2016 Tour of the Basque Country

2016 Tour of the Basque Country 2016 UCI World Tour 9 28 4–9 April 2016 6 852.2 km Alberto Contador TNK 2016 ESP yellow Sergio Henao SKY 2016 COL Nairo Quintana MOV 2016 COL Diego Rosa ITA AST 2016 polkadot Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 white Nicolas Edet COF 2016 FRA blue SKY 2016 2015 2017 The 2016 Tour of the Basque Country (es Vuelta al Pais Vasco no, eu Euskal Herriko itzulia) was a road cycling stage race that took place in the Basque Country between 4 and 9 April 2016. It was the 56th edition of the Tour of the Basque Country and the ninth event of the 2016 UCI World Tour.Wynn Nigel UCI WorldTour calendar 2016 http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/uci-worldtour-calendar-2016-193076 Cycling Weekly 18 December 2015 The race took place over mountainous terrain and was suitable for climbers. The first five stages were mountainous; the sixth and final stage was a hilly individual time trial. The defending champion was Joaquim Rodríguez (KAT 2016), with Nairo Quintana (MOV 2016), Alberto Contador (TNK 2016) and Sergio Henao (SKY 2016) also among the favourites for the overall victory. Luis León Sánchez won the opening stage, but lost the lead the following day on the first uphill finish to Mikel Landa (Sky). Landa lost the lead on Stage 4, with Wilco Kelderman (TLJ 2016) taking over the lead. On the second uphill finish of the race on the penultimate day, Henao took over the lead after escaping with Contador. Contador then won the time trial on the final stage and beat Henao to the overall victory by 12 seconds, with Quintana a further 23 seconds behind in third. Henao won the points classification, while Nicolas Edet (COF 2016) won the intermediate sprints competition and Diego Rosa (AST 2016) the mountains classification. Route The route of the 2016 Tour of the Basque Country was generally mountainous, with no stages suited for the sprinters. The first stage included eight categorised climbs, the last of which was 8.3 km from the finish.Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – Stage 1 (profile) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race.php?id=163655&c=6&stat_id=217 ProCyclingStats 3 April 2016 The second finished with a 2 km on climb at an average gradient of 11.7%;Roadbook 2016 22 the third and fourth stages again contained multiple climbs shortly before the finish. The fifth stage was the most difficult, with the 5.5 km on climb of the Arrate (referred to by its Basque name Usartza and averaging 8.5%), shortly before the finish. The final stage was a hilly individual time trial around Eibar.Puddicombe Stephen Tour of the Basque Country preview http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/tour-of-the-basque-country-preview-219179 https://archive.today/20160404125013/http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/tour-of-the-basque-country-preview-219179 dead April 4, 2016 3 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 1 April 2016 +Stage scheduleVuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – General classification (stages) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race.php?id=163661&c=4 ProCyclingStats 3 April 2016 Stage Date Route DistanceType Winner 1 4 AprilEtxebarria to Markina-Xemein 144 km 0 on22px|alt=|link= Medium-mountain stage Luis León Sánchez ESP 2 5 AprilMarkina-Xemein to Baranbio-Garrastatxu (Amurrio) 174.2 km 0 on22px|alt=|link= Mountain stage Mikel Landa ESP 3 6 AprilVitoria-Gasteiz to Lesaka 193.5 km 0 on22px|alt=|link= Medium-mountain stageSteve Cummings GBR 4 7 AprilLesaka to Orio 165 km 0 on22px|alt=|link= Medium-mountain stageSamuel Sánchez ESP 5 8 AprilOrio to Arrate (mountain) Arrate fr Arrate (Eibar) 159 km 0 on22px|alt=|link= Mountain stageDiego Rosa ITA 6 9 AprilEibar to Eibar 16.5 km 0 on22px|alt=|link= Individual time trial Alberto Contador ESP Participating teams As the Tour of the Basque Country is a UCI World Tour event, all eighteen UCI WorldTeams were invited automatically and were obliged to enter a team in the race.http://www.uci.ch/mm/Document/News/Rulesandregulation/16/82/39/2-ROA-20150619-E_English.pdf UCI Cycling Regulations: Part 2: Road Races page 110 article 2.15.127 Union Cycliste Internationale 20 February 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20150702030045/http://www.uci.ch/mm/Document/News/Rulesandregulation/16/82/39/2-ROA-20150619-E_English.pdf 2 July 2015 Two UCI Professional Continental teams – COF 2016 and CJR 2016 – were awarded wildcard places, bringing the number of teams to twenty. As each team included eight riders, there were a total of 160 at the start of the first stage.Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – General Classification (startlist) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Startlist ProCyclingStats 3 April 2016 ALM AST BMC OPQ FDJ IAM LAM LTB MOV OBE 2016a CPT 2016a GIA KAT BEL MTN SKY TTS TFR UCI WorldTeams 2016 COF CJR UCI Professional Continental teams 2016 Pre-race favourites The mountainous terrain meant that the favourites for victory were exclusively climbers; every stage offered the opportunity for attacks. The final two stages (the climb to Arrate and the individual time trial) were expected to be decisive. The top two riders from the 2015 edition, Joaquim Rodríguez (KAT 2016) and Sergio Henao (SKY 2016), both returned to the race. Rodríguez had not been in good form and had not been in the top ten at any race in 2016. Henao had been expected to ride in support of his team's new signing Mikel Landa, but Landa had been ill and was not yet in good form; Henao was therefore his team's leader.Fletcher Patrick Landa puts doubts to bed after finally starting his season