Tour of the Basque Country 2026 start list and bib numbers | A major race in its own right, but also an ideal launchpad toward the Ardennes

Anyone wanting to take a closer look at the route of this six-day WorldTour stage race can head over to our full race preview: Tour of the Basque Country 2026 | Brutal week awaits Del Toro, Ayuso, Seixas and company. There should not be too many surprises in there, though, because in the Basque Country you usually know what to expect: irregular climbs, relentless terrain and a race situation that can explode at virtually any moment.

The start list looks strong, even if the absence of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) is entirely logical after racing the Tour of Flanders. Their teams have still brought serious alternatives, however, with Isaac del Toro and Brandon McNulty lining up for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, while Florian Lipowitz and Primož Roglič give Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe plenty of firepower.

And that is far from the end of it, because major names such as Paul Seixas (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale’s Decathlon CMA CGM Team), Mattias Skjelmose, Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek), Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana), Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) and Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) are all set to start as well.

For plenty of other riders, this race is also the perfect final tune-up ahead of the Ardennes Classics. Team Visma | Lease a Bike, for instance, starts with Louis Barré and Ben Tulett, while Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling Team), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) and several of the names already mentioned are also using the Basque week as one last serious test before the next block of one-day racing.