Favorites stage 2 Tour of the Basque Country 2025 | Can Nys and Visma | Lease a Bike challenge the Pocket Rocket?

On paper, the least difficult stage of the week is on Tuesday. But it cannot be called a real sprinters' stage because most of the fastest men will understandably not be at the start of the Basque race. After a hilly start from Pamplona, there is a flat middle section, but the last 80 kilometers are constantly up and down.

The climbs don't last long and are not too tough, but enough to considerably reduce the size of the peloton. A sprint is possible, but don't count out the breakaway riders. Because the Basque Country isn't exactly brimming with fast riders either, those with a long straight final stretch in Lodosa will get an arrival ideally suited to them.

Climbs
56.5 km: Alto de la Oliva (4.9 km a 4.5%)

Times
Start: 12:49 PM local time (06:49 AM EDT)
Finish: approx. 5:30 PM local time (11:30 AM EDT)

There is nothing to complain about with these riders. On Tuesday, there will be hardly any wind, the sun will shine all day, and it will be 22 degrees Celsius in the north of Spain.

When we look over the list of participants in the Tour of the Basque Country, we only see one real pure sprinter named 'Pocket Rocket' Caleb Ewan. The Australian, who currently rides for INEOS Grenadiers, won his first race for his new team in the cycling week of Coppi and Bartali and, with the support of Axel Laurance and others, could now go for his first WorldTour race.

Visma | Lease a Bike has Axel Zingle in its ranks, and he is also a fast rider. The Frenchman has finished in the top ten several times in Paris-Nice, but can he beat Ewan on speed alone? The same goes for other fast guys. For example, Ethan Hayter of Soudal Quick-Step can continue to build on a good sprint on day two after his good time trial.

The Spanish Pro Continental teams also have fast guys. Jon Aberasturi (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Iuri Leitao (Caja Rural), Eric Antonio Fagundez (Burgos-BH), and Pau Miquel (Equipo Kern Pharma) can all sprint fast, as can Jon Barrenetxea of the WorldTour team Movistar.

It is also possible that Thibau Nys will show off his fast legs on behalf of Lidl-Trek. Other riders in this category of men who can sprint fast after a tough race are Robert Stannard (Bahrain Victorious), Alex Aranburu (Cofidis), Victor Lafay (Decathlon AG2R), Anders Foldager (Jayco AlUla), Roger Adria (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Ide Schelling (XDS-Astana) and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor).  

Top favorites: Caleb Ewan (INEOS Grenadiers) and Axel Zingle (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Outsiders: Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step), Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek), Jon Aberasturi (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Pau Miquel (Equipo Kern Pharma)
Long shots: Axel Laurance (INEOS Grenadiers), Robert Stannard (Bahrain Victorious), Alex Aranburu (Cofidis), Roger Adria (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Iuri Leitao (Caja Rural), Anders Foldager (Jayco AlUla), Jon Barrenetxea (Movistar), Ide Schelling (XDS-Astana), Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) and Eric Antonio Fagundez (Burgos-BH)