http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/landa-puts-doubts-to-bed-after-finally-starting-his-season/ 3 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 29 March 2016 The principal favourites, however, were Nairo Quintana (MOV 2016) and Alberto Contador (TNK 2016); both men are former winners of the race (Quintana in 2013 and Contador in 2008, 2009 and 2014). Quintana had beaten Contador the previous month at the Volta a Catalunya. Other favourites included Dan Martin (EQS 2016) and Fabio Aru (AST 2016), along with Thibaut Pinot (FDJ 2016), who had won the Critérium International. Stages Stage 1 thumbnail|Profile of Stage 1 4 April – Etxebarria to Markina-Xemein, 144 km on The first stage took place over a 144 km on course that started in Etxebarria and followed a looping course to finish near the start in Markina-Xemein. The stage began with two third-category climbs, followed by a flat section along the coast, before turning back inland for two second-category climbs; there were then two more third-category climbs. The most difficult climb of the day was the first-category Alto de Ixua (6.2 km at 7%); at the summit there were 26 km remaining. This included one more second-category climb – the eighth of the day – and a final 8 km on descent to the finish, which came on flat, straight roads.Roadbook 2016 12–17 The day's main breakaway formed after the first climb. It was made up of Gianluca Brambilla (EQS 2016 y), Marcel Wyss (IAM 2016), Nicolas Edet (COF 2016 y) and Jonathan Lastra (CJR 2016 y).Luis León Sánchez remporte la première étape https://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme-sur-route/Actualites/Sanchez-remporte-la-premiere/649538 4 April 2016 L'Équipe 4 April 2016 fr Luis León Sánchez wins the first stageBenson Daniel Luis León Sánchez wins Pais Vasco opening stage http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/vuelta-ciclista-al-pais-vasco-2016/stage-1/results/ 4 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 4 April 2016 Brambilla fell back from the break before the third climb of the day, where the lead over the peloton was around three minutes. The peloton was led throughout by riders from Tinkoff and from OBE 2016a and was just over a minute 42 km from the end. Wyss was dropped on the Alto de Ixua, with 35 km remaining, and the lead dropped to less than half a minute. The peloton's chase slowed on the climb, however, and Dario Cataldo was able to attack and come across to the breakaway; he immediately dropped Lastra and, after working with Edet for a while, dropped him too and continued alone. Meanwhile, there were attacks in the peloton, with Philip Deignan (Team Sky) and Wilco Kelderman (TLJ 2016) both attempting to escape. Towards the top of the climb, Alberto Contador attacked and was followed by the other general classification favourites; this acceleration brought Cataldo back to the group. On the final climb, Daniel Navarro (Cofidis) attacked and was joined by Luis León Sánchez (Astana). Sánchez led Navarro down the fast descent; they held a small lead going into the final kilometres. Sánchez sprinted first and Navarro was unable to come past. The main group were very close at the finish, with Simon Gerrans (OBE 2016a y) sprinting into third place.Wynn Nigel Luis León Sánchez wins opening stage of Tour of the Basque Country http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/luis-leon-sanchez-wins-tour-basque-country-stage-one-219573 4 April 2016 Cycling Weekly Time Inc. UK 4 April 2016 Sánchez therefore took the overall lead of the race, with 50 other riders on the same time. Result of Stage 1Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – Stage 1 (result) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Stage_1 ProCyclingStats 4 April 2016 1 Luis León Sánchez ESP AST 2016 3h 54' 21" 2 Daniel Navarro ESP COF 2016 + 0" 3 Simon Gerrans AUS OBE 2016a + 0" 4 Fabio Felline ITA TFR 2016 + 0" 5 Simon Clarke AUS GRS 2016a + 0" 6 Jan Bakelants BEL ALM 2016 + 0" 7 Dan Martin IRL EQS 2016 + 0" 8 Warren Barguil FRA TGA 2016 + 0" 9 Tony Gallopin FRA LTS 2016 + 0" 10 Sergey Chernetskiy RUS KAT 2016 + 0"General classification after Stage 1Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – Stage 1 (GC) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race.php?t=r&id=167424&subs=&seo=Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_2016 ProCyclingStats 4 April 2016 1 Luis León Sánchez ESP AST 2016 3h 54' 21" yellow General classificationwhite Points classification 2 Daniel Navarro ESP COF 2016 + 0" 3 Simon Gerrans AUS OBE 2016a + 0" 4 Fabio Felline ITA TFR 2016 + 0" 5 Simon Clarke AUS GRS 2016a + 0" 6 Jan Bakelants BEL ALM 2016 + 0" 7 Dan Martin IRL EQS 2016 + 0" 8 Warren Barguil FRA TGA 2016 + 0" 9 Tony Gallopin FRA LTS 2016 + 0" 10 Sergey Chernetskiy RUS KAT 2016 + 0" Stage 2 thumbnail|Profile of Stage 2 4 April – Markina-Xemein to Baranbio-Garrastatxu (Amurrio), 174.2 km on The second stage started where the first had finished, in Markina-Xemein, and headed south-west towards the finish in Amurrio. It began with a second-category climb very early in the stage; after a flat section came two more climbs, one third-category and one second-category. After a long plateau and a descent, the riders arrived in Amurrio for the first time. Another third-category ascent followed; at the summit there were 47 km to the finish. Most of this was over fairly flat roads as the riders looped around Amurrio, but the final part of the race was a steep climb, the 2.7 km on Alto de Garrastatxu, with an average gradient of 11.7%. The climb started with a section at 11.5%, followed by another at 13.5%; the final part of the climb had a gradient of 9.3%.Roadbook 2016 22–25 The first half of the stage took place in cold and rainy conditions.Fotheringham