Tour of the Basque Country 2018 Route stage 5: Vitoria-Gasteiz - Eibar

Friday, 6 april 2018 - At 164.7 kilometres, the 5th stage of the Tour of the Basque Country travels from Vitoria-Gasteiz to Eibar. The first half is slightly rolling before the second half features three climbs in rapid succession. The top of the last one is crested with 20 kilometres remaining.

Departure place Vitoria-Gasteiz is often included in the Tour of the Basque Country. Last year, a stage left here to travel to San Sebastián (David de la Cruz win) and two years ago the race went to Lesaka (Stephen Cummings win). Both stages ended on descent.

The first 70 kilometres the route runs on rolling roads with altitudes fluctuating between 500 and 700 metres. Then a long drop leads the riders to the heart of the race. The first mountain is the Elosua - 8.1 kilometres of climbing at an average gradient of 6.9%.

Back in the valley a flat section runs to the Endoia, which is a 7 kilometres climb at 5.1%. The ascent is harder than it seems, as the statistics are biased by a downhill section just before the summit. A short drop and the Tour of the Basque Country goes up again. The Azurki rises at 7.6% for 5.5 kilometres and then gravity starts to work in favour of the riders.

At the top of the Azurki there is still 20 kilometres to go. Firstly a 10 kilometres descent - which is interrupted by a nasty kick - before the run-in to the line in Eibar. The last kilometres are a false flat.

The first three riders on the line take time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprints (after kilometre 96.5 and after kilometre 118.2) come with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.