MADRID, April 8 (silubaba) -- Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma) was crowned as the winner of the six-day Itzulia (Tour of the Basque Country) cycle race on Saturday.
The reigning Tour de France champion gave a demonstration of his climbing ability to claim the final stage of one of the most important races in the Spanish cycling calendar, after previously winning the third and fourth stages of the race earlier in the week.
Vingegaard's win helped clear any doubts about his form after disappointing slightly in the Paris-Nice race in early March, when he was well-beaten by Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates), who is likely to be his main rival in this year's Tour de France.
The sixth and final stage, which started and finished in the town of Eibar, was only 137 kilometers long, but with seven categorized climbs, there was barely a meter of flat in the entire stage.
Vingegaard launched his decisive attack on the Izua climb, 27 kilometers from the finish line and none of his main rivals were able to match him as he rode away on the steepest climb of the day.
Mikel Landa (Team Bahrain Victorious) and Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), who are both from the Basque Region, finished second and third in the overall standings, with Landa one minute and 12 seconds behind after losing a minute on the final stage, while Izagirre was a minute and 29 seconds behind. ■
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