Alasdair Alasdair Fotheringham Contador takes conservative approach to first summit finish at Pais Vasco http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-takes-conservative-approach-to-first-summit-finish-at-pais-vasco/ 5 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 5 April 2016 Immediate Media Company Nicholas Edet won the first mountain sprint, putting him into the lead of the mountain classification. A breakaway formed in the following kilometres, but the presence of two well-placed LAM 2016 riders (Simone Petilli and Louis MeintjesFarrand Stephen Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco 2016 : Stage 2 As It Happened http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/vuelta-ciclista-al-pais-vasco-2016/stage-2/live-report/ 5 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 5 April 2016 Immediate Media Company) meant that the group was not allowed to build an advantage. Stefan Denifl (IAM 2016) and Ángel Madrazo (CJR 2016) were part of this group and were then able to escape again, forming a two-man breakaway that led most of the stage. Their lead was over three minutes with 30 km remaining, but fell rapidly; they were caught with 8 km remaining.Frattini Kirsten Vuelta al Pais Vasco: Landa wins hilltop finish in Garrastatxu http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/vuelta-ciclista-al-pais-vasco-2016/stage-2/results/ 5 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 5 April 2016 Team Sky, along with OBE 2016a y, Cannondale and Movistar, led the peloton towards the climb, with TLJ 2016 taking over as the road began to rise. Blel Kadri (ALM 2016) then attacked, but was soon overtaken by Wilco Kelderman (LottoNL–Jumbo) and Mikel Landa (Sky). Going into the final kilometre, they had a 14-second lead. Contador, who had lost the key stage of the Volta a Catalunya after doing too much work on the final climb, waited for the other riders in the group to chase Landa and Kelderman. Rui Costa attempted to bring the two riders back, with Contador, Henao, Rodriguez and Samuel Sánchez (BMC 2016) following, but they were unable to catch them. In the final few hundred metres, Landa came past Kelderman and took the stage win, his first since signing for Team Sky. Keldeman was second, one second behind Landa, with Henao four seconds further back in third.Wynn Nigel Mikel Landa climbs into overall lead in Tour of the Basque Country http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/landa-climbs-into-tour-of-the-basque-country-lead-219728 5 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 5 April 2016 Time Inc. UK Landa took over the race lead. After the stage, however, he said that Henao remained the team leader for the rest of the race and that he "could crack tomorrow".Fotheringham Alasdair Alasdair Fotheringham Mikel Landa wins on home soil in Pais Vasco http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/mikel-landa-wins-on-home-soil-in-pais-vasco/ 6 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 5 April 2016 Result of Stage 2Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – Stage 2 (result) http://procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Stage_2 ProCyclingStats 5 April 2016 5 April 2016 7 July 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160707192659/http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Stage_2 dead 1 Mikel Landa ESP SKY 2016 4h 43' 17" 2 Wilco Kelderman NED TLJ 2016 + 1" 3 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 + 5" 4 Samuel Sánchez ESP BMC 2016 + 9" 5 Alberto Contador ESP TTS 2016 + 11" 6 Thibaut Pinot FRA FDJ 2016 + 13" 7 Rui Costa POR LAM 2016 + 15" 8 Nairo Quintana COL MOV 2016 + 15" 9 Robert Gesink NED TLJ 2016 + 15" 10 Sébastien Reichenbach SUI FDJ 2016 + 15"General classification after Stage 2Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – Stage 2 (GC) http://procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Stage_2_GC ProCyclingStats 5 April 2016 5 April 2016 10 July 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160710181153/http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Stage_2_GC dead 1 Mikel Landa ESP SKY 2016 8h 37' 38" yellow General classificationwhite Points classification 2 Wilco Kelderman NED TLJ 2016 + 1" 3 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 + 5" 4 Samuel Sánchez ESP BMC 2016 + 9" 5 Alberto Contador ESP TTS 2016 + 11" 6 Thibaut Pinot FRA FDJ 2016 + 13" 7 Rui Costa POR LAM 2016 + 15" 8 Nairo Quintana COL MOV 2016 + 15" 9 Robert Gesink NED TLJ 2016 + 15" 10 Sébastien Reichenbach SUI FDJ 2016 + 15" Stage 3 thumbnail|Profile of Stage 3 6 April 2016 – Vitoria-Gasteiz to Lesaka, 193.5 km on The third stage covered a 193.5 km on route from Vitoria-Gasteiz to Lesaka. The route initially took the riders east along flat roads to Irurtzun, then north towards the coast. Shortly after the turn, there was a third-category climb followed immediately by a second-category climb. There were then flat roads as far as Hernani, when the riders turned east again, through Oiartzun. The final 35 km included three second-category climbs. The last of these, the Alto de la Piedad, was crossed with 9.1 km to the finish line. After the descent, there were flat roads to the finish.Roadbook 2016 28–33 There was an early breakaway formed by Blel Kadri (ALM 2016), Sam Oomen (TGA 2016), José Gonçalves (CJR 2016 y), Daniel Teklehaimanot (Dimension Data) and, for the second consecutive day, Stefan Denifl (IAM). Gonçalves won the first mountain sprint and Denifl the second, but the group was kept close by the peloton; going into the three final climbs they had just a minute's lead. On the first of these climbs, Denifl attacked the breakaway, with only Oomen able to follow; meanwhile Michael Albasini (Orica–GreenEDGE) attacked from the peloton and was joined by Dario Cataldo (Astana), Daniel Navarro (Cofidis) and Laurens De Plus (Etixx–Quick-Step). Denifl was first to the summit of the day's third climb, with the four chasers around 30 seconds behind.Frattini Kirsten Vuelta al Pais Vasco: Cummings wins stage 3 in Lesaka http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/vuelta-ciclista-al-pais-vasco-2016/stage-3/results/ 6 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 6 April 2016 On the day's penultimate climb, the chasers were joined by Adam Yates (Orica–GreenEDGE) and Pierre Rolland (GRS 2016a); the whole group then came across to Denifl and Oomen. Denifl once again won the mountain sprint to take the lead in the mountain classification. As both Yates and Rolland were potential threats to Landa's general classification lead, Sky chased hard on the final climb, with the gap at around 15 seconds. Navarro attacked over the summit; Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) attacked from the peloton and was followed by Landa, Quintana, Samuel Sánchez and Rui Costa. Navarro rode the descent hard and had a small gap to the chasers at the foot, with a larger gap to the main peloton. Rolland and Yates attacked and caught Navarro; all the breakaway riders were finally caught with under 2 km remaining.Clarke Stuart Steve Cummings's late attack seals victory on stage three in the Tour of the Basque Country http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/steve-cummingss-late-attack-seals-victory-stage-three-tour-basque-country-219875 6 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 6 April 2016 Within the last 1 km 1, Steve Cummings (DDD 2016) attacked solo and held on to take the stage win. The peloton came close to catching him – with Simon Gerrans second and Fabio Felline (TFR 2016) – but Cummings had time to celebrate as he crossed the line. Cummings's victory came just hours after he had said in an interview with Cyclingnews.com that he would attempt to win stages with late attacks; it was his second such victory of the year, after a stage of the Tirreno–Adriatico.Fotheringham Alasdair Cummings eyes breakaway in Vuelta al Pais Vasco http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cummings-eyes-breakaway-in-vuelta-al-pais-vasco/ 6 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 6 April 2016 Landa retained his overall lead, with no change in the top ten riders. Result of Stage 3Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – Stage 3 (result) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Stage_3 ProCyclingStats 6 April 2016 1 Steve Cummings GBR DDD 2016 5h 01' 57" 2 Simon Gerrans AUS OBE 2016a + 0" 3 Fabio Felline ITA TFR 2016 + 0" 4 Gianluca Brambilla ITA EQS 2016 + 0" 5 Giovanni Visconti ITA MOV 2016 + 0" 6 Simon Clarke AUS GRS 2016a + 0" 7 Tony Gallopin FRA LTS 2016 + 0" 8 Pello Bilbao ESP CJR 2016 + 0" 9 Sergey Chernetskiy RUS KAT 2016 + 0" 10 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 + 0"General classification after Stage 3Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – Stage 3 (GC) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Stage_3_GC ProCyclingStats 6 April 2016 1 Mikel Landa ESP SKY 2016 13h 39' 35" yellow General classification 2 Wilco Kelderman NED TLJ 2016 + 1" 3 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 + 5" 4 Samuel Sánchez ESP BMC 2016 + 9" 5 Alberto Contador ESP TTS 2016 + 11" 6 Thibaut Pinot FRA FDJ 2016 + 13" 7 Rui Costa POR LAM 2016 + 15" 8 Nairo Quintana COL MOV 2016 + 15" 9 Robert Gesink NED TLJ 2016 + 15" 10 Sébastien Reichenbach SUI FDJ 2016 + 15" Stage 4 thumbnail|Profile of Stage 4 7 April 2016 – Lesaka to Orio, 165 km on The fourth stage of the race once again included several late climbs, coming at the end of a 165 km on course. The racing started in Lesaka, where Stage 3 had finished, and took the riders to Orio, travelling principally along the coast. There were two climbs in the first 50 km 0, one first-category and the other third-category. There was then a long section of flat roads before a second-category climb with 65 km remaining. There were then three more second-category climbs in the final 35 km; the last two were ascents of different sides of the Alt de Aia, with the last summit coming 13 km from the finish. After the final descent, there were 4 km to the finish, which included an uncategorised climb of 1000 m -2 at 7%.Roadbook 2016 38–43 The beginning part of the stage was raced hard; a large breakaway formed early and contested the early climbs. Denifl won the first two climbs, but the breakaway was caught and, after 80 km, a new breakaway was formed. This was made up of six riders: Simone Petilli (Lampre–Mérida), Tim Wellens (Lotto–Soudal), Christophe Riblon (AG2R La Mondiale), Luis Ángel Maté (Cofidis), Carlos Verona (Etixx–Quick-Step) and Ángel Vicioso (Katusha).Wynn Nigel Samuel Sánchez turns back the clock to win Tour of the Basque Country stage four http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/samuel-sanchez-wins-tour-basque-country-stage-four-220062 8 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 7 April 2016 The breakaway split on the fourth climb of the day, but re-formed on the descent. Team Sky held their advantage under three minutes for most of the stage and it was reduced further approaching the final climbs; it was around 90 seconds with 22 km remaining.Frattini Kirsten Vuelta al Pais Vasco: Samuel Sánchez wins stage 4 in Orio http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/vuelta-ciclista-al-pais-vasco-2016/stage-4/results/ 8 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 7 April 2016 On the penultimate climb of the day, Warren Barguil (TGA 2016) attacked and was followed by