Team Bahrain Victorious lineup for both Basque races in the following days is a leader of the Itzulia Pello Bilbao and his teammates Yukiya Arashiro, Gino Mader, Domen Novak, Hermann Pernsteiner, Luis Leon Sanchez and Edoardo Zambanini.
On Saturday, the first of the races is the 31st edition of GP Indurain, starting and ending in Estella-Lizarra. The one day race is over 203.2km long, with riders taking on 3,525m of climbing. The GP Indurain demanding stretch is the four short sharp climbs of Alto de Ibarra, which will make for an exciting and challenging final 1.4km to the finish.
Meanwhile, on Monday 4th of April, the riders will be taking on the 61st edition of Itzulia 2022 in the quaint town of Hondarribia, running over six stages ending at the picturesque Arrate sanctuary.The six days of racing consists of a combined total of 882.2 km. Every stage has its quirks and features, such as stage 2 from Leitza to Viana being the longest at 207.92 km and over 2,600 verticle metres, demanding a lot of endurance from the riders. While stage 5 will see the riders take on 3,485 vertical metres with a steep ramp up to the finish of 10.5% in Mallabia. Itzulia will conclude with the Eibar – Arrate queen stage, where the leaders will have a chance to shine and show their cycling prowess. The race has a lot to offer, ranging from challenging climbs and scenic views to many breakaway opportunities and fierce competition for a lead position in a peloton.
Sports director Neil Stephens commented on plans before GP Indurain and Itzulia races:” We are going with the same team on both races. In Itzulia we will go with Pello Bilbao as the sole leader in the race. We have high expectations of the general classification. We would like to win this race. It starts with the time trial, which suits Pello’s capabilities and various specials over the race. A lot of short, challenging climbs. Pello is in great shape and very motivated, and we are looking to try to win the Tour of The Basque race. Other riders will be his support and don’t have individual goals at the race.”
