Itzulia Basque Country 2024

The short but steep climbs of the Basque Country will pit Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič against one another

The peloton races along during the 2023 Itzulia Basque Country

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Itzulia Basque Country

Dates 1 Apr - 6 Apr
Race Length 833 kms
Race Category Elite Men

Itzulia Basque Country 2024 overview

Itzulia Basque Country is a WorldTour stage race in the Basque country that will begin on Monday, 1 April with a 10km time trial and end on Saturday, 6 April with a short, mountainous stage around Eibar.

The race, which finds itself wedged between the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, is under the radar despite having what could be the most stacked startlist of the spring, with three of the four big GC contenders at the Tour de France this summer: Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe).

As half of the pro peloton hammers themselves over rain-soaked cobblestones in Flanders and Northern France, the other half seeks sunnier solace in the Basque Country with a six-day long stage race known by the locals as Euskal Herriko Itzulia.

The week-long stage race in the Basque Country is unlike Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico or the Critérium du Dauphiné which act as condensed versions of the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia in their own right, Itzulia is a stand-alone event without a cut and dry Grand Tour parallel to build towards. However, Itzulia’s independence gives the race a unique platform to build an event that maximizes excitement through the parcours of the stages.

With the Basque Country and its famous crowds and short steep climbs as the backdrop to the week of racing, the quality and difficulty of the race are demonstrated by the depth of the field that lines up year after year, as evident by the impending three-way showdown between Vingegaard, Roglič and Evenepoel.

Itzulia Basque Country 2024 key information

When is the Itzulia Basque Country 2024? Itzulia will start on Monday, 1 April and will end on Saturday, 6 April.

Where does the 2024 Itzulia Basque Country take place? The race will take place in the Basque Country region of northwest Spain.

Who won the Itzulia Basque Country in 2023? Jonas Vingegaard won the 2023 edition of the race, beating Mikel Landa and Ion Izagirre who rounded out the podium.

When did the Itzulia Basque Country start? Francis Pélissier won the first edition of Itzulia Basque Country in 1928.

Who has the most wins at the Itzulia Basque Country? Alberto Contador and José Antonio González have the most wins at the Itzulia Basque Country at four victories a piece.

Which teams are racing the Itzulia Basque Country in 2024?

Itzulia Basque Country is a WorldTour race and will see the full collection of 18 WorldTour teams take on the race. Six ProTour teams will also be at the race making up the full 24-team peloton of 168 riders.

WorldTour teams:

Alpecin-Deceuninck
Arkéa-B&B Hotels
Astana Qazaqstan
Bahrain Victorious
Bora-Hansgrohe
Cofidis
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
EF Education-EasyPost
Groupama-FDJ
Ineos Grenadiers
Intermarché-Wanty
Lidl-Trek
Movistar Team
Soudal Quick-Step
dsm-firmenich PostNL
Jayco AlUla
Visma-Lease a Bike
UAE Team Emirates

ProTour teams:

Burgos-BH
Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
Equipo Kern Pharma
Euskaltel-Euskadi
Q36.5 Pro Cycling
TotalEnergies

What happened at the Itzulia Basque Country 2023?

Jonas Vingegaard won the 2023 Itzulia Basque Country ahead of Mikel Landa and Ion Izagirre. Vingegaard was dominant in the race’s most pivotal days, taking three stage wins on his way to the title. Mikel Landa pushed Vingegaard close on a number of occasions, but the Dane ultimately broke the race apart on the final stage, taking his third stage win solo after a punchy day of racing. Beyond the overall GC fight, Ethan Hayter, Ide Schelling and Sergio Higuita also took stage wins in reduced group finishes.

Itzulia Basque Country history

The race first took place way back in 1924 but only held 11 editions before the Spanish Civil War erupted and seemingly ended it for good. In 1969 it made a miraculous return and saw five-time Tour de France winner Jacques Anquetil take the overall title. Since then, two Spanish riders have dominated the race: José Antonio González, a winner of four editions in the 70s, and Alberto Contador, a winner of back-to-back editions in the 2000s and 2010s.

The Spaniards also dominate the list of stage winners in this race, with some of the nation’s top riders of the last two decades - Alejandro Valverde, Joaquim Rodriguez and Samuel Sánchez - all taking a handful over the course of their careers. Five years ago, in 2019, Ion Izagirre became the first Basque winner since Iban Mayo in 2003, ending a 16-year drought for the home region.

Itzulia Basque Country's previous winners

2023 Jonas Vingegaard (Den)
2022 Daniel Martínez (Col)
2021 Primoz Roglic (Slo)
2020 No race held
2019 Ion Izagirre (Spa)
2018 Primoz Roglic (Slo)
2017 Alejandro Valverde (Spa)
2016 Alberto Contador (Esp)
2015 Joaquim Rodríguez (Esp)
2014 Alberto Contador (Esp)
2013 Nairo Quintana (Col)
2012 Samuel Sánchez (Esp)
2011 Andreas Klöden (Ger)
2010 Chris Horner (USA)
2009 Alberto Contador (Esp)
2008 Alberto Contador (Esp)
2007 Juan José Cobo (Esp)
2006 José Ángel Gómez Marchante (Esp)
2005 Danilo Di Luca (Ita)
2004 Denis Menchov (Rus)
2003 Iban Mayo (Esp)
2002 Aitor Osa (Esp)
2001 Raimondas Rumšas (Ltu)
2000 Andreas Klöden (Ger)
1999 Laurent Jalabert (Fra)
1998 Íñigo Cuesta (Esp)
1997 Alex Zülle (Sui)
1996 Francesco Casagrande (Ita)
1995 Alex Zülle (Sui)
1994 Tony Rominger (Sui)
1993 Tony Rominger (Sui)
1992 Tony Rominger (Sui)
1991 Claudio Chiappucci (Ita)
1990 Julián Gorospe (Esp)
1989 Stephen Roche (Irl)
1988 Erik Breukink (Ned)
1987 Sean Kelly (Irl)
1986 Sean Kelly (Irl)
1985 Pello Ruiz Cabestany (Esp)
1984 Sean Kelly (Irl)
1983 Julián Gorospe (Esp)
1982 José Luis Laguía (Esp)
1981 Silvano Contini (Ita)
1980 Alberto Fernández (Esp)
1979 Giovanni Battaglin (Ita)
1978 José Antonio González (Esp)
1977 José Antonio González (Esp)
1976 Gianbattista Baronchelli (Ita)
1975 José Antonio González (Esp)
1974 Miguel María Lasa (Esp)
1973 Luis Ocaña (Esp)
1972 José Antonio González (Esp)
1971 Luis Ocaña (Esp)
1970 Luis Pedro Santamarina (Esp)
1969 Jacques Anquetil (Fra)
1936–1968 No race held
1935 Gino Bartali (Ita)
1931–1934 No race held
1930 Mariano Cañardo (Esp)
1929 Maurice De Waele (Bel)
1928 Maurice De Waele (Bel)
1927 Victor Fontan (Fra)
1926 Nicolas Frantz (Lux)
1925 Auguste Verdyck (Bel)
1924 Francis Pélissier (Fra)