Itzulia Basque Country, aka, the Tour of the Basque Country or the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, is a six-day stage race taking place from 3rd to 8th April in the Basque region of northern Spain.
This year there will be an extra emphasis on this historic race, which had its first edition in 1922, with the first three stages of the 2023 Tour de France also in the Basque Country, although there won’t be a crossover of major climbs between Itzulia and the Tour, with this race actually having no summit finishes despite its far-from-easy parcours.
The 2022 race was won by Ineos Grenadiers’ Dani Martínez ahead of Ion Izagirre and Aleksandr Vlasov, with other notable names in the top ten including Remco Evenepoel in fourth, Jonas Vingegaard in sixth and Primož Roglič in eighth.
This year’s edition begins in Vitoria-Gasteiz and finishes in Eibar and includes three uphill finishes, one being a very steep ramp and the other two rather more understated. The other three stages either finish with a descent or coming off a descent, so it could be a great week for breakaways.
Itzulia Basque Country 2023: Key information
- Dates: 3rd April-8th April 2023
- Start: Vitoria-Gasteiz
- Finish: Eibar
- Stages: Six
- UK television coverage: Eurosport, GCN+, Discovery+
- Most wins: Alberto Contador and Jose Antonio González, four
- 2022 winner: Dani Martínez (Ineos Grenadiers)
Itzulia Basque Country 2023 route
The mountains that run through the Basque Country – funnily enough known as the Basque Mountains – join the Pyrenees in the east and the Cantabrian mountains in the west, and are generally considered part of the latter (and all three are considered the same range by some).
It’s a region packed with short but brutal climbs, and we’ll see some of that in the opening stages of the Tour de France too, so don’t think by looking at these profiles that it’ll be an easy race, the podium in 2021 was Primož Roglič, Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar.
The top three places get bonus seconds at sprints (3, 2 and 1) and at the finish (10, 6 and 4) so expect overall contenders to challenge for everything they can get. There’s also a prize for best Basque rider, which went to Ion Izagirre in 2022, all competing Basque riders are in italics in the start list further down the page.
Itzulia Basque Country 2023: stage-by-stage
Stage 1: Monday 3rd April, Vitoria-Gasteiz – Labastida, 165.4km
Yeah it’s a little lumpy – nothing crazy, but you can probably rule out sprinters (the ones that are there instead of Flanders/Roubaix, pray for them) as the final kilometres have 8% ramps and it’s 6% up to the finish.
Stage 2: Tuesday 4th April, Viana – Leitza, 193.8km
Ion Izagirre has five podiums in Itzulia, including winning in 2019. Yes he’s Basque so it means more but also finishes like this are his bread and butter. This stage comes down to Izagirre and fellow Basque rider Pello Bilbao, book it.
Stage 3: Wednesday 5th April, Errenteria – Amasa-Villabona, 153.9km
That finish ramps up to 26%, cue a big shake-up.
Stage 4: Thursday 6th April, Santurtzi – Santurtzi, 175.7km
Another descending finish means attacks over the top of La Asturiana are inevitable and it’s likely a breakaway takes this.
Stage 5: Friday 7th April, Amorebieta-Etxano – Amorebieta-Etxano, 165.9km
Again, it’s hard to imagine anything other than a breakaway win with such a lumpy – but not crazy – profile. The finish comes off a descent with 1.5km to go and has a 180° turn with about 500m remaining.
Stage 6: Saturday 8th April, Eibar – Eibar, 137.8km
This beast of a stage his several brutal climbs to drop anyone with tired legs before an uphill drag to the line will decide the GC.
Itzulia Basque Country 2023: live TV and streaming guide
As per every WorldTour race, Itzulia Basque Country will be broadcast live on Eurosport and available to stream live on GCN+ and Discovery+ (all with the same coverage, times below).
GCN+ costs £6.99 paid monthly, or £39.99 per year and Discovery+ costs £6.99 per month or £59.99 per year for sports and entertainment (for fans of shows like 90 Day Fiancé and Ghost Adventures).
Streaming coverage via GCN+ will be available worldwide including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA, but double-check territory restrictions to avoid disappointment.
TV and streaming schedule below UK time and subject to change by broadcasters.
Stage 1: Monday 3rd April
14:30-17:00
Stage 2: Tuesday 4th April
14:30-17:00
Stage 3: Wednesday 5th April
14:30-17:00
Stage 4: Thursday 6th April
14:30-17:00
Stage 5: Friday 7th April
14:30-17:00
Stage 6: Saturday 8th April
14:15-17:00
Itzulia Basque Country 2023: Start list
Basque riders in italics.
