The Clásica de San Sebastián 2023 takes place this Saturday, July 29, in the Spanish Basque Country, with departure and arrival from San Sebastián itself. Our lineup includes two Basque riders – Mikel Landa and Pello Bilbao, both of whom come directly from the Tour de France, where Bilbao was a stage winner. 

For this 43rd edition, the riders will have some 230.3 kilometres and seven climbs to cover, including the Jaizkibel, the Erlaitz and a final test on Murgil-Tontorra.  With some sections far steeper than its 10% average gradient suggests, it’s a genuine challenge that will sort the contenders from the pretenders.

The majority of the race takes place at sea level, with the highest point, the top of the Iturburu climb, at 553 metres.

The parcours is a succession of steep hills, making it the ideal rugged playground for both punchers and climbers. The first of seven climbs is the 3rd category Meaga, after 26.8km (3.5km at 3.4%). The following fifty kilometres see the Iturburu (C2, 6.6km at 5.3%) and the Alkiza (4.4km at 6.2%). A little later, at km 137, comes the famous Jaizkibel (7.9km at 5.6%) followed immediately by the Erlaitz (3.8km at 10.6% ), which is the only first category ascent of the day.

With 30 kilometres remaining, and the end in sight, two bumps in the road remain. The Mendizorrotz (4.1km at 7.3%), and finally the Murgil-Tontorra (2.1km at 10.1%). That summits with just 8 kilometres of descent and flat terrain until the finish.

Lead Sports Director Neil Stephens comments: 

“We look forward to Clásica de San Sebastián. It is the first race after the Tour de France. It’s a little bit difficult for us coming off of such a successful Tour de France; expectations are pretty high. We have two leaders: Pello and Mikel, both of whom are from the Basque Country. We will race to support Pello; he was in great form throughout the Tour de France, achieving a stage win and 6th place overall. But, obviously, we are not too sure about his fatigue level coming into the race. It was really hard racing, especially last week, and we hope he has recovered a bit. Pello will have some great support. I suppose Mikel is slightly frustrated with the TDF, but he is looking to try to do something at San Sebastian. Whether he has a wild card in the finish, rides for himself, or helps Pello, we’ll find out as the race unfolds. Santiago Buitrago is coming from Colombia; this is his first race since the Giro. He was training well, looking well, and was one of the key riders at the final part of the race. The rest of the riders, Edoardo Zambanini, Johan Price, Jonathan Milan and Yukiya Arashiro are all in a supporting role. We have high expectations of the race, but once again, we are all aware that our team leaders are both coming from the Tour de France, so we are not exactly sure if they will be able to come back already and perform at their absolute best.”