The cyclist from Gipuzkoa, Aner Irizar, claimed victory in the Premio Sallurtegi, a junior category race within the Euskal Herria Tournament, covering a distance of 89 kilometers. Out of 168 registered participants, 92 managed to finish the race. Irizar, who was already the Euskadi Cyclocross Champion last December in Segura, raised his arms at the finish line in the Alava town, winning the sprint against his four breakaway companions.
The quintet of riders broke away on the first ramps of Opakua, at kilometer 55 of the race, and no team behind managed to take control of the operations to neutralize the escape. Although the climb of Laminoria and a broken terrain remained, there was no way to catch the five leaders. In fact, in the final part of the race, two of their teammates, Markel Tulebras and Mauro Ibáñez, managed to break free from the main group to join the leaders, thus earning the Vitoria-based squad the award for the best team of the morning.
On Saturday, in Bizkaia, it was Mauro Ibáñez himself who authoritatively raised his arms upon crossing the finish line, having escaped with a 50-second lead over the chasing group, which was led by Alava native Ion Eguía, also a member of Alimco. The cyclist from Madrid, through sheer determination, secured his first junior victory convincingly, after dropping his two breakaway companions on the climb before the finish. Furthermore, the Alava team also won the award for the best squad in an event that gathered over 200 cyclists from teams hailing from Catalonia, Cantabria, Euskadi, and Burgos.
Separately, Gabriel Ibáñez and Jon Conejero earned silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the U23 category of the Euskadi Amateur Cycling Championship held in Amorebieta. The event brought together 197 cyclists in the Bizkaia town, with the two Smartlog members being the most prominent provincial riders. Indeed, Ibáñez contended for the victory, but launched his final sprint too early and found it too long, crossing the finish line in third place. Conejero finished seventh and was the second-best U23 rider, entering the main group just over half a minute behind the leading quartet.
Despite a relatively short course of 111 kilometers, the peloton made the race, a legendary event in the Basque calendar, a tough one. It was on the decisive climb to Muniketagane that the lead of nine escapees dwindled to twenty seconds, prompting a reaction from some of them. The Navarrese Mikel Uncilla intensified the pace at the front, leaving only four participants with chances of victory at Autzagane. Among them was Alava native Ibáñez, who at times saw himself with possibilities of victory, but his eagerness for glory led him to launch the sprint too early, and he was overtaken by Uncilla himself and Aimar Alarcia, who ultimately became the U23 champion. The main peloton arrived half a minute later, with Conejero as the third-placed rider in the chasing group, securing the regional bronze.
