Almost despite himself, his little demons, his tantrums and outbursts running in front of the television camera, Remco Evenepoel once again took the San Sebastián Classic. And that makes four. He thus breaks the old record from the 1980s, the three victories of Marino Lejarreta in 1981, 1982, and 1987. The Belgian, second in last year’s Tour, punctured in Hondarribia, just five kilometers from the start of the climb to Erlaitz, got annoyed with the judges who did not let him ride behind his team car, and stressed and frustrated, he started the important ascent looking like a loser. The race leader was then 36 seconds ahead of him. Three and a half kilometers later, with average gradients of 10%, sticky ramps, Evenepoel was still 36 seconds behind, perhaps wondering why no one had taken the pleasure of dropping him definitively. Neither Richard Carapaz, nor UAE, and only a little Giulio Ciccone, winner in 2025, knew how to take advantage of the gift of seeing the top favorite on the canvas.
Read more María Casado signs with Canal Sur one week after leaving Telecinco News
Earlier, on the first straight of the climb, the Belgian overtook Mikel Landa without hesitation: two paths separated forever. Landa returns home and announces it, of course, on the day of the Classic: next year he will race for Team Euskadi, the same team that saw him jump to professionalism. And on the Basque roads, he coincides with Evenepoel, the one who wanted him for Soudal in 2024, to support him on the Tour climbs, and the same one who a year later went to Red Bull Bora to shed his skin, lose almost four kilos, and finally endure the toughest climbs. Landa was then left alone in Belgium, suffered yet another crash in his career, and decided that the best way to pay tribute to landismo was to wear orange again.
As soon as the toughest ramps ended, facing the long false flat leading to the descent towards Oiartzun, Evenepoel returned from his break. On terrain ideal for a strength like his, he cut the difference in half, pushed even more on the hills that mark the descent, and on the way to Donosti was already part of the peloton of about thirty riders ready to finish the day on the explosive and brief ascent of Murgil.
In the Basque Country, the Classic has always been experienced as an extension of the Tour. Just look at the race’s roll of honor: Indurain, Bugno, Chiapucci, Theunisse, Armstrong, Jalabert, Alaphilippe, Valverde, etc. The event has adapted to the fast times we live in. If Marino could open gaps in the 80s on the Jaizkibel climb, today it is climbed with a big chainring, in the peloton, and at indescribable speeds. The inclusion of Erlaitz and Murgil came to improve the event, giving it a touch of Ardennes classic mixed with local mountain. Evenepoel didn’t have to attack: he just tapped the screen of his computer, lifted his butt off the saddle, and left with a tick named Carapaz on his back. The fantastic Ecuadorian from the last week of the Tour helped to be second, true to himself, to his racing style that evokes cyclists of the past, to his pride. In the era of digital cycling, Carapaz still seems analog.
Remco Evenepoel amazed the general public on this very stage in 2019, when he attacked just after moving up from the junior category as if he wasn’t attacking, after handing out some bottles to his teammates. He simply accelerated and accelerated, au revoir, welcome to cycling history. On Eurosport, commentator Antonio Alix pointed out that such a feat had not even been achieved by Merckx himself. He repeated in 2022 and 2023. He hopes to win again next year, so that the memory of Marino Lejarreta becomes even more diluted and appreciated only by the oldest.
Read more Feijóo assures that the Ceuta crisis is a “premeditated occupation” and blames the Government
