Itzulia Basque Country: Alaphilippe in green

Not a day without a Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider on the stage podium of the Itzulia Basque Country: after both Remco Evenepoel and Rémi Cavagna both finished in the top 3 of the individual time trial and Julian Alaphilippe took the spoils in Viana, it was the World Champion who came close to a second consecutive victory.
The route of stage 3 was a hard and relentless one, taking its toll on the peloton with more than 50 kilometers to go, when only 20-odd riders were still part of the peloton. As the group arrived at the bottom of the penultimate climb, our team was represented by Julian and Remco, who remained close to the front and controlled the moves that ended up reducing the bunch to a dozen or so men.
On the downhill, best young rider of the race Evenepoel put in a probing attack, only for the others to react, before taking up lead-out duties once again under the flamme rouge, with the rainbow jersey tucked in his wheel. The uphill finish was tailored to Julian’s punchy skills, and he kicked out with 150 meters to go, but was denied in the closing meters by Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-Merida). His fifth podium of the season elevated the Frenchman to the top of the points classification, which he also led back in 2018.
“It was a very hard stage, with a big tempo and some steep climbs. Remco did an incredible amount of work once again and brought me in a good position for the finish, but I opened my sprint a bit too early and one rider was just stronger. No victory today, but I don’t have any regrets. The most important thing is that my condition is good, and other opportunities will come until the end of the race”, said Alaphilippe in Amurrio.
Photo credit: ©Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno / Getty Images
Race details
1 |
Pello Bilbao López de Armentia Bahrain - Victorious |
4:35:24 |
2 |
Julian Alaphilippe
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:00 |
3 |
Aleksandr Vlasov BORA - hansgrohe |
0:00 |
4 |
David Gaudu Groupama - FDJ |
0:00 |
5 |
Enric Mas Nicolau Movistar Team |
0:00 |
6 |
Pierre Latour TotalEnergies |
0:00 |
7 |
Primož Roglič Jumbo-Visma |
0:00 |
8 |
Ion Izagirre Insausti Cofidis |
0:00 |
9 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Jumbo-Visma |
0:00 |
10 |
Rigoberto Urán Urán EF Education-EasyPost |
0:00 |
13 |
Remco Evenepoel
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:00 |
65 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
7:28 |
76 |
Dries Devenyns
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
12:43 |
108 |
Rémi Cavagna
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
19:09 |
136 |
James Knox
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
19:09 |
1 |
Primož Roglič Jumbo-Visma |
9:49:47 |
2 |
Remco Evenepoel
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:05 |
3 |
Aleksandr Vlasov BORA - hansgrohe |
0:14 |
4 |
Adam Yates INEOS Grenadiers |
0:18 |
5 |
Pello Bilbao López de Armentia Bahrain - Victorious |
0:19 |
6 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Jumbo-Visma |
0:19 |
7 |
Ion Izagirre Insausti Cofidis |
0:20 |
8 |
Daniel Felipe Martínez Poveda INEOS Grenadiers |
0:21 |
9 |
Pierre Latour TotalEnergies |
0:25 |
10 |
Julian Alaphilippe
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:28 |
47 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
7:58 |
74 |
Dries Devenyns
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
13:09 |
85 |
Rémi Cavagna
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
19:25 |
141 |
James Knox
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
27:50 |
1 |
Julian Alaphilippe
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
45 pt |
2 |
Primož Roglič Jumbo-Visma |
37 pt |
3 |
Remco Evenepoel
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
30 pt |
4 |
Aleksandr Vlasov BORA - hansgrohe |
26 pt |
5 |
Pello Bilbao López de Armentia Bahrain - Victorious |
25 pt |
6 |
David Gaudu Groupama - FDJ |
22 pt |
7 |
Adam Yates INEOS Grenadiers |
21 pt |
8 |
Ibai Azurmendi Sagastibel Euskaltel - Euskadi |
20 pt |
9 |
Fabien Doubey TotalEnergies |
20 pt |
10 |
Hugo Houle Israel - Premier Tech |
18 pt |
14 |
Rémi Cavagna
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
16 pt |
37 |
Dries Devenyns
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1 pt |
1 |
Cristián Rodríguez Martín TotalEnergies |
17 pt |
2 |
Ibon Ruiz Sedano Equipo Kern Pharma |
12 pt |
3 |
Ander Okamika Burgos-BH |
9 pt |
4 |
Jan Polanc UAE Team Emirates |
7 pt |
5 |
Remco Evenepoel
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
5 pt |
6 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Jumbo-Visma |
5 pt |
7 |
Adam Yates INEOS Grenadiers |
5 pt |
8 |
Geraint Thomas INEOS Grenadiers |
3 pt |
9 |
Ibai Azurmendi Sagastibel Euskaltel - Euskadi |
3 pt |
10 |
Hugo Houle Israel - Premier Tech |
3 pt |
1 |
Remco Evenepoel
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
9:49:52 |
2 |
Ben Tulett INEOS Grenadiers |
2:41 |
3 |
Carlos Rodríguez Cano INEOS Grenadiers |
2:58 |
4 |
Andreas Leknessund Team DSM |
3:00 |
5 |
Igor Arrieta Lizarraga Equipo Kern Pharma |
3:09 |
6 |
Juan Pedro López Pérez Trek - Segafredo |
3:10 |
7 |
Felix Gall AG2R Citroën Team |
3:11 |
8 |
Sylvain Moniquet Lotto Soudal |
5:56 |
9 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
7:53 |
10 |
Mark Donovan Team DSM |
8:12 |
1 | Jumbo-Visma | 29:32:39 |
2 | INEOS Grenadiers | 0:04 |
3 | TotalEnergies | 1:55 |
4 | Groupama - FDJ | 2:46 |
5 | Movistar Team | 2:52 |
6 | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 4:57 |
7 | Bahrain - Victorious | 8:33 |
8 | Lotto Soudal | 9:20 |
9 | Trek - Segafredo | 11:05 |
10 | Caja Rural - Seguros RGA | 11:42 |