We’re starting off in Pamplona for the first of two flat stages that comprise the first half of this race. This is expected to end in a bunch sprint, but we have a good amount of mountain points for the attackers on the way.
Thill, Bystrom and Davis open proceedings here. Bystrom’s involvement is a bit shocking, as he was considered one of the top favorites for the GC prior to the race. Is Trans Looney Tunes backing McEvoy or Calmejane instead?
Thill and Davis get caught again but Bystrom persists and is soon joined by Jallays. The Belgian is no match for him in the sprint though.
Other riders tried to bridge the gap, but Crabbe and Volcanica shut down every move. Therefore, we had two more points and bonus seconds available for the pack at the intermediate sprint and Boivin rewards his team’s efforts. Bauhaus, Ranneries, Abdul Halil and Vanderbiest were also in contention and those five get a sizeable gap to the peloton, but that would soon close, of course.
Perhaps paying for his big efforts to stay ahead of the peloton earlier, Bystrom can no longer keep up with Jallays even before the first climb starts. Let’s see if he can recover.
He does, but also with some assistance: Noia attacked from the peloton after the intermediate sprint, dragged the Norwegian back to the front but is clearly still the freshest of this trio as he attacks for the first mountain sprint.
The three guys basically cross the summit in reverse order of how we would expect them to. They now have around 50 kilometers of flat road to gather their strength before the next climb - we might see a different outcome then. They have two minutes on the pack at the moment.
4 and 2 points were still available to the peloton and Sagadin attacks to take 4. Van Keirsbulck gets 2, but mostly due to his pursuit of the Philips rider. It appears that the powers to be in the peloton really don’t want another rider breaking away.
At the second intermediate sprint, Bystrom again claims maximum points and bonus seconds. Was that perhaps the plan all along? He has 12 of them now, but we’ve seen the toll this effort took on him earlier. The group’s gap on the peloton never crossed much over the 3 minute mark and currently sits at 2’40, thanks to the efforts of HelloFresh, Crabbe and Volcanica.
At the second crossing of the Erro, we do indeed get the more expected result, with Noia getting outmatched and Bystrom getting over the line in front of Jallays. All three sit at 16 points now - the final KoM sprint will decide who’ll get to wear the jersey tomorrow.
Drizners and Villalobos take 4 and 2 points in the peloton as their teams continue to lead the pursuit; no attacks this time.
Closing in on said KoM sprint, Jallays opens it up from the front! Bystrom needs to get around Noia to catch up.
He does as the line comes closer, but Jallays is still going strong …
It’s super tight and there’s even some nudging with the ellbows! Bystrom ends up coming around Jallays at the very last second, what a nailbiter!
Noia would soon make it back and the gap to the peloton actually reached another high at almost four minutes, but then it came down steadily. Inside the final 20 kilometers, as we’re accustomed to see, they try to prolong their stay in the spotlight by attacking once more.
It’s a solid group of rouleurs at the front and the peloton has slight difficulties reeling them in. We’re already inside the final 8 kilometers as Jallays gets dropped by his two companions, who still have some 25 seconds on the peloton. There, the sprinters come to the front.
We see Kump right behind the line of domestiques, then Boivin, Favilli and Redecker to his left, followed by McEvoy and Abdul Halil.
The Crabbe Crew is bunched to his right with Liepins and Tsatevich slightly ahead of Vanderbiest. Ranneries, Losch and Bauhaus can be spotted at the very bottom of the picture.
There is a short ramp with just over 4 kilometers to go that reaches 5% and that’s where Noia and Bystrom are finally caught after a strong effort. Eventhough the sprinters are still at the front, the slope has not allowed true trains to emerge - we might be in for a chaotic sprint here.
One team manages to pull off their leadout flawlessly after all and that’s Crabbe, who emerge into the final 2,5 kilometers at the head of the peloton, with Tsatevich and Liepins pulling Vanderbiest. Losch has jumped on their wheel, looking in a good spot right now.
On the right, Volcanica has some issues. Barbero has Boivin in his slipstream where Marin should be, who’s trying to come around his leader on the right. They have Bauhaus, Kwok, Ranneries and Videika behind them.
In the middle, Kump has just one man ahead of him, which is Kumara - Battaglin is trying to come and help as well, but that might be too late. McEvoy, Favilli and Abdul Halil are lined up behind them, while Archbold, Jans and Rathe are just outside the frame trying to catch up.
Marin finally gets ahead of Boivin, so Barbero swings to the left - and completely derails Crabbe’s great leadout! Vanderbiest has to improvise and tries to follow the Volcanica guys, everyone behind is left scrambling!
After all that hustle, Marin has hardly any energy left and leaves Boivin in the wind with 1,2 kilometers still to go! What a nightmare for him. Vanderbiest, Bauhaus, Losch, McEvoy and Kump could be the benefactors, but there’s a whole bunch of sprinters behind them hoping for a chance for themselves.
There’s a sharp left turn heading onto the finishing straight, which benefits Boivin, but it’s unlikely that it will be enough. Favilli on the inside and Bauhaus on the outside are currently the fastest on the road, Vanderbiest doesn’t look great anymore after having to leave his leadout unexpectedly, presumably spending a lot of energy in the process.
Boivin indeed gets overtaken but it’s actually Losch and McEvoy who come out of that corner like they’re being shot out of a cannon!
McEvoy takes a potentially decisive lead, Losch can’t keep up with him! But now Kump emerges after getting slightly stuck behind Bauhaus!
McEvoy is still looking well, only Kump might yet stop him!
But he doesn’t! What a day for Trans Looney Tunes, as Jonathan McEvoy takes Stage 1 of the Euskal Bizikleta. With Bystrom in the polkadots, they lead three of the four major classifications!
Kump finishes second, showing off his speed. With some better positioning, tomorrow might be his day. Losch fairly comfortably secures a strong third place.
The sprint for fourth place is much closer. Abdul Halil pips Favilli at the line. Boivin saves sixth place for himself, but he will likely hear some choiced words from Vanderbiest with regards to the leadout battle. The Belgian finishes only 8th behind Bauhaus, a rough result after so much work done by his team.
Kwok and Archbold complete the Top 10, no points for that but still a solid performance. Ranneries, Videika, Rathe and Jans follow, and everyone else finishes safely in the peloton as well.
Euskal Bizikleta 
