A double victory for Paul Seixas, extending his lead over the runner-up to nearly two minutes.
The Itzulia sets off from Pamplona-Iruña for the second consecutive year and promises a highly demanding stage, featuring the climb of San Miguel de Aralar and an uphill finish at Cuevas de Mendukilo.
Paul Seixas (DCT, 61) arrived at the start line smiling and wearing yellow. He made it clear at the start: “The Itzulia is a gruelling race every day, and we have to be offensive.”
The day began with a breakaway in the opening kilometres, featuring seven riders: Ethan Hayter (SOQ, 7), Adrian Fajardo Toledo (BBH, 77), Raúl García (MOV, 94), Frank van den Broek (TPP, 101), Joan Bou (CJR, 156), Iker Mintegi (EUS, 167), and Bruno Armirail (TVL, 191). Its maximum advantage over the peloton was 2 minutes and 30 seconds. The breakaway made good progress, but behind, the Decathlon CMA CGM Team worked to keep it under control. The most dangerous rider in the breakaway for the general classification was Bruno Armirail (TVL, 191), 50 seconds behind.”
The gap was narrowing ahead of the first Category 1 climb of the Itzulia, San Miguel de Aralar, a 9.9-kilometre ascent with an average gradient of 7.7%. The breakaway had been reduced to just three riders as the climb began: Ethan Hayter (SOQ, 7), Raúl García (MOV, 94) and Joan Bou (CJR, 156). They maintained a strong pace over the first few kilometres. But the leaders’ team stepped up a gear and began closing the gap. The peloton remained tightly bunched, with the favourites right in the mix. With 6.6 km to go, the yellow jersey launched a devastating attack that no one else could follow; only Mattias Skjelmose of Lidl-Trek managed to respond, though he eventually had to relent. The leader was racing virtually uncontested, with 26 km still to the finish line.
Paul Seixas was unstoppable; he caught the breakaway and didn’t look back, while Florien Lipowitz (RBH, 53) was opening a gap behind. What a performance by the 19-year-old Frenchman. Juan Ayuso and Pello Bilbao dropped back from the main group.
The leader held a 50-second advantage over the main group with 2 km remaining to the summit. They couldn’t agree at the back and were riding in fits and starts. Del Toro and Lipowitz were the most active riders in the chasing group.
Paul Seixas (DCT, 61) extended his lead during the descent. It felt like a time trial. He knew the riders behind him weren’t working together, giving him a chance to extend his lead even further. On the descent, Mikel Landa crashed but managed to complete the stage.
In the end, Paul Seixas won the second stage, with Mattias Skjelmose second and Primož Roglič coming in third. He extended his lead in the overall standings over Primož Roglič, who remains in second place, 1 minute 59 seconds behind. A very significant gap as we look ahead to the remaining stages.
Standings after Stage 2
Stage winner: Paul Seixas (DCT, 61)
General Classification: Paul Seixas (DCT, 61)
Mountain classification: Paul Seixas (DCT, 61)
Points classification: Paul Seixas (DCT, 61)
Young rider classification: Paul Seixas (DCT, 61)
Teams classification: XDS Astana Team
Most combative: Joan Bou (CJR, 156)
