Paul Seixas stunned the cycling world for a second time in two days at Itzulia Basque Country with a devastating solo high-mountain attack that netted the young French star another stage win and left him in total control of the overall classification.
Seven kilometres from the top of the decisive late Category-1 ascent of San Miguel de Aralar, Seixas accelerated hard, dropping the rest of the field and easily powering past the remnants of the breakaway.
Already victorious in the opening time trial on Monday by a staggering margin, 24 hours later and one jaw-droppingly fast descent off the Aralar later, the 19-year-old Decathlon CMA CGM rider blasted home after a short uphill section with a 1:25 advantage over Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) and Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).
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How it unfolded
With a Cat.2 climb right at the start, an early move was all but certain, and sure enough, Frank van der Broek (Picnic PostNL), Ethan Hayter (Soudal-QuickStep), Joan Bou (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Iker Mintegi (Euskatel-Euskadi) were quickest out of the blocks. Bou clinched maximum points at the top of the climb, and on the rolling terrain that followed they were joined by some serious firepower comprising Adrián Fajardo (Burgos BH Burpellet), Raul García Pierna (Movistar), and Bruno Armirail (Visma-Lease a Bike).
The margins rose to nearly two minutes before Decathlon CMA CGM began to chase, as Armirail, 50 seconds down on GC and a breakaway and time trial specialist, was definitely one rider who Decathlon did not want to let get away too far.
The race trundled over the next two mid-stage Cat.3 climbs, the Zuarrarrate and Aldatz without any major incidents, as Decathlon did a solid job of keeping the break ahead under control. Fajardo dropped out of the running, and Ineos Grenadiers duo Axel Laurance and Kévin Vauquelin, at that point second overall, had a nasty tumble but could continue. However,. the remaining six still had well over a minute in hand as they approached the decisive Cat.1 ascent of San Miguel de Aralar.
The tension was visible on the very narrow approach road, with Armirail making much of the early running in the break and Quinn Simmons leading the peloton and teammate Ayuso into the foot of the steep, cemented early slopes. Decathlon, though were having none of it, setting a hard pace and instantly thinning out the pack.
Seixas makes his move (Image credit: Getty Images)
Bou, looking for more mountain points and shadowed by García Pierna and Ethan Hayter a little later, opened up the throttle ahead, but the real battle was in the bunch. Decathlon were present in numbers on the front, keeping a stranglehold on the other GC contenders and barely two kilometres of climbing had passed before the bunch was down to 30 units – and Seixas attacked.
Red Bull’s Florian Lipowitz offered up a nominal reaction, Lidl-Trek as well, but in reality the opposition to Seixas’ show of strength had crumpled into nothing there and then.
With six kilometres to go to the summit, Seixas was well clear of the rest of the field, pounding up the narrow, winding ascent with no change of pace whatsoever. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) attempted to react, forming a chase group with Izagirre and Lipowitz, and sparking reminders of how the Mexican sometimes takes time to warm up on climbs. But on this occasion, he swung over quickly, and collaboration with the other chasers continued to very limited.
The result? Three kilometres from the top, the gap between Seixas had yawned to 42 seconds. The steepest segment of the Aralar, close to the summit and with stretches of 13% and 14%, seemingly made no difference whatsoever. No matter what the mountain and the opposition threw at him, Seixas was a rider on fire, and nobody, not even when Lipowitz launched the strongest of the counter moves around a kilometre from the top, was going to be able to stop him.
With 50 seconds at the top of the Aralar, logic dictated that the fast, rolling downhill favoured the chasers. But as Seixas powered through the curves and dives through dense woodland with supreme confidence and a couple of knife-edge judgements on the corners, his gap continued to inch higher. Others were not so fortunate, with Mikel Landa (Soudal-QuickStep) falling heavily and at speed in what appeared to be a bad crash.
But by the foot of the last, unclassified climb, the gap had risen to 1:14 with no sign of Seixas slowing down at all. Even as the chase groups merged, it was simply a sidenote in the story of the day. A punch with a right arm to the sky on the narrow road across the finish, and his second WorldTour stage in as many days was Seixas to savour. Meanwhile, French fans – and not a few others – will be wondering how much more such a young star can offer in the future.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
In the short-term, Wednesday’s 152.8km stage starting and finishing in Basauri is certainly the least hilly of the entire week, with just two Cat.2 and one Cat.3 climb.
But with the last kilometre uphill at 6%, the GC riders will have to attentive not to get caught out. Given what we’ve seen so far, could Seixas make it three stage wins out of three in this year’s Itzulia or even six out of six?
Seixas provided a cautious answer to that despite his second devastating victory, saying: “I don’t think so, for example tomorrow is an easier stage, so we’ll see how it goes. I think for now we’ll just control it.”
