Itzulia Basque Country 2025, April 7th-12th

[Ripper]

Joao had a great and gutsy performance.

It may not have made a difference for the win, but wow, the negative tactics in the chasing group were beyond stupid.

 

[Brullnux]

Tbf, Del Toro barely came back to the group with Schachmann, Almeida‘s teammates aren‘t in great shape.

Yeah no it's true, just quite tiring seeing the same team win every single race. Luckily they're still on Lampre mode for their classics team (sans Pogacar)

 

[Netserk]

Saturday should be fun, hopefully RedBull steps up and at least kills Schachmann.

Tomorrow is tricky too, possible for GC riders to give it a go.

 

[RedheadDane]

Saturday should be fun, hopefully RedBull steps up and at least kills Schachmann.

That's against the rules.

And also, like... the law.

 

[yaco]

They want the stage. As simple as that I guess?

Bahrain was riding for Buitrago who lost 40 seconds yesterday which indicated he was not in top shape. And presto Buitraigo gets dropped again today.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

How do you have the strentght for a good sprint but don't pull a single second for your teammate who is in the Leader jersey!!! Instead skipping pulls in the back of the group when his rival is up the road!! What happened to integrity in this sport man, Ilan van welder what have you done

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Saturday should be fun, hopefully RedBull steps up and at least kills Schachmann.

Tomorrow is tricky too, possible for GC riders to give it a go.

Today the entire Red Bull team except for Fisher-Black from the break collapsed 10 kms before the climb, so that would be a one-man job. I doubt Schachmann can hang on anyway, though

 

[Andre]

I'm not a fan of UAE at all, so for me it's a discouraging stage. Better luck tomorrow

 

[tobydawq]

Van welder worst teammate ever

Perhaps he is their GC rider

 

[Mayomaniac]

Van welder worst teammate ever

Tbf, they should have had him and Schachmann both pull, not just him. Lipowitz and Schachmann also not just pulling full gas and working with eachother was weird too.
I was kinda worried about Kelderman causing a big crash in that sprint, at one moment it looked like he was gonna slam Schachmann into the barriers.

 

[tobydawq]

Didn't get halfway through Itzulia before UAE cleaned it up with the C team.

C team, yeah right.

And stage 4 sure is beyond halfway.

 

[Sciatic]

How do you have the strentght for a good sprint but don't pull a single second for your teammate who is in the Leader jersey!!! Instead skipping pulls in the back of the group when his rival is up the road!! What happened to integrity in this sport man, Ilan van welder what have you done

also surprising that Lipowitz and Schachman didn't go to the front in the last few kilometers and instead put themselves in a big hole to try to come back from.

ed What Mayo said

 

[Red Rick]

Tbf, they should have had him and Schachmann both pull, not just him. Lipowitz and Schachmann also not just pulling full gas and working with eachother was weird too.
I was kinda worried about Kelderman causing a big crash in that sprint, at one moment it looked like he was gonna slam Schachmann into the barriers.

That is every Kelderman sprint ever. Going way too long on a Pieter Weening gear and then getting passed by anywhere between 3 and 7 dudes.

 

[Andre]

How do you have the strentght for a good sprint but don't pull a single second for your teammate who is in the Leader jersey!!! Instead skipping pulls in the back of the group when his rival is up the road!! What happened to integrity in this sport man, Ilan van welder what have you done

yes Maestro, but what is there to do...the pace was so high riding down.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Perhaps he is their GC rider

GC riders can also profit from riding if not everybody is in the group. Admittedly Buitrago isn‘t his prime opponent and the yellow jersey for Schachmann was also gone, but Van Wilder could have contributed a bit more

 

[Mayomaniac]

That is every Kelderman sprint ever. Going way too long on a Pieter Weening gear and then getting passed by anywhere between 3 and 7 dudes.

TBF, that's also how I sprint.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

I find it strange how Almeida didn‘t gain more time when nobody was working behind, but I guess that‘s how it goes when normal riders go solo

 

[Unchained]

Tbf, Del Toro barely came back to the group with Schachmann, Almeida‘s teammates aren‘t in great shape.

Del Toro could have got a haircut, enjoyed a sandwich, maybe a beer, and dusted all in the bunch sprint. He was in the second selection without more or less effort than the other 12-15 in the group.
He had a schit TT and raced very very smart today. 2nd year pro, knows his place, has carried from the car all day for Soler and Almeida , doing burro duty and still making the selection and drilling the field sprint..absolutely phenomenal performance for a guy who job is food and drink service for senior riders..
Congratulations to UAE for example of great racing all around.

 

[Netserk]

Almeida far more superior here than the disgusting *** was last year (on the traditional side):

https://twitter.com/x/status/1910353115204698182

View: https://x.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1910353115204698182

https://twitter.com/x/status/1776679120383967714

View: https://x.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1776679120383967714

 

[Brullnux]

Perhaps he is their GC rider

Doesn't really matter, he didn't have the sprint for 2nd/3rd and closing the gap on Almeida suits him, too. No reason for him not to go all in given the circumstances.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Bota lume! First victory in a prestigious one-week race incoming.

 

[Sciatic]

Joao had a great and gutsy performance.

It may not have made a difference for the win, but wow, the negative tactics in the chasing group were beyond stupid.

Great showing yes, but how "gutsy" is it when he's that much stronger than everyone else?

 

[Tim Cahill]

I think Almeida would be in with a shot of the Giro in this form, punished for Ayuso's sins with a crap racing schedule unfortunately.

 

[Unchained]

Del Toro takes second as well!

What a masterclass from UAE

Del Toro has wins in his first two professional seasons, got multiple top 10s already, learning from all around him .Has said that Soler, McNulty, Yates, Almeida, and Pogacar are constantly helping, instilling confidence.
Improvement is obvious. Del Toro has said multiple times that he is trying not to repeat the stupid things he did in season one..

 

[Mayomaniac]

Tbh, Lipowitz is not good on the super steep stuff and Vlasov was supposed to be the team leader here, but he's underperforming. Bahrain are also shockingly bad.