Roman Kreuziger (Tinkoff), but Astana chased the move down. Meanwhile, Vicioso was dropped from the break; the rest of the breakaway had a one-minute lead going into the final climb. On the final climb, which had sections with a gradient of 28%, Verona attacked and escaped from the breakaway group, with Maté and Wellens chasing. Henao, Contador and Quintana attacked from the peloton, with Landa unable to follow. The riders were in several groups coming off the final climb, but Kreuziger's efforts brought the front groups back together with 2.3 km remaining. On the final, uncategorised climb, Contador attacked, with Henao following, but Samuel Sánchez came past both of them and descended fast to the finish line, where he won the stage. Rui Costa (Movistar) finished second, on the same time as Sánchez, as part of a sixteen-rider chasing group that included all the main favourites except Landa, who lost eight seconds. Kelderman therefore moved into the race lead, four seconds ahead of Henao, with Landa now seven seconds behind in third place. Sánchez's victory was his first since he won a stage of the 2013 Critérium du Dauphiné and his first since signing for BMC.Sanchez takes first individual win in three years at Pais Vasco http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sanchez-takes-first-individual-win-in-three-years-at-pais-vasco/ 8 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 7 April 2016 Result of Stage 4Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – Stage 4 (result) http://procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Stage_4 ProCyclingStats 7 April 2016 7 April 2016 20 June 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160620140506/http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Stage_4 dead 1 Samuel Sánchez ESP BMC 2016 4h 13' 12" 2 Rui Costa POR LAM 2016 + 0" 3 Warren Barguil FRA TGA 2016 + 0" 4 Alexis Vuillermoz FRA ALM 2016 + 0" 5 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 + 0" 6 Nairo Quintana COL MOV 2016 + 0" 7 Alberto Contador ESP TTS 2016 + 0" 8 Wilco Kelderman NED TLJ 2016 + 0" 9 Lawson Craddock USA GRS 2016a + 0" 10 Joaquim Rodríguez ESP KAT 2016 + 0"General classification after Stage 4Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – Stage 4 (GC) http://procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Stage_4 ProCyclingStats 7 April 2016 7 April 2016 20 June 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160620140506/http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Stage_4 dead 1 Wilco Kelderman NED TLJ 2016 17h 52' 48" yellow General classification 2 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 + 4" 3 Mikel Landa ESP SKY 2016 + 7" 4 Samuel Sánchez ESP BMC 2016 + 8" white Points classification 5 Alberto Contador ESP TTS 2016 + 10" 6 Thibaut Pinot FRA FDJ 2016 + 12" 7 Rui Costa POR LAM 2016 + 14" 8 Nairo Quintana COL MOV 2016 + 14" 9 Robert Gesink NED TLJ 2016 + 14" 10 Sébastien Reichenbach SUI FDJ 2016 + 14" Stage 5 thumbnail|Profile of Stage 5 8 April 2016 – Orio to Arrate (mountain) Arrate fr Arrate (Eibar), 159 km on The final road stage of the race included eight categorised climbs, the last of which came just 2 km before the finish. It began where Stage 4 finished, in Orio, and covered a 159 km on course to Eibar, where it finished at the top of the Arrate climb. The first 60 km took the riders along the coast, then inland to Eibar. On the way there were two climbs, one third-category and one second-category. The riders then left Eibar to the south for a 70 km on circuit that included three second-category climbs. There was then a 30 km on circuit to the north of Eibar with a further two second-category climbs. The riders then returned to the town for the final climb – the Arrate or Usartza – which was 5.4 km long at an average gradient of 8.2%. Following the summit, there was a short descent to the finish line.Roadbook 2016 48 A large breakaway group formed at the beginning of the stage, consisting of at least eighteen riders. After 41 km, Diego Rosa attacked the breakaway. No one followed, and he set off on a solo breakaway.O'Shea Sadhbh Pais Vasco: Rosa wins in Arrate http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/vuelta-ciclista-al-pais-vasco-2016/stage-5/results/ 8 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 8 April 2016 Rosa said after the stage that he had been intending to draw out a smaller breakaway group; as no one followed him, he decided to continue alone, even though he was more than 100 km from the end of the stage.Rosa wins Pais Vasco stage 5, Henao leads http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/04/news/road/pais-vasco-rosa-wins-henao-leads_401889 8 April 2016 VeloNews.com Competitor Group, Inc. 8 April 2016 10 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160410080923/http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/04/news/road/pais-vasco-rosa-wins-henao-leads_401889 dead For a significant portion of the stage, Rosa was chased by Maxime Monfort and Sander Armée (both LTS 2016 y), but they were not able to reduce his advantage. At the start of the final climb of the day, he had several minutes' lead.O'Shea Sadhbh Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – Stage 5: As It Happened http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/vuelta-ciclista-al-pais-vasco-2016/stage-5/live-report/ 8 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 8 April 2016 In the peloton, Kelderman's TLJ 2016 y team was unable to stay with him to the end of the day and he was isolated for the final two climbs. Earlier in the day, he crashed on a corner during a wet descent and was left with rips in his clothing.Wynn Nigel Diego Rosa puts in mammoth solo ride to net Tour of the Basque Country stage five http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/diego-rosa-wins-tour-basque-country-stage-five-220247 8 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 8 April 2016 Kelderman loses Vuelta al País Vasco lead after crash http://www.teamlottojumbo.com/cycling-news/kelderman-loses-vuelta-al-pais-vasco-lead-after-crash TLJ 2016 8 April 2016 8 April 2016 On the final climb, Mikel Landa attacked from the group of overall favourites; he joined up with his teammate David López, who had been part of the early breakaway. López paced him for some time, with Simon Clarke (Cannondale) also joining the group. They were chased, however, by Tinkoff and brought back on the final climb. Contador then attacked, with only Henao able to follow. Ródriguez and Pinot chased; Kelderman attempted to stay with them but was dropped. Rosa continued over the final climb and took a solo victory, several minutes ahead of the rest of the field. In the final metres, he stopped, dismounted and crossed the finish line on foot, holding his bike above his head. L'Équipe described his celebration as "unlikely but well deserved", after he had spent most of the stage riding alone.Tour du Pays basque : Diego Rosa passe la ligne d'arrivée à pied https://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme-sur-route/Actualites/Tour-du-pays-basque-diego-rosa-passe-la-ligne-d-arrivee-a-pied/650630 8 April 2016 L'Équipe 8 April 2016 fr-FR Tour of the Basque Country: Diego Rosa crosses the finish line on foot Une célébration improbable mais méritée Henao and Contador finished together, two seconds ahead of Ródriguez and Pinot. Kelderman dropped to eighth place after finishing over a minute behind Henao and Contador. Henao took over both the overall lead and the points classification, while Rosa took over the lead of the mountains classification after winning six of the day's seven climbs. More than thirty riders abandoned the race during the fifth stage. They included Fabio Aru, Dan Martin, Simon Gerrans, Ryder Hesjedal (Trek–Segafredo) and Simon Yates (OBE 2016a y). Many of the retirements came after crashes on the wet roads.Wynn Nigel Simon Yates and Fabio Aru among those abandoning Tour of the Basque Country http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/simon-yates-fabio-aru-among-abandoning-tour-basque-country-220224 8 April 2016 Cycling Weekly 8 April 2016 Result of Stage 5Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – Stage 5 (result) http://procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Stage_5 ProCyclingStats 8 April 2016 8 April 2016 8 July 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160708095506/http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Stage_5 dead 1 Diego Rosa ITA AST 2016 4h 19' 19" 2 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 + 3' 13" 3 Alberto Contador ESP TTS 2016 + 3' 13" 4 Joaquim Rodríguez ESP KAT 2016 + 3' 15" 5 Thibaut Pinot FRA FDJ 2016 + 3' 15" 6 Samuel Sánchez ESP BMC 2016 + 3' 40" white Points classification 7 Nairo Quintana COL MOV 2016 + 3' 41" 8 Lawson Craddock USA GRS 2016a + 3' 56" 9 Rui Costa POR LAM 2016 + 4' 12" 10 Serge Pauwels BEL DDD 2016 + 4' 12"General classification after Stage 5Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – Stage 5 (GC) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Stage_5_GC ProCyclingStats 8 April 2016 1 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 22h 15' 24" yellow General classification A yellow jerseywhite Points classification 2 Alberto Contador ESP TTS 2016 + 6" 3 Thibaut Pinot FRA FDJ 2016 + 10" 4 Joaquim Rodríguez ESP KAT 2016 + 12" 5 Samuel Sánchez ESP BMC 2016 + 31" 6 Nairo Quintana COL MOV 2016 + 38" 7 Lawson Craddock USA GRS 2016a + 1' 00" 8 Wilco Kelderman NED TLJ 2016 + 1' 07" 9 Rui Costa POR LAM 2016 + 1' 09" 10 Sébastien Reichenbach SUI FDJ 2016 + 1' 11" Stage 6 thumbnail|Profile of Stage 6 9 April 2016 – Eibar, 16.5 km on (ITT) The final stage of the race was a hilly, 16.5 km on individual time trial that started and ended in Eibar. The first 1.8 km were fairly flat, but there was then a significant climb of 5 km at 9.7%. There was then a 6.3 km on descent, followed by 4 km of flat roads to the finish line.Roadbook 2016 57 Seventeen of the riders remaining in the race chose not to compete in the final stage. Caleb Fairly (TGA 2016 y) was the first to start and completed the course in 34' 44". The first significant time was set by Adam Yates, who crossed the finish line with a time of 30' 06". This time remained the best time until the eighth-placed rider overnight – Nairo Quintana – set a time of 29' 18".Contador wins Pais Vasco TT, fourth overall title http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/04/news/road/contador-tts-to-pais-vasco-win_401973 9 April 2016 VeloNews Competitor Group, Inc. 9 April 2016 12 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160412020331/http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/04/news/road/contador-tts-to-pais-vasco-win_401973 dead Other well placed riders, including Pinot, Rodríguez and Landa, struggled on the steep climb. At the top of the climb, Quintana changed from a road bicycle to a time trial bicycle. The only rider able to beat Quintana's time was Alberto Contador.Benson Daniel Contador wins finale time trial to secure overall title at Vuelta al Pais Vasco http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/vuelta-ciclista-al-pais-vasco-2016/stage-6/results/ 9 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 9 April 2016 He was 23 seconds up at the top of the climb and finished five seconds ahead by the finish line.2016-04-09: 6. Eibar / Eibar - Classifications - Euskal Herriko 56. Itzulia http://www.itzulia.eus/en/2016/6/results/ https://archive.today/20160810193811/http://www.itzulia.eus/en/2016/6/results/ dead 10 August 2016 Euskal Herriko Itzulia 9 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com suggested after the stage that Quintana's bike change may have cost him the stage victory. Henao, who had lost 46 seconds to Contador on the climb, finished 18 seconds behind and fell to second place overall. Contador therefore won the race, twelve seconds ahead of Henao, with Quintana moving up to third place overall. It was the third time that he had won the Tour of the Basque Country in the final time trial. Result of Stage 6 (ITT)Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – Stage 6 (ITT) (result) http://procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Stage_6_ITT ProCyclingStats 9 April 2016 9 April 2016 29 June 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160629113732/http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Stage_6_ITT dead 1 Alberto Contador ESP TTS 2016 29' 13" 2 Nairo Quintana COL MOV 2016 + 5" 3 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 + 18" yellow General classificationwhite Points classification 4 Adam Yates GBR OBE 2016a + 53" 5 Samuel Sánchez ESP BMC 2016 + 1' 04" 6 Thibaut Pinot FRA FDJ 2016 + 1' 09" 7 Rui Costa POR LAM 2016 + 1' 16" 8 Joaquim Rodríguez ESP KAT 2016 + 1' 16" 9 Miguel Ángel López COL AST 2016 + 1' 21" 10 Pello Bilbao ESP CJR 2016 + 1' 26"General classification after Stage 6 (ITT)Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – General Classification (GC) http://procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016 ProCyclingStats 9 April 2016 5 April 2016 10 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160410100301/http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016 dead 1 Alberto Contador ESP TTS 2016 22h 44' 43" yellow General classification 2 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 + 12" white Points classification 3 Nairo Quintana COL MOV 2016 + 37" 4 Thibaut Pinot FRA FDJ 2016 + 1' 13" 5 Joaquim Rodríguez ESP KAT 2016 + 1' 22" 6 Samuel Sánchez ESP BMC 2016 + 1' 29" 7 Rui Costa POR LAM 2016 + 2' 19" 8 Simon Špilak SLO KAT 2016 + 2' 47" 9 Lawson Craddock USA GRS 2016a + 2' 52" 10 Wilco Kelderman NED TLJ 2016 + 3' 14" Post-race analysis Rider reactions Alberto Contador had on various previous occasions announced that the 2016 would be his last as a professional racer. After his victory in the Tour of the Basque Country, however, he said "I'm sure this isn't the last time I come here" and said that he would probably continue beyond the 2016 season. It was his first general classification victory since the 2015 Route du Sud; he dedicated the victory to his fans and to Oleg Tinkov, the owner of the Tinkoff team.Contador rethinking retirement after fourth Pais Vasco victory http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-rethinking-retirement-after-fourth-pais-vasco-victory/ 10 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 9 April 2016 Sergio Henao said that he had tried a different tactic in the time trial – holding back early on in order to give more effort later in the stage – and said that he was pleased both with his own performance and with how his team had ridden. He said that he was feeling strong ahead of his main objectives for the season, the Ardennes classics.Van Avermaet back on the bike – News shorts http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/van-avermaet-back-on-the-bike-news-shorts/ 10 April 2016 Cyclingnews.com 10 April 2016 Quintana said that his bike change in the time trial had helped, but that it was not quite enough to win the stage. He said that he was pleased with how he had ridden the race and in particular with how he had recovered from illness earlier in the week. Nairo risks everything, takes GC podium in Itzulia http://www.movistarteam.com/news/2016-4-9/nairo-risks-everything-takes-gc-podium-in-itzulia Movistar Team 9 April 2016 9 April 2016 UCI World Tour standings In the 2016 UCI World Tour season-long competition, Contador's victory moved him from third place to second, 59 points behind his teammate Peter Sagan. Sergio Henao moved from eighth to fourth and Quintana from twelfth to fifth. Spain moved into the lead of the nations' ranking, having previously been fifth. Tinkoff retained their overall lead in the teams' ranking, ahead of Team Sky.UCI WorldTour Ranking - 2016 http://www.uci.html.infostradasports.com/cache/2/TheASP.asp@PageID%3D102007&SportID%3D102&CompetitionID%3D24055&SeasonID%3D490&EventID%3D12146&GenderID%3D1&ClassID%3D1&EventPhaseID%3D1444755&Phase1ID%3D1444790&TaalCode%3D2&StyleID%3D0&Cache%3D2.html?748211 uci.ch Union Cycliste Internationale 10 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160410125851/http://www.uci.html.infostradasports.com/cache/2/TheASP.asp%40PageID%3D102007%26SportID%3D102%26CompetitionID%3D24055%26SeasonID%3D490%26EventID%3D12146%26GenderID%3D1%26ClassID%3D1%26EventPhaseID%3D1444755%26Phase1ID%3D1444790%26TaalCode%3D2%26StyleID%3D0%26Cache%3D2.html?748211 10 April 2016 9 April 2016 dead UCI World Tour standings on 9 April 2016 yes 1 Peter Sagan SVK TNK 2016 329 2 Alberto Contador ESP TNK 2016 280 3 Richie Porte AUS BMC 2016 222 4 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 204 5 Nairo Quintana COL MOV 2016 178 6 Fabian Cancellara SUI TFR 2016 166 7 Greg Van Avermaet BEL BMC 2016 162 8 Sep Vanmarcke BEL TLJ 2016 141 9 Arnaud Démare FRA FDJ 2016 137 10 Simon Gerrans AUS OBE 2016a 119 Classifications In the Tour of the Basque Country, four different jerseys were awarded. The general classification was calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage; the leader received a yellow jersey. No bonus seconds were awarded. The points classification – the leader of which