Basauri, the hometown of sports director Josean Fernández Matxin, served as the finish line for the third stage of the Itzulia, under a scorching sun. Matxin, familiar with every slope of his native town, had envisioned Isaac del Toro claiming victory on the crest of Basozelai, but fate had a different outcome.
In this stage, French rider Axel Laurance achieved a fiery victory, having recovered from a fall the previous day. Laurance and Igor Arrieta, a protégé of Matxin, engaged in a fierce head-to-head battle. Although Arrieta challenged Laurance intensely, the Frenchman demonstrated his superiority in the final meters on the short but demanding wall of Basozelai.
“"In the end, Arrieta didn't want to collaborate, and I had doubts. When he attacked, I worried about a cramp, but Igor faded. I waited 100 meters from the finish, on a false flat, and passed him."
The day took a dark turn for Matxin in Amurrio when Isaac del Toro, the rider chosen for the victory mission, suffered a fall. The Mexican cyclist, despite indicating he was fine, had to abandon the race, bruised and disheartened. Matxin himself picked him up in the car, reflecting the palpable disappointment.
In the day's breakaway, Igor Arrieta and Axel Laurance joined thirteen other riders, including Mikel Bizkarra and Jonathan Lastra from Euskaltel-Euskadi. After the tough climb of Zaratamo, Laurance and Arrieta sized each other up, each waiting for their moment. Arrieta attacked 300 meters from the finish, the exact point Matxin had marked, but Laurance, stronger, waited for the precise moment to launch his decisive attack and claim the victory.
Behind them, race leader Paul Seixas, wearing the yellow jersey, led the peloton, reaffirming his dominance in the race. The Itzulia seems to be speaking French, with Laurance's victory in Basauri.
