With an attack on the Murgil climb, Remco Evenepoel won the “Klasikoa” for the fourth time, entering the history of the Basque cycling classic as its sole record holder. The 26-year-old Belgian from Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe launched his attack just under eight kilometers from the finish on the ramp with gradients of up to 19%, dropping nearly the entire lead group.
Only Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) from Ecuador, who had secured the mountains jersey at the Tour de France, could keep up — but lost to Evenepoel in the sprint after 221.2 kilometers. Third place went to Ben Tulett (Visma-Lease a Bike, +29 seconds).
Defending champion Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) was dropped during the attack and, despite chasing, was unable to close the gap. The Italian was caught by the group behind the leading duo and finished sixth (+29 seconds).
The 45th edition of the “Klasikoa” demanded everything from the riders, with 4,284 meters of climbing in the Basque coastal hinterland.
San Sebastián is a very special place for Evenepoel: it was here that he celebrated his first major professional victory as a 19-year-old in 2019, with further triumphs following in 2022 and 2023 — he has never left without a win in any of his starts there. He had previously shared the record with Basque rider Marino Lejarreta, who won three times.
Evenepoel’s teammate Primož Roglič was not among the starters: the 36-year-old Slovenian had been hit by a car shortly beforehand and was forced to withdraw at short notice.
