Preview Clasica San Sebastian 2023 | Ayuso and Tour riders want to prevent Evenepoel from getting a hat trick

Just one month after the biggest cycling party that was the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in Bilbao, a part of the peloton is already back in the Spanish autonomous region. In San Sebastian, to be precise, which hosted the second stage of the Tour de France, won by Victor Lafay.

In the one-day race, traditionally, riders who have participated in La Grande Boucle and those who haven't go head-to-head, with the non-participants unexpectedly securing victory quite often. Remco Evenepoel, winner in 2019 and 2022, will once again start as the top favorite in the run-up to the World Championships and the Vuelta.

2022 Remco Evenepoel
2021 Neilson Powless
2020 Not ridden
2019 Remco Evenepoel
2018 Julian Alaphilippe
2017 Michal Kwiatkowski
2016 Bauke Mollema
2015 Adam Yates
2014 Alejandro Valverde
2013 Tony Gallopin

Compared to last year, the organization decided to slightly adjust the route of the biggest Basque one-day race. For example, the course has become six kilometers longer, 230 kilometers in this edition compared to 224 in the previous one. There have also been some changes when we look at the climbs.

The start and finish are of course in the Basque Country, but in between, the organization seems to opt for an even tougher route, especially in the finale. Before we get there, the climbs towards Meaga (3.5 km at 3.4%), Iturburu (6.6 km at 5.3%) and Alkiza (4.4 km at 6.2%) have to be completed in the first half of the race. Only the latter was already included last year, but it seems that these hills will only really start taking their toll towards the end of the race.

At the Jaizkibel, we, as the tradition goes, start the finale. This climb of 7.9 kilometers at 5.6 percent has long been the deciding factor in the Clasica San Sebastian. However, it is quite a bit further from the finish this year, as we commence the ascent a hundred kilometers from San Sebastian. The combination with the brutal subsequent Erlaitz (3.8 kilometers at 10.6 (!) percent) has not changed, but that means that this climb is also further from the finish.

At 48 kilometers from the finish (was still 19 kilometers last year) we cross the finish line for the first time, to then tackle the new Mendizorrotz climb (4.1 kilometers at 7.3 percent, but one kilometer at 12.5 percent). After this, there is still a middle section of about 25 kilometers, before we start the decisive Murgil Tontorra hill. This final section is 2.1 kilometers long and runs up at an average of 10.1 percent, after which we are at the finish in San Sebastian after a quick descent.

Climbs
26.8 km: Meaga (3.5 km at 3.4%)
59.5 km: Iturburu (6.6 km at 5.3%)
78.8 km: Alkiza (4.4 km a t6.2%)
137.0 km: Jaizkibel (7.9 km at 5.6%)
157.0 km: Erlaitz (3.8 km at 10.6%)
193.3 km: Mendizorrotz (4.1 km at 7.3%)
222.2 km: Murgil-Tontorra (2.1 km at 10.1%)

Weather
The reason it is always so green in the Basque Country is, of course, rain. Also on Saturday, especially at the beginning of the afternoon, a lot of rain is expected in the north of Spain, at a temperature of 23 degrees Celsius.

Times.

The place on the calendar makes the Clasica San Sebastian traditionally one of the most difficult races to predict. Many riders drop out of or join the classic in the days leading up to the Basque race, because the fatigue of the Tour de France hits everyone in a different way.

In this respect, the presence of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) makes it a bit easier, because then we have at least one clear top favorite that we can point out. The Belgian wants to show off his skills in the run-up to the World Cycling Championships, and history teaches us that Evenepoel is usually ready to rumble for that event. With, among others, Andrea Bagioli, Julian Alaphilippe, and Pieter Serry, he has a balanced team.

The competition may well come from the UAE-Team Emirates camp, who in Juan Ayuso have a competitor that will also face Evenepoel later in the Vuelta. The only footnote is that the Catalan fell on Tuesday in the final phase of another race. Diego Ulissi and Marc Hirschi, winner in the Basque Country on Tuesday, should also be able to come a long way on behalf of the Emirates team. In Ordizia, Hirschi beat Ben Healy of EF Education-EasyPost, another rider that we should keep an eye on Saturday.

Then we have the riders who will surely start with some fatigue in their legs after the Tour de France. Basques such as Mikel Landa, Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Alex Aranburu (Movistar), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) and Omar Fraile (INEOS) will always show up at the start with a lot of motivation, but what about guys who have given their all for three weeks? In that category, we can place Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS), Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma), former winner Neilson Powless (EF), Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech), Maxim Van Gils (Lotto-Dstny), Mattias Skjelmose and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek). All are on the participants list, but whether they will actually show up, remains a question mark.

Romain Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ) is a rider we'll definitely need to keep an eye on. The Frenchman already finished eighth in Strade Bianche at the age of 20 this spring. Ben Tulett (INEOS Grenadiers) also has the potential to make a mark here, while seasoned pros like Bauke Mollema (Lidl-Trek, always solid in this race), Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich), and Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) will likely have to rely more on their experience.

Lorenzo Rota (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) is another individual who should be fresh at the start of the race, along with Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla), who fell on Tuesday and Maximilian Schachmann (BORA-hansgrohe).

Top favorites:Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Juan Ayuso (UAE-Team Emirates)
Outsiders:Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers) and Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma)

The Clasica San Sebastian can be watched live on Eurosport 1 and VRT 1, as well as the online platforms of those channels. You can tune in for the Basque WorldTour race starting at 3 pm.