DISCUSSION | Itzulia Basque Country stage 1 - Del Toro & Ayuso are a total fiasco, Seixas is worth his weight in gold

Paul Seixas delivered a sensational performance to win the opening stage of the 2026 Itzulia Basque Country, announcing himself on the WorldTour stage with a dominant ride in the individual time trial in Bilbao.

On a demanding 13.8km course featuring a steep opening climb, technical descent and uphill finish, the 19-year-old Frenchman produced a ride that completely reshaped expectations.

Early on, Primoz Roglic looked set to take control of the race. The Slovenian put in a strong and consistent effort across all sections of the course, setting a benchmark time of 17:37.

He was particularly effective on the Alto Santo Domingo climb and carried his momentum through the rolling terrain, quickly establishing himself as the rider to beat. Several contenders attempted to challenge his time, but most fell short.

Tobias Halland Johannessen showed promise early, briefly threatening at the first intermediate checkpoint, but faded significantly in the second half, finishing 29 seconds behind.

Matthew Riccitello also impressed on the climb, recording the fastest split, but lost ground on the flatter sections and ended up around 30 seconds down.

Bruno Armirail and Ben Tulett both delivered solid rides, temporarily moving into podium positions.

However, everything changed with the arrival of Seixas. The young Frenchman immediately set a blistering pace on the opening climb, outperforming all previous riders.

By the second intermediate checkpoint, he had already built a clear advantage and continued to increase his lead in the final part of the course.

At the finish, Seixas stopped the clock with a time 28 seconds faster than Primoz Roglic, an enormous margin for such a short time trial, underlining the exceptional nature of his performance.

Among the other contenders, Brandon McNulty appeared to be a potential challenger after a strong start, cresting the climb just three seconds behind Seixas. However, he struggled in the latter part of the course and eventually finished seventh.

Ilan Van Wilder delivered one of the most balanced rides of the day, finishing fourth, just one second behind Roglic. Kévin Vauquelin also impressed with a late surge to take second place, 23 seconds behind Seixas.

Further down the standings, several general classification hopefuls lost significant time. Isaac del Toro, one of the in-form riders of the season, was unable to match the pace and finished 13th, conceding 50 seconds.

Juan Ayuso endured a particularly difficult day, losing time early on the climb and struggling throughout the stage. He eventually finished 35th, over a minute down, dealing a serious blow to his overall ambitions.

Other riders such as Cian Uijtdebroeks and Mikel Landa also lost considerable time, highlighting the selective nature of the course. While changing wind conditions may have influenced some performances, the time gaps remained substantial.

In the end, Seixas’ ride proved untouchable. His victory not only secured the stage win but also earned him the first leader’s jersey of the race. More importantly, it marked a breakthrough moment in his young career, immediately positioning him as a serious contender and significantly shaping the early general classification.

Well my friends, what a statement this 19-year-old made today against the big names present at the Itzulia Basque Country. Paul Seixas.

If so many are already whispering behind the scenes that he could be the next great rival of Tadej Pogačar, then based on the performances he is delivering and the tenacity he shows, it’s hard not to believe it.

Juan Ayuso was a shadow of himself. He started poorly and lost a huge amount of time to Santo Domingo. On the descent, he misjudged a corner and only avoided crashing by sheer luck. By the finish line, it was a disastrous ride.

Isaac del Toro was slightly better than Ayuso, but still received a harsh lesson. Even Primoz Roglic was faster than him in the ITT. Perhaps this brought him back down to earth.

Kévin Vauquelin set an excellent time, as did Felix Grobschartner, the rider who saved UAE from a complete disaster, along with Ilan Van Wilder, Roglic and Florian Lipowitz.

Let’s just say that the time trial powerhouses of INEOS Grenadiers and Lidl-Trek, which had remained untouchable and dominant against the clock until now, were beaten.

Red Bull now presents Roglic and Lipowitz as their weapons for the general classification, but if things start to swing in favour of the German rider as the week unfolds, will the Slovenian work for him? I doubt it.

Two things are certain. One is that Seixas is the man to beat. I have no doubts that the Decathlon rider will win the race. Care to make a bet? The other… UAE Team Emirates - XRG will once again be a team where everyone rides for themselves.

The 2026 Itzulia got off to a very clear start: there’s a new contender looking to dominate the general classification, and that’s Paul Seixas.

Today’s time trial in Bilbao was not just another victory. It was a true masterclass. On a technical and demanding 13.8 km course, with the climb up Alto de Santo Domingo proving decisive, Seixas was not only the fastest… he was simply unbeatable.

From the first intermediate point, he made it clear he was in a league of his own. Whilst Primoz Roglic set a blistering time (17:37) that looked hard to beat, the Frenchman was already clocking a faster pace.

By the second intermediate point, the gap had shot up to 15 seconds. And on the final climb, he simply flew. The final time of 17:09 not only secured him the victory: it was a statement of intent. He finished 28 seconds ahead of Roglic and completely outclassed two of the big names of the future, Juan Ayuso and Isaac del Toro, who were never even close to the winning time.

But beyond the times, what is striking is the impression he made. Seixas didn’t just manage the time trial: he destroyed it. He was faster on the flat, more efficient on the technical sections and devastating on the climb.

He even lapped riders on the course, which speaks volumes about the absolutely colossal pace he set. Behind him, there were standout performances but they weren’t enough.

Roglic himself confirmed he is in good form, and riders like Javier Romo and Pello Bilbao saved the day with solid time trials. In contrast, riders like Cian Uijtdebroeks lost far more ground than expected, complicating their overall standings from day one.

What really matters is what this means for the race. In an Itzulia where gaps are usually small and every second counts, gaining almost half a minute on the first day completely changes the script. Now the pressure is not on Seixas, but on everyone else.

Del Toro has to make up 50 seconds and Ayuso 1 minute and 16 seconds. It’s going to be very difficult for either of them to manage it.

I think there's no doubt that we are watching the first big steps in a career that's going to succeed a lot.

Paul Seixas was no doubt a favourite to win this time trial after what he showed at the Volta ao Algarve, but this afternoon his level was stratospheric, a level above everyone else.

I think no-one can question his potential at this point and doing this against the clock, even in a time trial that's only climbing or descending, is an enormous sign of adaptation to a discipline that usually rewards a lot of position adaptation and technological advances from the teams.

The real deal, and I think that with these legs there isn't going to be anyone who is going to have an easy time - if possible at all - taking him out of the race lead. 51 seconds to Isaac del Toro is a massive gap which may not be cut.