
Itzulia Basque Country
Stage 6) Ondarroa - Arrate (Eibar)
Spain
Saturday 10 April 2021
111.9 km
Vansevenant ends Vuelta al Pais Vasco on a high

Aribinieta, Elkorrieta, Azurki, Elosua-Gorla, Krabelin, Trabakua and Usartza (or Arrate, how it’s known in the cycling world) made for a tasty menu on the final day of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, which got off to an insane start. Riders attacked in waves, some trying to go in the breakaway, while others wanted to put pressure on the yellow jersey, who eventually cracked and lost contact with more than 70 kilometers to go, on a descent.
Mauri Vansevenant was present in the group that pulled clear, opening a 30-second gap over the chasers in the valley, and contributed to the pace-setting, helping them expand the gap to almost one minute by the time they hit the fifth ascent of the day. Three riders attacked there and put some distance on the 17% ramps, while behind them an eight-man group featuring the ever-present Mauri formed. The Belgian, sitting 11th in the general classification at the start of the stage, brought his contribution to the chase, who started the mythical Arrate with a 50-second deficit on the front group, from where David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) took the win.
Riding just his second World Tour stage race since turning pro with Deceuninck – Quick-Step last summer, the 21-year-old from Oostende continued to press on even though the massive effort he had put in up until that point was beginning to take its toll on him. With five kilometers to go, Mauri was dropped from the group but summoned his remaining energy, and not only he managed to limit the losses, but finished in the top 10, just like he did three days ago on the Ermualde, another brutal Basque climb.
This valiant ride helped Vansevenant retain his 11th place in the general classification, where another Deceuninck – Quick-Step rider, James Knox, finished 14th for what is his best result in a stage race since the start of the season.
Photo credit: ©David Ramos / Getty Images
Race details
1 |
David Gaudu Groupama - FDJ |
3:05:42 |
2 |
Primož Roglič Team Jumbo-Visma |
0:00 |
3 |
Alejandro Valverde Belmonte Movistar Team |
0:35 |
4 |
Adam Yates INEOS Grenadiers |
0:35 |
5 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE-Team Emirates |
0:35 |
6 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Team Jumbo-Visma |
0:35 |
7 |
Pello Bilbao López de Armentia Bahrain - Victorious |
1:03 |
8 |
Esteban Chaves Rubio Team BikeExchange |
1:05 |
9 |
Mikel Landa Meana Bahrain - Victorious |
1:05 |
10 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
1:55 |
15 |
James Knox
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
3:42 |
37 |
Pieter Serry
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
12:23 |
77 |
Mikkel Frølich Honoré
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
18:18 |
DNF |
Josef Černý
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
-03:05:42 |
DNF |
Mattia Cattaneo
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
-03:05:42 |
DNF |
Ian Garrison
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
-03:05:42 |
1 |
Primož Roglič Team Jumbo-Visma |
19:11:36 |
2 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Team Jumbo-Visma |
0:52 |
3 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE-Team Emirates |
1:07 |
4 |
Adam Yates INEOS Grenadiers |
1:26 |
5 |
David Gaudu Groupama - FDJ |
1:27 |
6 |
Pello Bilbao López de Armentia Bahrain - Victorious |
1:28 |
7 |
Alejandro Valverde Belmonte Movistar Team |
1:33 |
8 |
Mikel Landa Meana Bahrain - Victorious |
2:17 |
9 |
Esteban Chaves Rubio Team BikeExchange |
2:38 |
10 |
Ion Izagirre Insausti Astana - Premier Tech |
2:59 |
11 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
3:16 |
14 |
James Knox
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
5:32 |
54 |
Pieter Serry
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
35:05 |
83 |
Mikkel Frølich Honoré
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
49:14 |
1 |
Primož Roglič Team Jumbo-Visma |
106 pt |
2 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE-Team Emirates |
75 pt |
3 |
David Gaudu Groupama - FDJ |
61 pt |
4 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Team Jumbo-Visma |
48 pt |
5 |
Alejandro Valverde Belmonte Movistar Team |
44 pt |
6 |
Brandon McNulty UAE-Team Emirates |
42 pt |
7 |
Adam Yates INEOS Grenadiers |
41 pt |
8 |
Alex Aranburu Deba Astana - Premier Tech |
37 pt |
9 |
Pello Bilbao López de Armentia Bahrain - Victorious |
36 pt |
10 |
Ion Izagirre Insausti Astana - Premier Tech |
35 pt |
12 |
Mikkel Frølich Honoré
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
29 pt |
16 |
James Knox
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
18 pt |
24 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
13 pt |
1 |
Primož Roglič Team Jumbo-Visma |
34 pt |
2 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE-Team Emirates |
27 pt |
3 |
David Gaudu Groupama - FDJ |
20 pt |
4 |
Hugh Carthy EF Education - Nippo |
17 pt |
5 |
Antwan Tolhoek Team Jumbo-Visma |
15 pt |
6 |
Quinten Hermans Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux |
14 pt |
7 |
Brandon McNulty UAE-Team Emirates |
12 pt |
8 |
Patrick Bevin Israel Start-Up Nation |
11 pt |
9 |
Ben O'Connor AG2R Citroën Team |
11 pt |
10 |
Alejandro Valverde Belmonte Movistar Team |
11 pt |
18 |
Mikkel Frølich Honoré
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
5 pt |
1 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Team Jumbo-Visma |
19:12:28 |
2 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE-Team Emirates |
0:15 |
3 |
David Gaudu Groupama - FDJ |
0:35 |
4 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
2:24 |
5 |
Brandon McNulty UAE-Team Emirates |
6:54 |
6 |
Gino Mäder Bahrain - Victorious |
11:10 |
7 |
Sergio Higuita García EF Education - Nippo |
16:22 |
8 |
Ilan Van Wilder Team DSM |
16:38 |
9 |
Mark Donovan Team DSM |
20:30 |
10 |
Eddie Dunbar INEOS Grenadiers |
28:00 |
25 |
Mikkel Frølich Honoré
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
48:22 |
1 | Team Jumbo-Visma | 57:47:23 |
2 | Bahrain - Victorious | 3:18 |
3 | UAE-Team Emirates | 18:04 |
4 | Astana - Premier Tech | 18:26 |
5 | Deceuninck - Quick Step | 20:04 |
6 | Movistar Team | 23:14 |
7 | INEOS Grenadiers | 26:53 |
8 | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | 30:30 |
9 | BORA - hansgrohe | 32:45 |
10 | Team BikeExchange | 53:34 |