The 2026 edition of Itzulia Basque Country gets underway this afternoon with a short, punchy individual time trial in the city of Bilbao.
The opening 13.8 km test will start with riders facing a Cat.3 climb, the Alto de Santo Domingo, prior to a long run down through the city and a run-up to the finish line.
First rider down the start ramp in the six-day WorldTour stage race will be Georg ZImmerman (Lotto-Intermarché) at 1430 CET, with local hero Mikel Landa (Soudal-QuickStep) rounding out the day's racing at 1723 local time.
Undefeated in Itzulia Basque Country time trials since 2017, Primoz Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) will be one key name to follow, with an early start of 14:46. Other top contenders include Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) at 15:29, Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) at 16:41, former Itzulia winner Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) at 17: 15 and Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates-XRG) at 17:17.
Last year's opening ITT of the Itzulia Basque Country was won by Max Schachmann (Soudal-QuickStep), not racing this year.
