 GTs without even completing 21 stages in total.

 

[search]

Looks like there are 30+ guys up the road, including Soler, Kuss, Archie Ryan etc.

 

[jonan92]

Yes, big group ahead of the Peloton.

They have been showing live images on EITB for a while, it might be geoblocked but if you have a VPN set to Spain you can watch: https://www.eitb.eus/eu/nahieran/zuzenean/

 

[Tim Cahill]

Wtf kind of break is that, you would think it will whittle down quite a bit

If it doesn't, Pray4LidlTrek

 

[jonan92]

The big group caught by the peloton

 

[Tim Cahill]

Break formation sounds problematic, Amirail has been off the front for a long time with constant attacks going off behind him.

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

Break formation sounds problematic, Amirail has been off the front for a long time with constant attacks going off behind him.

I hope they forget about him and let him go, I just realised that he only has 3 wins, and not a single one in a big race. So maybe today will be the day.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

That‘s one of the suicide moves of all time
Edit: Vlasov, Kuss and Del Toro caught again

 

[SafeBet]

Pello Bilbao apparently dropped from the peloton?

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

Pello Bilbao apparently dropped from the peloton?

Hirschi as well according to PCS.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Now Bilbao is out of GC anyway so yesterday‘s jury antics were all for nought

 

[SafeBet]

Hirschi as well according to PCS.

Spotted Ion Izagirre as well.
UAE keeps sending riders up the road, nightmare stage for whoever wants to control this.

 

[Tim Cahill]

What are they doing