Favourites stage 4 Tour of the Basque Country 2026 | Will Seixas give the breakaway riders room again?

The Tour of the Basque Country promised to be an exciting race, but in the first days there was one rider who stood head and shoulders above the rest. Paul Seixas now appears to almost have the overall victory in his pocket, although rival Isaac del Toro proved with a crash on Wednesday that Seixas does still need to stay on his bike. Danger also lurks on day 4, on a stage of typical climbs in northern Spain.

The fourth stage takes place in and around Galdakao. The peloton will make a northern loop above Bilbao, during which they can catch a glimpse of the sea. Truly enjoying the view will not be possible, however, as the route goes constantly up and down all day long.

With 3,200 metres of elevation gain, spread across eight categorised climbs, it almost resembles a one-day classic. The steep climbs (and the region) are very reminiscent of the Clasica San Sebastian, which is raced in August.

The eight climbs on the course are nicely spread out. The peloton will encounter the first climb, the Aretxabalgane (4.6 km at 5.4%), after just over 12 kilometres. After that follows a hilly zone where five climbs, one of which is uncategorised, follow each other in quick succession.

After a somewhat flatter intermediate phase, the finale could erupt on the second passage of the Elorritxueta. The climb is ridden twice, from different sides. The second passage involves a steep climb of just over 4 kilometres at an average of 8.1%.

After that, the Legina (3.2 km at 7.7%), which features a fiercely steep opening kilometre, is the last official climb. The punchers need not despair, however, as the finish also lies at the end of an uphill kilometre.

Times
Start: 1:20 p.m.
Finish: 5:30 p.m.

After three extremely hot days on the bike, the riders can put their cooling elements back in the freezer today. With a temperature of around 23 degrees, it promises to be a lovely, not too hot, day of cycling. The riders will also have little to fear from the wind.

For a stage that so closely resembles the course of the Clasica San Sebastian, it makes sense to first look at former winners of that race. With Bauke Mollema and Julian Alaphilippe, the winners of 2016 and 2018 respectively are on the start list of the Tour of the Basque Country. However, it has been a while since either man achieved such a result.

At UAE Emirates-XRG they must reshuffle, now that team leader Isaac del Toro had to abandon on Wednesday after a crash. The team still have Brandon McNulty in their ranks, who has previously ridden a top ten in the Spanish classic. Can he, however, match the wonder legs of Paul Seixas? In this finale too, we are counting on the Frenchman with his climbing qualities and punch.

With 7.4 kilometres of climbing between 7.5 and 8 per cent average in the final 30 kilometres, the climbers with a good finishing kick again appear to have the best credentials. Should Seixas take it easy, we note Red Bull duo Florian Lipowitz and Primož Roglič. And what can Mattias Skjelmose do, who has taken over the team leadership at Lidl-Trek from the disappointing Juan Ayuso?

Furthermore, from the top of the general classification we also note Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike), Alex Baudin (EF), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), Harold Tejada (XDS Astana) and Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar). Harold Tejada from XDS-Astana is also still firmly in the mix.

Lidl-Trek could also play Andrea Bagioli and Quinn Simmons, although that would more likely be from the breakaway. XDS-Astana will certainly also want riders up front, with Christian Scaroni, Clément Champoussin, Simone Velasco, Sergio Higuita and Lorenzo Fortunato on board. Scaroni and Champoussin are the most explosive.

And what about Ben Healy? The EF rider has not yet shown excellent form, but should be able to do this type of work as well as anyone. Axel Laurance showed good legs on Wednesday at INEOS Grenadiers, especially now that Kévin Vauquelin has abandoned his GC ambitions. Perhaps the Frenchman can strike back?

Other men who fancy a breakaway day? In stage 3, riders like Clément Braz Afonso (Groupama-FDJ United), Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step) and Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) were also active. Now that Del Toro is no longer in the race, we also expect UAE at the front, for example with Marc Soler or Igor Arrieta. And what can Antonio Tiberi and Pello Bilbao do at Bahrain Victorious?

Top favorite: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)
Outsiders: Mattias Skjelmose ( Lidl-Trek), Primoz Roglic, Florian Lipowitz (both Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Christian Scaroni (Astana) and Alex Baudin (EF)
Long shots: Andrea Bagioli (both Lidl-Trek), Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor), Alex Aranburu, Ion Izagirre (both Cofidis), Ben Healy (EF), Clément Champoussin (Astana), Axel Laurance (INEOS Grenadiers), Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar)