AJ August announces himself as next young star with stage win, Seixas claims overall in Basque Country

AJ August (INEOS Grenadiers) won the final stage of the Tour of the Basque Country from the breakaway on Saturday. The 20-year-old American rode clear of the competition on the final climb. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) confirmed his overall victory without stress.

The Tour of the Basque Country could until now largely be described as the Tour of Seixas. The 19-year-old Frenchman from Decathlon CMA CGM won three of the first five stages and held a commanding lead in the general classification of the WorldTour race.

A final stage in which we saw the Basque Country in all its glory: rain lashed and bloewing a gale. In the first five days we had a taste of summer, but on the final day the riders had to endure heavy rain as well as steep climbs. Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike), Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step) and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) were among many riders who decided to abandon the race.

The stage could be described as a short (135 kilometres) but powerful (six climbs) loop around Eibar. On the first ascent we immediately saw a split: heavyweights Ben Healy (EF), Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) and Marc Soler (UAE Emirates-XRG) went on the attack, with Peter Oxenberg (INEOS) and Juan Pedro López (Movistar) in their wake.

Behind them, a large group of 32 riders formed, including four riders from Visma | Lease a Bike and the Uno-X team of Tobias Halland Johannessen. In that peloton there were no riders who posed a direct threat to Seixas's lead, and so Decathlon CMA CGM — who had Matthew Riccitello in the breakaway — let the race unfold.

In the pouring rain, however, attacks could not be prevented. Javier Romo (Movistar) rode clear from the peloton with 58 kilometres to go, which forced Seixas to come out of his shell early in the race. A kilometre and a half later, the 19-year-old opened the door himself, leaving the competition behind immediately. Case closed?

Seixas found himself swimming alone between the two large groups. Riding straight to the front proved a pipe dream, however, as the cooperation in the breakaway remained strong on the flat intermediate section. The same applied to the chasing group, which caught the Frenchman, showing the young race leader maybe still has a thing or two to learn.

On the final climb of the day the breakaway blew apart, with AJ August (INEOS) setting the key move in motion. The young American crested the summit of the final climb solo, although Raúl García Pierna (Movistar) put up a brave fight taking second. Frank van den Broek finished a strong third for Picnic-PostNL.

AJ August adds to INEOS Grenadier's strong start to 2026, taking the team's tally to 16. His teammate Axel Laurance won the fourth stage in the Basque Country, also from the break, proving there is a good feeling at the British team.

Seixas, meanwhile, kept relatively quiet and knew there was little more to gain, crowning himself the overall winner of this fine edition of the Tour of the Basque Country in consolidation mode. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X) managed to ride himself onto the final podium after a strong day.