PREVIEW | Itzulia Basque Country 2025 stage 4 - Will Max Schachmann defend the yellow jersey on a terrible final climb?

From the 7th to the 12th of April, the peloton will take on Itzulia Basque Country; a race that is well known for it's course designed for climbers and puncheurs in a region full of cycling history. We preview stage 4.

Stage 4 is a harder challenge with no doubt, a day, one where the climbers can make a lot of difference, even if the attacks only come on the final ascent. There will be punchy ascents early on in the day which adds to the fatigue and increase the day's total amount of climbing to 2800 meters, but the focus will truly be on that final climb.

Before the downhill finish into Markina-Xemein is 3.5 kilometers long at almost 10% and this is a climb that without a doubt the climbers can use to make the difference. In Izua, the ramps will go up to 20% and this finishes only with 11 kilometers to go on the day.

Like the previous day, this is one where if you go over the top of the final climb alone a victory is quite likely, as most of the way to the finish is downhill and will be very fast - whilst a group will never have an easy time organizing a proper chase. However of course, riders will have to pay attention to the roundabouts and take the right side always!

*** Max Schachmann, Florian Lipowitz, João Almeida
** Romain Grégoire, Enric Mas, Mattias Skjelmose
* Wilco Kelderman, Ilan van Wilder, Steff Cras, Alex Aranburu, Santiago Buitrago, Harold Tejada, Pello Bilbao, Ion Izagirre, Clément Berthet, Ben Healy, Oscar Onley, Clément Champoussin

Pick: Max Schachmann

How: I think the German is going to be able to defend himself very well in the climb and win in a small group sprint.