This Saturday, a historic Grand Départ of the Tour de France will take place from Bilbao and will feature three stages through Basque lands. Therefore, it is not surprising that the cyclists of the land are more than motivated to face the race.
A total of 7 Basque cyclists are in the race this year: two in Movistar Team (Alex Aranburu and Gorka Izagirre), two in Bahrain Victorious (Mikel Landa and Pello Bilbao), two in INEOS Grenadiers (Jonathan Castroviejo and Omar Fraile) and one in Cofidis (Ion Izagirre).
Despite his poor form in Dauphiné due to a physical problem, Mikel has had a very solid 2023, having finished second in Andalucía and Itzulia, third in Flèche Wallonne, fifth in the Volta and seventh in Valencia and Tirreno Adriatico. His big goal: the final podium in Paris.
Pello Bilbao
He was competing at a very good level in the Tour of Switzerland before his withdrawal due to the death of his teammate Gino Mäder. We don't know if he will want to fight for the top 10 overall as he has historically done in his Giro d'Italia participations or if he will try to fight for stages. For sure he will try in the first two stages in Bilbao and San Sebastian.
In principle, he arrives to work on the flat for Enric Mas, but he is a powerful and fast man and should look for his chances of winning either in the first stages in the Basque Country (where competition will be fierce) or in a breakaway taking advantage of his speed.
Gorka Izagirre
He is not going through the best moment of his career. He arrives as part of the Movistar Team block that should be dedicated to helping Enric Mas. He will be looking for breakaways in any case if the Mallorcan fails.
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Omar Fraile
He has the quality to try to do some damage in the Basque stages, but knowing how INEOS works, we assume that he will act throughout the Tour as a domestique like Jonathan.
After finishing on the podium in the Itzulia behind Jonas Vingegaard and Mikel Landa, he couldn't finish Romandie because of Covid-19 and in Switzerland he finished 12th overall. Cofidis arrives in theory with Frenchman Guillaume Martin as leader and he should have total freedom to look for stages and a high place in the overall.
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Juan LarraCycling Journalist
Juan Larra is a writer for Cyclinguptodate and editor-in-chief of Ciclismoaldia, where he has played a central role since its inception. Under his leadership, the website has become a trusted source for professional cycling coverage, offering in-depth analysis, news, and feature stories.
A sports journalist with over 20 years of experience, Juan earned his degree in Journalism from the University of Seville in 2007. He began his career covering a wide range of sports—including football, basketball, Formula 1, MotoGP, tennis, and cycling—for platforms such as the official La Liga app, Vodafone and Movistar websites, NBA Blogdebasket, and Cadena Cope, honing his skills in writing and editorial management.
In addition to his work at Ciclismoaldia, Juan contributes to Cyclinguptodate and serves as editor-in-chief for the tennis-focused site Tenisaldia. Throughout his career, he has conducted exclusive interviews with cyclists and sports figures, provided detailed analysis of competitions ranging from local Spanish races to major international events, and acted as a special correspondent at prestigious races including Paris-Roubaix, the Tour de France, and the Vuelta a España.
Juan’s combination of experience, expertise, and direct access to athletes has established him—and the platforms he leads—as authoritative voices in professional cycling.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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Mi hogar es LANDISTA, por favor no insista. Respete nuestra religión. #ElTourEsPaLanda #LandismoOBarbarie #NuevaFotoDePerfil
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