Funny scene at the arrival of the fifth and penultimate stage of the Tour of the Basque Country this Friday in Mallabia. Two riders crossed the finish line on foot, recalling an identical misadventure on the Tour de France when Christopher Froome, then the Tour de France yellow jersey, climbed to the top of Ventoux on foot.
In the fight for the podium of the stage in a last very steep climb, the Russian Aleksandr Vlasov and the Dane Jonas Vingegaard second of the last Tour had to dismount, following a fall caused by a slip of the rider of the Jumbo -Visma. They crossed the line on foot in a rather comical scenario. No seriousness for one or the other.
Both men remain in the standings, less than 30 seconds behind. The Jumbo team had bet on Vingegaard this Friday, not on the race leader and outgoing winner, the Slovenian Primoz Roglic.
Beyond this anecdote, the Tour of the Basque Country puts youth in power. The Belgian Remco Evenepoel, 22, took control after the victory in the fifth stage of the Spaniard Carlos Rodriguez, 21, at Mallabia. Evenepoel (Quick-Step) took third place on this hilly stage day, at the top of the finish wall. The Colombian Daniel Felipe Martinez is now second in the general classification just two seconds behind the Belgian before the last stage which takes place this Saturday.
On Saturday, the sixth and final stage includes seven climbs, three of which are classified in the first category, on the course limited to 135.7 kilometers between Eibar and Arrate, in the heart of Basque cycling.