AG2R-Citroën
Alex Baudin
Felix Gall
Jaakko Hänninen
Paul Lapeira
Valentin Paret-Peintre
Nicolas Prodhomme
Andrea Vendrame
Alpecin-Deceuninck
Tobias Bayer
Nicola Conci
Quinten Hermans
Jimmy Janssens
Xandro Meurisse
Stefano Oldani
Kristian Sbaragli
Arkéa-Samsic
Clément Champoussin
Thibault Guernalec
Simon Guglielmi
Michel Ries
Alan Riou
Cristián Rodríguez
Alessandro Verre
Astana Qazaqstan
Samuele Battistella
David de la Cruz
Fabio Felline
Aleksandr Riabushenko
Javier Romo Oliver
Luis León Sánchez
Cristian Scaroni
Bahrain Victorious
Yukiya Arashiro
Pello Bilbao
Rainer Kepplinger
Mikel Landa
Hermann Pernsteiner
Jasha Sütterlin
Edoardo Zambinini
Bora-Hansgrohe
Cesare Benedetti
Emanuel Buchmann
Sergio Higuita
Luis-Joe Lührs
Anton Palzer
Ide Schelling
Ben Zwiehoff
Burgos-BH
Andres Camilo Ardila
Jetse Bol
Jose Manuel Diaz
Jesus Ezquerra
Victor Langellotti
Daniel Navarro
Ander Okamika
Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
Orluis Alberto Aular
Fernando Barcelo
Jon Barrenetxea
Jefferson Cepeda
Jokin Murguialday
Joel Nicolau
Eduard Prades
Cofidis
Thomas Champion
Ion Izagirre
Simon Geschke
José Herrada
Jonathan Lastra
Rémy Rochas
Harrison Wood
EF Education-EasyPost
Andrey Amador
Jonathan Caicedo
Richard Carapaz
Esteban Chaves
Odd Christian Eiking
Kudus Ghebremedhin
Rigoberto Urán
Equipo Kern Pharma
Jon Agirre
Igor Arrieta
Giovanni Carboni
Iñigo Elosegui
Pau Miquel
Jose Felix Parra
Ibon Ruiz
Euskaltel-Euskadi
Mikel Bizkarra
Joan Bou
Carlos Canal
Asier Etxeberria
Unai Iribar
Txomin Juaristi
Gotzon Martin
Groupama-FDJ
Bruno Armirail
David Gaudu
Romain Gregoire
Matthieu Ladagnous
Quentin Pacher
Michael Storer
Lars van den Berg
Ineos Grenadiers
Egan Bernal
Jonathan Castroviejo
Omar Fraile
Ethan Hayter
Dani Martínez
Brandon Rivera
Carlos Rodríiguez
Intermarché-Circus-Wanty
Lilian Calmejane
Rui Costa
Kobe Goossens
Laurens Huys
Dion Smith
Rein Taaramäe
Georg Zimmerman
Jayco-AlUla
Lawson Craddock
Edward Dunbar
Chris Harper
Chris Juul-Jensen
Jan Maas
Matteo Sobrero
Simon Yates
Jumbo-Visma
Rohan Dennis
Thomas Gloag
Steven Kruijswijk
Gijs Leemreize
Sam Oomen
Attila Valter
Jonas Vingegaard
Movistar
Ruben Antonio Almeida
Alex Aranburu
Jorge Arcas
Enric Mas
Gregor Mühlberger
Gonzalo Serrano
Gorka Izagirre
Soudal-QuickStep
Andrea Bagioli
Rémi Cavagna
James Knox
Fausto Masnada
Mauro Schmid
Martin Svrček
Mauri Vansevenant
Team DSM
Romain Combaud
Matthew Dinham
Sean Flynn
Max Poole
Florian Stork
Martijn Tusveld
Henri Vandenabeele
TotalEnergies
Mathieu Burgaudeau
Jeremy Cabot
Steff Cras
Victor de la Parte
Alan Jousseaume
Pierre Latour
Alexis Vuillermoz
Trek-Segafredo
Jon Aberasturi
Julien Bernard
Tony Gallopin
Juan Pedro Lopez
Mattias Skjelmose Jensen
Toms Skujins
Natnael Tesfazion
UAE Team Emirates
Juan Ayuso
Davide Formolo
Felix Großschartner
Brandon McNulty
Marc Soler
Diego Ulissi
Adam Yates
Itzulia Basque Country previous winners
2022: Dani Martínez
2021: Primož Roglič
2020: No race
2019: Ion Izagirre
2018: Primož Roglič
2017: Alejandro Valverde
2016: Alberto Contador
2015: Joaquim Rodríguez
2014: Alberto Contador
2013: Nairo Quintana
2012: Samuel Sánchez
2011: Andreas Klöden
2010: Chris Horner
2009: Alberto Contador
2008: Alberto Contador
2007: Juan José Cobo
2006: José Ángel Gómez Marchante
2005: Danilo Di Luca
2004: Denis Menchov
2003: Iban Mayo
2002: Aitor Osa
2001: Raimondas Rumsas
2000: Andreas Klöden
1999: Laurent Jalabert
1998: Íñigo Cuesta
1997: Alex Zülle
1996: Francesco Casagrande
1995: Alex Zülle
1994: Tony Rominger
1993: Tony Rominger
1992: Tony Rominger
1991: Claudio Chiappucci
1990: Julián Gorospe
1989: Stephen Roche
1988: Erik Breukink
1987: Sean Kelly
1986: Sean Kelly
1985: Pello Ruiz Cabestany
1984: Sean Kelly
1983: Julián Gorospe
1982: José Luis Laguía
1981: Silvano Contini
1980: Alberto Fernández Blanco
1979: Giovanni Battaglin
1978: José Antonio González Linares
1977: José Antonio González Linares
1976: Gianbattista Baronchelli
1975: José Antonio González Linares
1974: Miguel María Lasa
1973: Luis Ocaña
1972: José Antonio González Linares
1971: Luis Ocaña
1970: Luis Pedro Santamarina
1969: Jacques Anquetil
1936-1968: No race
1935: Gino Bartali
1931-1934: No race
1930: Mariano Cañardo
1929: Maurice De Waele
1928: Maurice De Waele
1927: Victor Fontan
1926: Nicolas Frantz
1925: Auguste Verdyck
1924: Francis Pélissier