Frank van den Broek battles to 3rd place under the rain on final Itzulia stage

The final day of racing at Itzulia Basque Country saw the peloton faced with a climb-packed 135 kilometre route from Goizper-Antzuola to Bergara. It wasn’t just the terrain the bunch would have to battle, as heavy rain throughout the race made for an incredibly attritional and challenging day in the saddle. From the start the pace was on with lots of attacks as there was a sense in the peloton that the right move could go all the way to the finish.

Some good teamwork and some strong legs saw Frank van den Broek well positioned when the peloton split and a group of around 30 riders went clear. The pace remained on throughout the day as the rain continued to fall, but for Team Picnic PostNL and Van den Broek it was about conserving as much energy as possible and biding their time, while allowing those with GC interests to set the pace.

As the climbs ticked down, all of the groups that were spread throughout the course thinned down too, and coming onto the last ascent there were just about 15 riders left at the head of the race. Eventual stage winner August put in a strong attack and wouldn’t be seen again until the finish once he went solo, but behind Van den Broek rode a measured effort and crested the climb in a duo that was battling for the final podium spot. Giving it everything and going full-gas to the line, Van den Broek produced a good sprint to take third place on the day; rounding out the week with a nice podium.

Van den Broek said: “I felt great from the start of the stage, and had a good feeling riding in the chasing group for most of the day. It was very cold with the rain, but so was everybody else. Hats off to August, he was clearly the strongest on that last climb. I then just dug deep in the wheel of Glivar over the top and I’m happy I could win the sprint for third.”

Team Picnic PostNL coach Phil West added: “All week it was a super big fight every day to get in the break and after five days of getting in the moves to try and get some space, it worked out for us today. We did a good job overall this week, with some things to learn and some mistakes were made but today it worked out well; and Frank was able to get in there. Then it was about being patient, letting the race unfold a bit. In that period we just tried to conserve, stay warm and remind Frank to eat and drink, then make our attempts in the late final. Frank did a a good job, he was focused all day and was able to make the move and go over the last climb in a good spot and take a stage podium. The motivation and effort from the guys was good today, despite the conditions, so we can take that with us into the next races.”