The Dane tracked down attackers Esteban Chaves and Maurio Schmid in the last climb, left them for breakfast, and soloed to his third stage victory of the week. Obviousy, also the GC win.
Perhaps superfluously, last year we didn’t see a Sanctuary of Arrate finish for the first time in twelve editions and, as this is a carbon copy, it will be the second time in thirteen that the iconic climb is ignored. Yet, the climbing that has to be done is still intimidating. The first ramp of many appears after 10 kilometres. It’s the Elkorrieta, a 2.6 kilometres climb at 6.7%.
Following a mini descent the riders tackle the Azurki, which is a 5.1 kilometres long monster with an average gradient of 7.4%. The middle section goes up at 11% and peaks out at 16%.
Up next is the Elosua, a relatively easy climb of 10 kilometres at 5.3% leading to the village Gorla. The riders then descend back towards Eibar and enter the Krabelin. Effectually, this is the famous Arrate climb, but on the other – and steeper – side. The Krabelin is 5 kilometres long and averaging 9.6%. The middle section is extremely brutal, as it ramps up to 20%, while the hardest part of the Krabelin throws in 2 kilometres at 14%.
The route descends to the intermediate sprint in Markina before continuing to the Trabakua, a 3.3 kilometres climb at 7.1%.
A short descent, an even shorter climb, an equally short descent, another short climb, the second intermediate sprint in Eibar, and then it’s time for the Itzua. Which is not only the last steep climb of the day, it’s also a familiar one. The Itzua overlaps with the traditional finish climb to Arrate, but instead of continuing towards the Sanctuary the riders turn left after the steepest section. This way the climb is 4.1 kilometres long and averaging 9.2%.
Still almost 27 kilometres remaining after the Itzua. The descent is familiar, as it’s the same as the downhill from the Krabelin 40 kilometres earlier. After reaching the valley in Etxeberria the riders now turn right to enter the Urkaregi. For a change, the last climb of the day does add another set of intimidating gradients to the mix. Instead, the Urkaregi is 5 kilometres long and the average gradient sits at a modest 4.8%. Yet, Vingegaard showcased last year that it’s still possible to do damage on a climb at moderate gradients, as long as you ride hard enough.
The Urkaregi is done and dusted with 22 kilometes to go. The first part is on descent and the riders then enter a false flat all the way to the line.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 6.
The race is expected to finish around 17:30 CET.
Other interesting reads:
– live race report
– GC after stage 5
– entire route
– start list
– 2023 Itzulia Basque Country
– records & winners
– 2024 cycling calendar
Tour of the Basque Country 2024 stage 6: route, profile, more
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