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US rider Andrew AJ August landed the most important victory of his career on Saturday, soloing to a classy victory in the Itzulia Basque Country race in Eibar.
The 20 year old from Rochester kicked clear of a strong breakaway with just over 12km remaining, being joined by Raúl García (Movistar Team) but then dropping the Spaniard with slightly over 10km left.
August crested the top of the final climb alone and dropped down a road-soaked descent to take the victory. García was 16 seconds behind, with Frank Van Den Broek (Team Picnic PostNL) and Gal Glivar (Alpecin-Premier Tech) a further 18 seconds behind.
“I was surprised,” August admitted. “After the time trial I was having a bit of a tough week so I didn’t expect to win today. But in my head I always keep the winning mentality and I was able to deliver a win today, which was incredible.”
Overnight leader Paul Seixas had a stressful day, finishing 4’15 behind August and losing a chunk of time to Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility). He spent much of the finale chasing the day’s break and trying to limit Johannessen’s gains, although he ultimately salvaged the situation.
He ended the race 2’30 ahead of Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and a further three seconds in front of Johannessen.
Incredibly, it marks only the first WorldTour stage race victory for a French rider in 19 years, with Christophe Moreau’s 2007 Critérium du Dauphiné success the last such triumph.
“It’s definitely incredible, especially considering how today went,” Seixas said of his week. “I felt great again. My team did an amazing job positioning me right up until I decided to attack and the real battle started. It was a very tough day for everyone. I’m happy to have won this stage again. And to be able to win the overall and three stages, it’s just fantastic.”
Conquering the cold
As for August, Saturday also marked a breakthrough. His only other pro win was in the Volta Comunitat Valenciana in early February, but this success is far more important.
“We just stayed calm and kept believing,” he said, speaking of his time in the break.
What about the freezing weather? Did that suit him better than the heat earlier this week?
“I mean, I didn’t feel good, but maybe I felt better than others,” he smiled.
It confirms his promise and rewards the Ineos Grenadiers team, with whom he made his pro debut at 18 years of age just over two years ago.
Seixas, too, is repaying his squad for their own show of faith. The under 19 feeder team to Decathlon CMA CGM signed him when he was just 16, with the WorldTour debut coming last year at 18.
He won three stages this week but came under pressure on the final stage when a large move went clear containing Johannessen. This caught early leaders Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) and Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and, with four of Johannessen’s teammates present and driving the pace, Seixas leaped clear to try to bridge.
However he was trapped in no man’s land and was over three minutes back when August jumped away from Johannessen and others.
Seixas stayed close enough to seal the overall win, and learned more about tactics as a result of the stage.
He also learned something else too.
“I know I can compete with the best in the world. Of course, there were a few riders that weren’t here, that fell, that weren’t going well. So I shouldn’t go so far as to say I’m the best or in the top three, but in any case, I know I can race a bit.
“I know I can play with them and race at the front with ambitions. That’s what’s good.”
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