Pello Bilbao starts as Bahrain - Victorious' big hope at Itzulia Basque Country: "One of my most important races on the calendar"

The 63rd edition of the Itzulia Basque Country will take place from April 1-6 between Irun and Eibar, over six stages covering 833.6 kilometers. Basque rider, Pello Bilbao, heads the lineup with the support of Yukiya Arashiro, Nikias Arndt, Santiago Buitrago, Johan Price Pejtersen, Jasha Sütterlin and Edoardo Zambanini.

Pello Bilbao is excited to compete at home: "The Itzulia is one of my most important races on the calendar. It's a race that I like to prepare for in detail. This year, maybe even more so because the strongest riders will be here. Racing at home, in familiar territory, on my roads and against these big names is a great motivation," he says.

"I want to use this advantage to try to do my best race, to surprise them, to be in the fight for the stages. I can say that this year it's not the typical Itzulia. I think it's a softer version," he continues. "It's not such a technical course and it looks like they are trying to make a race that will be decided in the last stage. Because the previous stages always finish in small groups at the finish line, but it's not a very selective course. So everything will be decided on the first day of time trial and on the last day in a typical Eibar stage. I'm ready and motivated for this new Itzulia."

Neil Stephens, sports director: "On Monday we start the Itzulia with the time trial in Irún. It's a good way to start the Itzulia with the time trial. It's a race we've been working hard on, not only with the riders, but also with our technical partners, Merida and all the other bike component sponsors. The team is doing a great job preparing for the individual time trial. We have high hopes for race leader Pello Bilbao on Monday and throughout the Itzulia. From Irun, we will move on to two less hard days, although there are no easy stages in the Basque Country, but stages 2 and 3 are not so demanding. We'll try to get a stage result, obviously a stage win with Nikias and Santiago, and then we'll move on to hard stages with a lot of climbs. We will hope for a stage result along the way and try to protect the overall riders, Pello and Santiago as co-leaders. And we have high hopes for Santiago also in the last stage. The other guys are support. Every day, we're going to try to keep our options open to go for an individual result."

Bahrain Victorius for the Tour of the Basque Country 2024.

1. Pello Bilbao
2. Yukiya Arashiro
3. Nikias Arndt
4. Santiago Buitrago
5. Johan Price Pejtersen
6. Jasha Sütterlin
7. Edoardo Zambanini