Even so, to judge by Tuesday’s tour de force, if Seixas does throw caution to the wind and go for it again, it’s really hard to see who could stop him.
ResultsSwipe to scroll horizontally
Position
Rider
Team
Time
1
Paul Seixas
Decathlon CMA CGM Team
4:11:48
2
Mattias Skjelmose
Lidl – Trek
+ 1:25
3
Primož Roglič
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe
s.t.
4
Cian Uijtdebroeks
Movistar Team
s.t.
5
Ben Tulett
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
s.t.
6
Alex Baudin
EF Education – EasyPost
s.t.
7
Ion Izagirre
Cofidis
s.t.
8
Florian Lipowitz
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe
s.t.
9
Clément Champoussin
XDS Astana Team
+ 1:31
10
Harold Tejada
XDS Astana Team
+ 1:43
11
Isaac del Toro
UAE Team Emirates – XRG
s.t.
12
Juan Ayuso
Lidl – Trek
+ 2:29
13
Markel Beloki
EF Education – EasyPost
s.t.
14
Sergio Higuita
XDS Astana Team
+ 2:34
15
Juan Pedro López
Movistar Team
s.t.
16
Javier Romo
Movistar Team
s.t.
17
Matthew Riccitello
Decathlon CMA CGM Team
s.t.
18
Pello Bilbao
Bahrain – Victorious
s.t.
19
Emiel Verstrynge
Alpecin-Premier Tech
+ 3:28
20
Guillaume Martin
Groupama – FDJ United
+ 3:30
21
Igor Arrieta
UAE Team Emirates – XRG
s.t.
22
Tijmen Graat
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
s.t.
23
Clément Braz Afonso
Groupama – FDJ United
s.t.
24
Jardi Christiaan van der Lee
EF Education – EasyPost
s.t.
25
Lorenzo Fortunato
XDS Astana Team
s.t.
26
Unai Iribar
Equipo Kern Pharma
+ 3:38
27
Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal Quick-Step
+ 3:50
28
Mauri Vansevenant
Soudal Quick-Step
+ 4:13
29
Tobias Halland Johannessen
Uno-X Mobility
s.t.
30
Ander Okamika
Burgos Burpellet BH
s.t.
31
Kévin Vauquelin
INEOS Grenadiers
s.t.
32
Emanuel Buchmann
Cofidis
s.t.
33
Ibon Ruiz
Equipo Kern Pharma
s.t.
34
José Luis Faura
Burgos Burpellet BH
s.t.
35
José Manuel Díaz
Burgos Burpellet BH
s.t.
36
Mattia Gaffuri
Team Picnic PostNL
+ 4:18
37
Samuel Fernández
Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
+ 4:20
38
Alexy Faure Prost
Team Picnic PostNL
+ 4:23
39
Jan Castellon
Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
s.t.
40
Jamie Meehan
Cofidis
+ 4:31
41
Txomin Juaristi
Euskaltel – Euskadi
s.t.
42
Julen Arriolabengoa
Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
+ 4:36
43
Peter Øxenberg
INEOS Grenadiers
+ 4:57
44
Reuben Thompson
Lotto Intermarché
+ 6:41
45
Nicolás Alustiza
Euskaltel – Euskadi
s.t.
46
Fernando Barceló
Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
s.t.
47
Carlos García Pierna
Burgos Burpellet BH
s.t.
48
Jonathan Lastra
Euskaltel – Euskadi
+ 8:43
49
Mikel Bizkarra
Euskaltel – Euskadi
s.t.
50
Raúl García Pierna
Movistar Team
+ 9:45
51
Joseba López
Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
s.t.
52
Anders Halland Johannessen
Uno-X Mobility
+ 10:58
53
Joan Bou
Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
+ 11:02
54
Johannes Kulset
Uno-X Mobility
+ 11:22
55
Luke Tuckwell
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe
s.t.
56
Juan Guillermo Martinez
Team Picnic PostNL
s.t.
57
Nicolas Prodhomme
Decathlon CMA CGM Team
+ 12:01
58
Quentin Pacher
Groupama – FDJ United
s.t.
59
Sinuhé Fernández
Burgos Burpellet BH
s.t.
60
Andrea Bagioli
Lidl – Trek
s.t.
61
Jorge Gutiérrez
Equipo Kern Pharma
s.t.
62
Carlos Verona
Lidl – Trek
s.t.
63
Marc Soler
UAE Team Emirates – XRG
s.t.
64
Brandon McNulty
UAE Team Emirates – XRG
s.t.
65
Adrià Pericas
UAE Team Emirates – XRG
s.t.
66
Ethan Hayter
Soudal Quick-Step
+ 13:08
67
Mikel Landa
Soudal Quick-Step
+ 13:11
68
Steven Kruijswijk
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+ 14:00
69
Steff Cras
Soudal Quick-Step
s.t.
