Pello Bilbao wins stage three of Itzulia Basque Country

The third stage of the Itzulia Basque Country was chaotic as expected, as the hilly climbs gave way to aggressive racing. Jumbo-Visma controlled the race perfectly, so the stage win only was up for grabs in a small group sprint, where Pello Bilbao took a strong win for Bahrain - Victorious.

The breakaway took time to form as many looked to be in front today, but eventually Cristian Rodríguez (TotalEnergies), Hugo Houle (Israel - Premier Tech) and Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates) set off. The trio were eventually split as the race entered the hilly loop, with Rodríguez going solo with 62 kilometers to go, and surviving until 17 kilometers to go, after the GC group had blown up.

As INEOS set the pace up for the climbs, attacks only came in the final hilltop as Adam Yates took off a few times with the intent of blowing the the peloton. Damage was done, but several riders managed to follow, and there was a little bit of a regrouping after the ascent's summit with 22.5 kilometers to go.

Several attacks followed, mainly sparked by Remco Evenepoel who tried to go solo several times, but always covered. The final hilltop with 5 kilometers to go saw a split as Pello Bilbao attacked, more than once in the final kilometers.

As faith would have it, Remco Evenepoel entered the final kilometer leading out Julian Alaphilippe as a replica of yesterday's ride, and the plan almost worked to perfection, until Pello Bilbao managed to outsprint the World champion at the line, taking an impressive win, with Aleksandr Vlasov taking third at the finish.