Attaquer toute la journée. Tomber à trois kilomètres de l'arrivée. Revenir, au courage. Gagner l'étape, terminer 2e du classement général. CAMPEON ION 🔥 #Itzulia
Ion Izagirre: "I am so happy. It's hard to put into words what I feel"
CyclingSaturday, 09 April 2022 at 19:58
The queen stage of the Itzulia Basque Country saw some dramatic action as Remco Evenepoel was unable to keep his lead against Daniel Martínez, however when it came to the stage win it was an equally exciting battle, won by Ion Izagirre as he put on a very strong performance and netting the win in the final sprint.
"I am so happy. It's hard to put into words what I feel... Winning the last stage in Arrate is a dream for all Basques. I believe there is no better place to win!" Izagirre said in a post-race interview. After a week of consistent performances and always making the decisive moves, Izagirre had started the day in third place, albeit under the radar for the GC riders. Assumed to have been past his prime, this Itzulia came as a surprise performance, but the Basque took advantage of the experience and motivation from his home roads to not only soar to a second place in a highly contested race, but also to win the queen stage.
Izagirre successfully responded to the attacks made on Krabelin, and was in the leading group at the start of the final climb to Arrate. Having rider a smart race, he had the legs to comeback to the GC group after hitting the deck with less than 4 kilometers to go after a touch of wheels with Jonas Vingegaard. Not only did he return to the group, but took the lead in the final sweeping bends down to the finish next to the Santuario de Arrate, and raised his arms in what is his first win since joining up with Cofidis.
"After my fall, it was difficult to come back but I kept fighting and giving everything until the finish line. In addition, I finished 2nd in the general classification, it allows us to end this superb week that we had with the whole team!" Izagirre completed. With Flèche Wallone, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour de Romandie still ahead, Izagirre still has time to gather more strong results this spring, however this victory has been a great objective achieved.
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