70
Tim Rex
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
s.t.
71
Bruno Armirail
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
s.t.
72
Nil Gimeno
Equipo Kern Pharma
s.t.
73
Hugo Houle
Alpecin-Premier Tech
s.t.
74
Matthew Dinham
Team Picnic PostNL
s.t.
75
Bjorn Koerdt
Team Picnic PostNL
s.t.
76
Natnael Tesfatsion
Movistar Team
+ 14:11
77
Yaël Joalland
Cofidis
s.t.
78
Andreas Kron
Uno-X Mobility
+ 14:13
79
Andrew August
INEOS Grenadiers
s.t.
80
James Shaw
EF Education – EasyPost
+ 14:17
81
Julian Alaphilippe
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
+ 14:19
82
Simone Velasco
XDS Astana Team
s.t.
83
Fabian Weiss
Team Picnic PostNL
s.t.
84
Frank van den Broek
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
+ 15:04
85
Quinn Simmons
Lidl – Trek
s.t.
86
Martin Tjøtta
Uno-X Mobility
s.t.
87
Antonio Tiberi
Bahrain – Victorious
s.t.
88
Gal Glivar
Alpecin-Premier Tech
s.t.
89
Jan Maas
Cofidis
s.t.
90
Baptiste Veistroffer
Lotto Intermarché
s.t.
91
Paul Ourselin
Cofidis
s.t.
92
Gari Ugarte
Euskaltel – Euskadi
s.t.
93
Haimar Etxeberria
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe
s.t.
94
Unai Ramos
Equipo Kern Pharma
s.t.
95
Alex Aranburu
Cofidis
s.t.
96
Jorge Arcas
Movistar Team
s.t.
97
Christian Scaroni
XDS Astana Team
s.t.
98
James Knox
Team Picnic PostNL
s.t.
99
Jacob Eriksson
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
100
Robin Orins
Lotto Intermarché
s.t.
101
Lorenzo Quartucci
Burgos Burpellet BH
s.t.
102
Lukas Nerurkar
EF Education – EasyPost
s.t.
103
Roman Ermakov
Bahrain – Victorious
s.t.
104
Oliver Stockwell
Bahrain – Victorious
s.t.
105
Nicola Conci
XDS Astana Team
s.t.
106
Gianni Moscon
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe
s.t.
107
Attila Valter
Bahrain – Victorious
s.t.
108
Lennert Belmans
Alpecin-Premier Tech
s.t.
109
Aurélien Paret-Peintre
Decathlon CMA CGM Team
s.t.
110
Ben Healy
EF Education – EasyPost
s.t.
111
Michael Leonard
EF Education – EasyPost
s.t.
112
Kevin Geniets
Groupama – FDJ United
s.t.
113
Bauke Mollema
Lidl – Trek
s.t.
114
Maxime Decomble
Groupama – FDJ United
s.t.
115
Jordan Labrosse
Decathlon CMA CGM Team
s.t.
DNF
Marco Brenner
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
–
DNS
Luca Vergallito
Alpecin-Premier Tech
–
DNS
Mathieu Kockelmann
Lotto Intermarché
–
DNS
Hannes Wilksch
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
–
DNS
Yannis Voisard
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
–
General Classification after stage 2Swipe to scroll horizontally
Position
Rider
Team
Time
1
Paul Seixas
Decathlon CMA CGM Team
4:28:47
2
Primož Roglič
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe
+ 1:59
3
Florian Lipowitz
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe
+ 2:08
4
Mattias Skjelmose
Lidl – Trek
+ 2:14
5
Ben Tulett
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+ 2:27
6
Alex Baudin
EF Education – EasyPost
+ 2:31
7
Ion Izagirre
Cofidis
+ 2:36
8
Isaac del Toro
UAE Team Emirates – XRG
+ 2:44
9
Harold Tejada
XDS Astana Team
+ 2:48
10
Cian Uijtdebroeks
Movistar Team
+ 3:01
11
Clément Champoussin
XDS Astana Team
+ 3:02
12
Javier Romo
Movistar Team
+ 3:32
13
Pello Bilbao
Bahrain – Victorious
+ 3:37
14
Matthew Riccitello
Decathlon CMA CGM Team
+ 3:42
15
Markel Beloki
EF Education – EasyPost
+ 3:45
16
Juan Ayuso
Lidl – Trek
+ 3:55
17
Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal Quick-Step
+ 4:29
18
Juan Pedro López
Movistar Team
+ 4:32
19
Sergio Higuita
XDS Astana Team
+ 4:34
20
Clément Braz Afonso
Groupama – FDJ United
+ 4:45
21
Kévin Vauquelin
INEOS Grenadiers
+ 4:46
22
Emiel Verstrynge
Alpecin-