Startlist Itzulia Basque Country 2026 | Riders: Paul Seixas, Isaac del Toro, Juan Ayuso, Primoz Roglic and more

From the 6th to the 11th of April, the peloton will travel to the Basque Country, one of cycling's holy regions, for Itzulia Basque Country. The six-day stage-race is always marked by the steep climbs, the narrow roads, unstable weather and passionate fans, which are never missing in one of the spring's highlights. We take a look at its startlist.

The race was first held back in 1924 where Francis Pélissier took the first win. In 1935 Gino Bartali won an isolated edition and then for over 30 years the Itzulia was absent from the calendar. It wasn't until 1969 where there was a rebirth, and one with big shockwaves as none other than Jacques Anquetil won this edition.

Over the years many legends such as Luis Ocaña, Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche, Tony Rominger, Alex Zulle and Laurent Jalabert have all won the Basque race. The amount of Spanish wins in this century hasn't dminished even in the previous years, with the following being victorious: Aitor Osa, Iban Mayo, José Ángel Gómez Marchante, Juan José Cobo, Alberto Contador (four times), Sámuel Sanchez, Joaquím Rodríguez, Alejandro Valverde, Ion Izagirre and most recently in 2024 Juan Ayuso.

We've also had Nairo Quintana take a breakthrough win in 2013 early in his career, Primoz Roglic (2018 and 2021), Daniel Martínez, in 2023 Jonas Vingegaard and in 2025 João Almeida who dominated the race throughout its mountain stages.

Download the startlist in A4. The race is going to have a very interesting battle for the overall win including the young super talent Paul Seixas; and the equally impressive slightly older talent Isaac del Toro who is getting the freedom to lead UAE in another top race. Juan Ayuso is also returning to racing after his Paris-Nice injury, and would be a clear win candidate if he has his best level. Primoz Roglic is also an interesting addition to the race, on profiles that suit him.

Antonio Tiberi, Mattias Skjelmose, Brandon McNulty; besides local stars such as Mikel Landa, Pello Bilbao, Ion Izagirre and Alex Aranburu are also set to take the spotlight. Lots of riders also use this race as preparation for the Ardennes classics such as Julian Alaphilippe, Quinn Simmons, Christian Scaroni and Jarno Widar.