Tour of the Basque Country 2018 Stage 1: Alaphilippe bests Roglic in two-up sprint to take lead
The Tour of the Basque's 1st stage travels over five climbs to conclude with a drop to the line. On the steep last climb Julian Alaphilippe and Primoz Roglic go on the attack. They reach the crest together to drop to the line. The Frenchman wins the two-up sprint, thus taking the first leader's jersey. (Slideshow route/profile)
Results 1st stage 2018 Tour of the Basque Country
1. Julian Alaphilippe (fra)
2. Primoz Roglic (slo) s.t.
3. Pello Bilbao (spa) + 0.23
4. Enric Mas (spa) s.t.
5. Gorka Izagirre (spa) s.t.
6. Emanuel Buchmann (ger) s.t.
7. Patrick Konrad (aut) s.t.
8. Jelle Vanendert (bel) s.t.
9. Romain Bardet (fra) s.t.
10. Nairo Quintana (col) s.t.
12. Rigoberto Uran (col) s.t.
13. Bauke Mollema (nld) s.t.
14. Mikel Landa (spa) s.t.
18. Ion Izagirre (spa) + 0.51
19. Vincenzo Nibali (ita) s.t.
20. Michael Woods (can) s.t.
26. Ilnur Zakarin (rus) + 1.12
67. Michal Kwiatkowski (pol) + 3.54
89. Richie Porte (aus) + 7.07
GC after the 1st stage
1. Julian Alaphilippe (fra)
2. Primoz Roglic (slo) + 0.04
3. Pello Bilbao (spa) + 0.29
4. Enric Mas (spa) + 0.33
5. Gorka Izagirre (spa) s.t.
6. Emanuel Buchmann (ger) s.t.
7. Patrick Konrad (aut) s.t.
8. Jelle Vanendert (bel) s.t.
9. Romain Bardet (fra) s.t.
10. Nairo Quintana (col) s.t.
Race report
Shortly after the start Ibai Salas, Jonathan Lastra, Aitor Gonzalez and Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier join forces to distance the main group. The gap widens to 5 minutes before the peloton takes them on a leash.
On the second climb of the day, Maddiola, the leaders are almost caught when Thomas De Gendt and Dario Cataldo bridge across. The Flemish attacker pockets the KOM points at the crest before the lead goes up to more than 2 minutes. Yet, on the lower slopes of the Alto de Aia the break is reeled in.
Roglic dances at the front on the last climb, Eikano, 2.4 kilometres at 9%, and he reaches the crest with Alaphilippe on his wheel. Quintana is third at the top with Izagirre (Gorka), Buchmann, Vanendert and Mas.
Following a sinuous descent to the line Alaphilippe claims the win with half a bike length. So the Frenchman is the first leader on GC.
The Quintana group is overhauled by a chasing group with most GC contenders before Pello Bilbao sprints to third place, 23 seconds down on the winner. Ion Izagirre, Vincenzo Nibali, Michael Woods and Ilnur Zakarin lose around 1 minute, while Richie Porte and Michal Kwiatkowski can stow their GC ambitions away for a later occasion.
Read also: route 1st stage 2018 Tour of the Basque Country.
Tour of the Basque Country 2018 stage 1: Route maps, height profiles, and more
Click on the images to zoom
Watch the highlights of recent races here:
Related articles Favourites - Tour of the Basque Country 20 Overview - Tour of the Basque Country 20 Stage 6: Enric Mas victor at Arate, Primoz Roglic wins overall - Tour of the Basque Country 20 Stage 5: Fraile wins seven-up sprint, Roglic cements lead - Tour of the Basque Country 20 Stage 4: Roglic takes time trial and moves into overall lead - Tour of the Basque Country 20 Stage 3: Jay McCarthy sprints to victory, Alaphilippe still leader - Tour of the Basque Country 20 Stage 2: Alaphilippe strikes again to cement lead, Roglic second - Tour of the Basque Country 20 Route stage 2: Zarautz - Bermeo - Tour of the Basque Country 20 Route stage 3: Bermeo - Valdegovía - Tour of the Basque Country 20 Route stage 4: ITT Lodosa - Tour of the Basque Country 20 Route stage 5: Vitoria-Gasteiz - Eibar - Tour of the Basque Country 20 Route stage 6: Eibar - Arrate - Tour of the Basque Country 20 More articles Ruta del Sol 2019: The Route
Ruta del Sol 2019: Riders
Ruta del Sol 2019: Favourites
Ruta del Sol 2019 Route stage 1: Sanlúcar de Barrameda – Alcalá de los Gazules
Ruta del Sol 2019 Route stage 2: Sevilla - Torredonjimeno
Ruta del Sol 2019 Route stage 3: Mancha Real - La Guardia de Jaén
Ruta del Sol 2019 Route stage 4: Armilla - Granada
Ruta del Sol 2019 Route stage 5: Otura - Alhaurín de la Torre
Ruta del Sol: Winners and records
Tour of Valencia 2019: Groenewegen wins last stage, Izagirre overall winner
UAE Tour 2019: The Route
UAE Tour 2019: Riders
UAE Tour 2019: Favourites
UAE Tour 2019 Route stage 1: TTT at Al Hudayriat Island
UAE Tour 2019 Route stage 2: Yas Mall – Abu Dhabi
UAE Tour 2019 Route stage 3: Al Ain – Jebel Hafeet
UAE Tour 2019 Route stage 4: Dubai – Hatta Dam
UAE Tour 2019 Route stage 5: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
UAE Tour 2019 Route stage 6: Ajman – Jebel Jais
UAE Tour 2019 Route stage 7: Dubai – Dubai
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2019: The Route
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2019: Riders
Paris-Nice 2019: The Route
Paris-Nice 2019: Riders
Tirreno-Adriatico 2019: The Route
Volta a Catalunya 2019: The Route
E3 BinckBank Classic 2019: The Route
Tour of Flanders 2019: The Route
Tour of Flanders 2019: Riders
Paris - Roubaix 2019: The Route
Paris - Roubaix 2019: Riders
Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2019: The Route
Giro 2019: The Route
Giro 2019: Riders
Tour of California 2019: The Route
Visit the Tour de France
Tour de France 2019: The Route
Tour de France 2019 Route stage 1: Brussels - Brussels
Tour de France 2019: Riders
Vuelta 2019: The Route
Vuelta 2019: Riders
Cycling Calendar 2019
Tour of the Alps 2019: The Route
Win a free cycling jersey!
Race Results Service
Like our Facebook page and stay on top of all pro-race information!
