The organization of the Itzulia Basque Country has decided to make several modifications in stages 3 and 5 of the 2023 edition. Less than 3 days before the start of the race, Itzulia carried out a review and verification of the routes to guarantee the safety of the entire platoon.
In this verification, several points of the route of the 3rd stage and the 5th stage have been seen that were not in the expected conditions to ensure optimal safety conditions for the cyclists and the rest of the race infrastructure.
The changes
Stage 3 / Errenteria – Amasa-Villabona:
The changes in the route affect at kilometer 96.4. Once at that point, the race will turn right towards Asteasu to start the ascent to the 3rd Category Alkiza climb. The safety and maintenance work on the section towards Anoeta has not been completed and that is why the organization has decided to carry out this modification. The change increases the distance of the route by 8.2km for a total of 162.2km.
Stage 5 / Ekin – Amorebieta-Etxano:
The route remains the same until kilometer 157.3. The climb to the Epaltza neighborhood is modified and canceled. The peloton will pass next to the Urritze soccer field and skirt Amorebieta to make the last climb to Autzagane. The ending will be the same. 1.4km of the route is reduced to a total distance of 164.5km.
From the organization, they assure that “the spectacularity of the route is the same or even better” and that with these small modifications, they will be able to guarantee the safety of the cyclists.
