Intense afternoon for Alex Aranburu who won, was DQd and then won again: "He was happy and angry at the same time"
Cycling
Stage 3 of Itzulia Basque Country became a huge drama after Alex Aranburu crossed the line as stage winner. That was because the Spanishman crossed a roundabout in the final on a side that was closed - contrary to what was written in road book before the start. The Spanish champion was relegated to 10th place and later even disqualified from the race.
But in the end, Aranburu was declared the winner again, after a long period of uncertainty. "It was of course a difficult decision," Cofidis sports director Bingen Fernández told Cycling Pro Net. "You normally follow the road book, and we knew that the roundabout there had to be taken on the right."
As a home rider, Aranburu was extremely motivated to succeed today in the national champion colours. Therefore he meticulously studied the road book to gain an edge over his opponents in event of such close finish like today's.
"The rider comes from here, and he studied all the roundabouts, because he wanted to know exactly how the final would go. In the last kilometre and a half, he suddenly saw that the roundabout was half open. Of course, he took the right. He did the right thing, because the road book said that it had to be done that way. And that is the bible of cycling."
Thus justice has won, says the director. "There were many discussions, but the road book remained central. Moreover, he was simply the strongest," he highlighted.
It was a rollercoaster of emotions for the Spanish champion after the stage. The eventual winner was even completely disqualified from the race at one point. With tears in his eyes, he drove towards the hotel. "He was happy and angry at the same time. Because he won, and then he didn't, and then he did again. It is very tough. In the end, we are happy with the victory, but it is not a victory under normal circumstances."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- he is doing 460 watts for 35 min to achieve 7 w/kg with VO2 at 96 , just unreal numbers.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just do it, and put up with the consequencesJumpyjohn08-11-2026
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