Tour of the Basque Country 2025: Route

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The Itzulia Basque Country set off on Monday, 8 April, with an ITT and finishes the following Saturday with an attrition race in the Eibar region. As always, punchers and climbers find a fair share of their favourite terrain, although there is no real uphill finish this week.

Yet, the race begins with two days on the flat. The 1st stage is a flat individual time trial of 16.5 kilometres, starting and finishing in Vitoria-Gasteiz. The 2nd stage seems to de designed to tempt the sprinters to come down the Basque Country, as it’s flat by local standards.

However, if there are any pure sprinters, they might as well head home after that. Stage 3 features nearly 3,200 metres of climbing, culminating in a 1.4-kilometre wall at a 10% gradient in the finale.

In stage 4, it’s more of the same, though the climb in the finale is considerably longer. In a hilly race featuring over 2,800 metres of elevation gain, the riders face a 4.2-kilometre ascent at a 9.3% gradient, followed by a 10-kilometre descent to the finish.

Stage 5 offers fewer metres of climbing but still presents an intriguing finale. With 20 kilometres remaining, the road ascends for 2.2 kilometres at a 9.4% gradient, then continues to rise gently for another 2.7 kilometres at around 3%. The remainder of the course is downhill, except for a 700-metre stretch at 6.7% within the last 3 kilometres.

The general classification is set to be decided on the final day, featuring a 153.6-kilometre race with over 3,500 metres of elevation gain. Stage 6 includes seven climbs, where gradients often ramp up to double digits. The finale is relatively straightforward though; the most gruelling sections are encountered earlier in the route.