wore a white jersey – was awarded on the basis of positions at stage finishes. The top 15 riders on each stage were awarded points (25 points for first, 20 points for second, 16 for third, 14 for fourth, 12 for fifth, 10 for sixth and one point fewer per place down to a single point for 15th). The rider with the highest number of points overall was the leader of the classification.2016-04-04: 1. Etxebarria / Markina-Xemein - Classifications http://www.itzulia.eus/en/2016/1/results/ Euskal Herriko Itzulia 4 April 2016April 2019 InternetArchiveBot yes There were also two classifications awarded for positions at points in the middle of stages. Each stage (except the individual time trial) included individual sprint points (3, 2 and 1 points respectively for the top three riders); the rider with the highest total led the classification and wore a blue jersey. Each stage also included several categorised climbs, with more points awarded for the most difficult ("first-category") climbs. The rider with the most accumulated points led the classification and wore a red and white jersey. There was also a classification for teams, in which the times of the best three cyclists from each team on each stage were added together; the team with the lowest total time led the classification. Classification leadership table + Classification leadership Stage WinnerGeneral classificationyellow General classification A yellow jerseyPoints classificationwhite Points classification A white jerseyMountains classificationpolkadot Mountains classification A white jersey with red polka dotsSprints classificationblue Sprints classification A blue jerseyTeams classification 1 Luis León Sánchez Luis León Sánchez Luis León Sánchez Jonathan Lastra Nicolas Edet ALM 2016 2Mikel Landa Mikel Landa Mikel Landa Nicolas Edet SKY 2016 3 Steve Cummings Simon Gerrans Stefan Denifl Stefan Denifl 4 Samuel Sánchez Wilco Kelderman Samuel Sánchez KAT 2016 5 Diego Rosa Sergio Henao Sergio Henao Diego Rosa Nicolas Edet SKY 2016 6 Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Final Alberto Contador Sergio Henao white Diego Rosa Diego Rosa (cyclist) white Nicolas Edet yes SKY 2016 Final classifications Final general classification (top 10)Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – General Classification (result) http://procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016 ProCyclingStats 10 April 2016 5 April 2016 10 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160410100301/http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016 dead 1 Alberto Contador ESP TTS 2016 22h 44' 43" yellow General classification 2 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 + 12" white Points classification 3 Nairo Quintana COL MOV 2016 + 37" 4 Thibaut Pinot FRA FDJ 2016 + 1' 13" 5 Joaquim Rodríguez ESP KAT 2016 + 1' 22" 6 Samuel Sánchez ESP BMC 2016 + 1' 29" 7 Rui Costa POR LAM 2016 + 2' 19" 8 Simon Špilak SLO KAT 2016 + 2' 47" 9 Lawson Craddock USA GRS 2016a + 2' 52" 10 Wilco Kelderman NED TLJ 2016 + 3' 14" Final mountains classification (top 10)Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – Mountains Classification (result) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Mountains ProCyclingStats 10 April 2016 yes 1 Diego Rosa ITA AST 2016 55 polkadot Mountains classification 2 Stefan Denifl AUT IAM 2016 53 3 Nicolas Edet FRA COF 2016 28 blue Sprints classification 4 Carlos Verona ESP EQS 2016 27 5 Luis Ángel Maté ESP COF 2016 22 6 Jonathan Lastra ESP CJR 2016 21 7 Alberto Contador ESP TTS 2016 15 yellow General classification 8 Sander Armée BEL LTS 2016 15 9 Dario Cataldo ITA AST 2016 14 10 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 13 white Points classification Final points classification (top 10)Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco – Points Classification (result) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Points ProCyclingStats 10 April 2016 yes 1 Sergio Henao COL SKY 2016 70 white Points classification 2 Alberto Contador ESP TTS 2016 62 yellow General classification 3 Samuel Sánchez ESP BMC 2016 61 4 Rui Costa POR LAM 2016 51 5 Nairo Quintana COL MOV 2016 47 6 Thibaut Pinot FRA FDJ 2016 37 7 Joaquim Rodríguez ESP KAT 2016 33 8 Wilco Kelderman NED TLJ 2016 30 9 Fabio Felline ITA TFR 2016 30 10 Mikel Landa ESP SKY 2016 26 Result of sprints classification (top 10)2016-04-09: 6. Eibar / Eibar - Classifications http://www.itzulia.eus/en/2016/6/results/ https://archive.today/20160810193811/http://www.itzulia.eus/en/2016/6/results/ dead 10 August 2016 Euskal Herriko Itzulia 10 April 2016 yes 1 Nicolas Edet FRA COF 2016 11 blue Sprints classification 2 Diego Rosa ITA AST 2016 9 polkadot Mountains classification 3 Stefan Denifl AUT IAM 2016 9 4 Luis Ángel Maté ESP COF 2016 7 5 Dario Cataldo ITA AST 2016 6 6 Carlos Verona ESP EQS 2016 5 7 Domingos Gonçalves POR CJR 2016 4 8 Maxime Monfort BEL LTS 2016 4 9 Daniel Teklehaimanot ERI DDD 2016 3 10 Jonathan Lastra ESP CJR 2016 3 Result of team classification (top 10)Volta Ciclista a Catalunya – Team Classification (result) http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_Ciclista_al_Pais_Vasco_2016_Teams ProCyclingStats 9 April 2016 no 1 SKY 2016 68h 26' 46" 2 AST 2016 + 6' 10" 3 KAT 2016 + 6' 35" 4 ALM 2016 + 12' 32" 5 COF 2016 + 13' 09" 6 CPT 2016a + 13' 59" 7 LTS 2016 + 14' 55" 8 LAM 2016 + 16' 59" 9 MOV 2016 + 17' 04" 10 FDJ 2016 + 17' 59" References Sources Revista Roadbook Organizaciones Ciclistas Euskadi 2016 San Sebastián Roadbook 2016 Footnotes 30em External links http://www.itzulia.net Category:Tour of the Basque Country by year Tour of the Basque Country Tour of the Basque Country Category:2016 in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Category:April 2016 sports events in Spain