
Itzulia Basque Country
Stage 2) Zalla - Sestao
Spain
Tuesday 06 April 2021
154.8 km
Vuelta al Pais Vasco: Vansevenant moves up in the GC

Three classified climbs, 2500 vertical meters and an uphill drag to the line were the main ingredients of Tuesday’s stage 2, which travelled from Zalla to Sestao, a small town on the left bank of the Estuary of Bilbao. Until the last ranked ascent of the day, the race was animated by seven riders, but their adventure at the front came to and when the GC riders decided to cross swords on the steep gradients of La Asturiana, inside twenty kilometers to go.
Four riders pulled away and opened a ten-second gap, but the tricky and twisting roads of the final descent slowed down the quartet and allowed what was left of the peloton to come back. With ten kilometers remaining, Alex Aranburu (Astana-Premier Tech) took advantage of a lull in the pace and broke clear, soloing to victory. James Knox and Mauri Vansevenant, the two Deceuninck – Quick-Step riders to make it over the top of the final climb, concluded the day part of a group that came less than 20 seconds down on the winner, and both made significant jumps in the overall standings.
One of our seven different riders to taste success since the start of the season, Mauri is also the best placed Deceuninck – Quick-Step member in the standings. Ahead of the tough stage to Ermualde, the 21-year-old sits 14th, just seven seconds separating him from the top 10.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
Race details
1 |
Alex Aranburu Deba Astana - Premier Tech |
3:45:32 |
2 |
Omar Fraile Matarranz Astana - Premier Tech |
0:15 |
3 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE-Team Emirates |
0:15 |
4 |
David Gaudu Groupama - FDJ |
0:15 |
5 |
Michael Woods Israel Start-Up Nation |
0:15 |
6 |
Primož Roglič Team Jumbo-Visma |
0:15 |
7 |
Maximilian Schachmann BORA - hansgrohe |
0:15 |
8 |
Mikel Landa Meana Bahrain - Victorious |
0:15 |
9 |
Sergio Higuita García EF Education - Nippo |
0:15 |
10 |
Alejandro Valverde Belmonte Movistar Team |
0:15 |
16 |
James Knox
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
0:19 |
22 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
0:19 |
31 |
Mikkel Frølich Honoré
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
0:54 |
35 |
Mattia Cattaneo
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
1:07 |
133 |
Ian Garrison
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
9:15 |
135 |
Pieter Serry
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
9:15 |
153 |
Josef Černý
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
12:59 |
1 |
Primož Roglič Team Jumbo-Visma |
4:03:04 |
2 |
Alex Aranburu Deba Astana - Premier Tech |
0:05 |
3 |
Brandon McNulty UAE-Team Emirates |
0:06 |
4 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE-Team Emirates |
0:24 |
5 |
Adam Yates INEOS Grenadiers |
0:28 |
6 |
Maximilian Schachmann BORA - hansgrohe |
0:31 |
7 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Team Jumbo-Visma |
0:32 |
8 |
Omar Fraile Matarranz Astana - Premier Tech |
0:34 |
9 |
Wilco Kelderman BORA - hansgrohe |
0:40 |
10 |
Pello Bilbao López de Armentia Bahrain - Victorious |
0:42 |
14 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
0:47 |
23 |
James Knox
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
1:16 |
26 |
Mikkel Frølich Honoré
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
1:25 |
28 |
Mattia Cattaneo
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
1:32 |
116 |
Pieter Serry
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
10:09 |
129 |
Ian Garrison
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
10:40 |
150 |
Josef Černý
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
13:55 |
1 |
Primož Roglič Team Jumbo-Visma |
35 pt |
2 |
Alex Aranburu Deba Astana - Premier Tech |
32 pt |
3 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE-Team Emirates |
28 pt |
4 |
Brandon McNulty UAE-Team Emirates |
20 pt |
5 |
Omar Fraile Matarranz Astana - Premier Tech |
20 pt |
6 |
Mikel Iturria Segurola Euskaltel - Euskadi |
16 pt |
7 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Team Jumbo-Visma |
16 pt |
8 |
Maximilian Schachmann BORA - hansgrohe |
15 pt |
9 |
Ben Gastauer AG2R Citroën Team |
14 pt |
10 |
David Gaudu Groupama - FDJ |
14 pt |
29 |
Mattia Cattaneo
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
1 pt |
1 |
Maximilian Schachmann BORA - hansgrohe |
6 pt |
2 |
Quinten Hermans Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux |
6 pt |
3 |
Primož Roglič Team Jumbo-Visma |
4 pt |
4 |
Jon Irisarri Rincón Caja Rural - Seguros RGA |
4 pt |
5 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE-Team Emirates |
3 pt |
6 |
Brandon McNulty UAE-Team Emirates |
2 pt |
7 |
Adam Yates INEOS Grenadiers |
2 pt |
8 |
Sergio Higuita García EF Education - Nippo |
2 pt |
9 |
Óscar Cabedo Cardá Burgos-BH |
1 pt |
10 |
Kevin Vermaerke Team DSM |
1 pt |
1 |
Brandon McNulty UAE-Team Emirates |
4:03:10 |
2 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE-Team Emirates |
0:18 |
3 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Team Jumbo-Visma |
0:26 |
4 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
0:41 |
5 |
Sergio Higuita García EF Education - Nippo |
0:47 |
6 |
Ilan Van Wilder Team DSM |
0:49 |
7 |
David Gaudu Groupama - FDJ |
1:09 |
8 |
Marc Hirschi UAE-Team Emirates |
1:10 |
9 |
Aurélien Paret-Peintre AG2R Citroën Team |
1:18 |
10 |
Mikkel Frølich Honoré
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
1:19 |
41 |
Ian Garrison
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
10:34 |
1 | Astana - Premier Tech | 12:10:46 |
2 | BORA - hansgrohe | 0:10 |
3 | UAE-Team Emirates | 0:16 |
4 | Team Jumbo-Visma | 0:17 |
5 | Deceuninck - Quick Step | 1:22 |
6 | Bahrain - Victorious | 2:42 |
7 | INEOS Grenadiers | 3:46 |
8 | Israel Start-Up Nation | 4:22 |
9 | Movistar Team | 4:42 |
10 | Team Total Direct Energie | 4:43 |