Tour of the Basque Country 2017 Route stage 4: San Sebastián - Bilbao

San Sebastián is making its come-back in the Tour of the Basque Country after a long abscence (since 1975). Yesterday and a stage finish, today the riders start in the beautiful town on the Bay of Biscay.

After leaving San Sebastián stage 4 follows the Basque coast line. Apparently quite flat, but the road is more hilly than it seems with (non-categorised) climbs near Orio, Itziar and Ereño. The first KOM-points are to be collected on the Alto de Sollube, a 5.2 kilometres climb with an average gradient of 8.2%. Atop almost 64 kilometres remain.

The riders plunge down in the direction of Bilbao. When they cross the line for the first time there are 40 kilometres left to race. One last loop with Alto del Vivero the most prominent obstacle. It’s a regulare climb of 5.6 kilometres with an average gradient of 8.2%. Toughest sections are at the bottom and at the top – both almost 9%. The Vivero is crested with 14.1 kilometres remaining and following the descent the last kilometre is a false flat.

Bilbao is a main Basque city, both from an economic and a cycling perspective. Last year Jens Keukeleire took stage 12 of the Vuelta a Espana and two years ago Michael Matthews sprinted to victory in Bilbao in 1st stage of the Tour of the Basque Country.

Stage 4 in the 2017 Tour of the Basque Country features three intermediate sprints – at kilometre 102.6, at kilometre 118.5, and at kilometre 144. There are no time bonuses.

Results/race report stage 4 of the Tour of the Basque Country.

Tour of the Basque Country 2017 stage 4: Route maps, height profiles, and more

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All stages

Route and profile 4th stage

Profile 4th stage

Route 4th stage

Final kilometres

Climb details Alto de Sollube

Climb details Alto del Vivero

Start and finish at Google maps

Start in San Sebastián

Start in San Sebastián (details)

Finish in Bilbao

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