DISCUSSION | Itzulia Basque Country stage 2 - Seixas the new 'Alien'? Ayuso crawling on the final climb? Fans' behavior is shameful

Stage 2 of the Itzulia Basque Country delivered an impressive and decisive performance from 19-year-old French talent Paul Seixas, who secured his second consecutive victory after also winning the opening time trial.

His triumph came after a bold long-range attack, launched with 26 kilometers remaining, which none of his rivals could match.

The stage profile was far from straightforward, featuring multiple categorized climbs that gradually wore down the peloton.

Early in the day, riders tackled the ascent of Etxauri, followed later by the climbs of Zuarrarate and Aldatz. However, the defining moment of the stage came on the demanding San Miguel de Aralar climb, a 9.5-kilometer ascent averaging 7.7%, with its summit located less than 20 kilometers from the finish.

A strong breakaway group of seven riders formed early in the stage, including Frank van den Broek, Ethan Hayter, and others. The group managed to build a maximum advantage of around two and a half minutes.

At one point, Bruno Armirail even became the virtual race leader due to his relatively close position in the general classification. However, Seixas’ team maintained firm control of the peloton, ensuring the gap never grew too dangerous.

As the race reached the slopes of San Miguel de Aralar, the intensity increased significantly. The breakaway’s advantage quickly diminished under the pressure of a high tempo set by Seixas’ teammates.

Sensing the right moment, Seixas launched a decisive acceleration with around seven kilometers remaining to the summit. Mattias Skjelmose initially attempted to follow, but the pace proved too high for most of the contenders.

Behind Seixas, a group of favorites formed, including Primoz Roglic, Cian Uijtdebroeks, and others. Isaac Del Toro tried to organize the chase, while Florian Lipowitz also contributed with accelerations. Despite these efforts, Seixas maintained a significant gap, cresting the climb with around 50 seconds in hand.

The terrain after the summit favored the leader, as much of the remaining route was downhill before a short uphill section near the finish. While some riders, including Roglic and Del Toro, struggled to stay with the main chasing group, others attempted to close the gap through coordinated efforts.

Meanwhile, Mikel Landa crashed heavily on a descent, adding further drama to the stage, though updates on his condition were not immediately clear.

Seixas remained composed and continued to extend his lead. Despite a brief and unusual incident, where he had to avoid a person lying in the road, he quickly regained focus and pressed on without losing momentum.

His advantage grew to over a minute, allowing him to celebrate another dominant solo victory at the finish.

Behind him, the fight for the remaining podium places was decided in a sprint. Skjelmose emerged as the fastest, securing second place ahead of Roglic, who managed to return from behind. Uijtdebroeks finished fourth after launching an early sprint but fading slightly in the final meters.

With this performance, Seixas not only confirmed his exceptional form but also strengthened his position as the overall leader, marking himself as the standout rider of the race so far.

What did I tell you yesterday, my friends? Smooth as you like. Paul Seixas completely tore the peloton apart.

On the final climb to Santo Domingo, Lidl-Trek moved to the front, but Decathlon quickly took control of the group, setting the tempo perfectly for Seixas to launch his attack.

When the Frenchman sensed his moment, he lifted the pace and that was it, game over. He caught all the breakaway riders, took the lead of the stage, and behind him it was absolute chaos.

Ayuso was the first to crack, crawling his way to the top. The Spaniard looks like a shadow of himself compared to the Ayuso we saw at the Volta ao Algarve.

Isaac del Toro was nowhere to be seen. Skjelmose was exactly what he usually is, neither good nor bad on the climb, but still managed to be best of the rest at the finish, beating a hard-working Primoz Roglic.

The only rider who showed any kind of reaction on the climb was Florian Lipowitz, but he simply doesn’t have the legs. If he did, he would have gone clear.

Kévin Vauquelin lost a huge amount of time after crashing. And Mikel Landa… once again, bad luck struck. I don’t know the extent of his condition, but crashing on that descent, where speeds were surely above 70–80 km/h, I fear his Giro d’Italia is already compromised.

And by the way, what on earth happened with 3 km to go? I saw a spectator lying in the middle of the road just as Seixas was passing, forcing the motorbikes and the race car ahead of him to stop.

Seixas managed to sneak through, but if he had been forced to put a foot down, it would have completely distorted the sporting fairness. Honestly, I just don’t understand the behaviour of some fans.

All that’s left to say now is this: Vingegaard and Pogacar have a real challenger for the Tour de France. Decathlon are keeping things under wraps, but this wonderkid is going to have to test himself against the very best.

It's not exactly the most exciting kind of racing, but Paul Seixas has done 'a Pogacar'.

It remains to be seen now how he handles himself throughout the whole week, as climbing isn't a problem, he has shown to recover quite well before but nevertheless it is a brutal race with no off days so he has to maintain a high level everyday not to lose the overall.

A strange day of racing, I expected attacks but not one that would come so early and do so much damage. If he doesn't have a bad day the overall is rather sealed, as Isaac del Toro was also far from his best level and is now already over 2 minutes away from the race lead.

All other riders, in this race, are not going to reach him.

An incredible, historic performance by Paul Seixas in the second stage of the Itzulia.

He warned that he wasn’t going to ride defensively to protect the yellow jersey, and he fully delivered on that “threat” with a brutal attack 26 kilometers from the finish line that left his rivals with no chance.

Two stages, two victories, and the Tour of the Basque Country virtually decided. In the fight for the podium, the Red Bull BORA riders were solid, with Florian Lipowitz and Primoz Roglic well positioned.

There were also good signs from riders like Cian Uijtdebroeks and Ion Izagirre. Very poor sensations, however, for Juan Ayuso and Isaac del Toro.

The Spaniard has some excuse, as he may still be lacking form after his crash in Paris-Nice. The Mexican doesn’t have that excuse, he was badly positioned throughout the stage.

But in the end, the main story today is Seixas. A star has definitely been born. And yes, he should ride the Tour de France this year.