Solo Triumph for Giulio Ciccone at Clásica San Sebastián as UAE Tactics Fall Short

Giulio Ciccone has won the Clásica San Sebastián. The Italian from Lidl-Trek had to face first Isaac Del Toro and then Jan Christen in the final, but was stronger than both riders from UAE Emirates XRG. Christen finished second, while Maxim Van Gils was just too fast for Tiesj Benoot in the sprint for third place.

On the Saturday following the Tour de France, the Clásica San Sebastián was traditionally scheduled. The finale of the tough one-day race through the Basque Country this time featured the Alto de Jaizkibel (7.9 km at 5.6%), the Erlaitz (3.8 km at 10.6%), and the Murgil-Tontorra (2.1 km at 10.1%).

Breakaway with Leijnse, Van Bekkum, and Gelders
In the opening phase of the race, a breakaway of twelve riders formed. Among them were two Dutchmen—Enzo Leijnse (Picnic PostNL) and Darren van Bekkum (XDS Astana)—and one Belgian: Gil Gelders (Soudal Quick-Step). The leaders' advantage reached a maximum of about three minutes.

At the foot of the Jaizkibel, the gap had already halved, after which Jordan Labrosse (Decathlon AG2R) left his former breakaway companions behind. He crested first but was later joined again by his earlier escape mate Mats Wenzel (Equipo Kern Pharma) and Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla), who had broken away from the peloton. The three started the Erlaitz climb with a 30-second lead, where Plapp immediately broke away from Wenzel and Labrosse. However, the Australian would not ride solo upfront for long. In the group of favorites, the top riders ramped up the pace right from the base of the climb. Primoz Roglic led the group during the first stretches of the ascent.

The breakaway - photo: Cor Vos

Del Toro and Ciccone break away
Giulio Ciccone and Jan Christen were the first to catch Plapp, followed then by Van Gils and Isaac Del Toro. While Juan Ayuso completely cracked; Roglic also managed to get back on. But after an acceleration from Del Toro, the group split again. Ciccone stayed on the Mexican’s wheel, while the other three dropped off. At the summit, the gap was still small, but in the following kilometers, Del Toro and Ciccone built a one-minute lead.

At the foot of the Murgil, only half a minute remained, mainly due to Roglic’s work. He rode at the front for a long time in a chasing group that also included his teammate Van Gils, Christen, Plapp, Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon AG2R), Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana), and a Belgian duo from Visma | Lease a Bike: Tiesj Benoot and Cian Uijtdebroeks.

Roglic during the first part of the Murgil climb - photo: Cor Vos

Ciccone cracks Del Toro and Christen
Once on the Murgil, Christen launched a sharp attack from this group. The Swiss rider rode straight up to Ciccone and his teammate Del Toro, then immediately forced his way past. Del Toro couldn’t follow, but Ciccone did. Even stronger, the Italian countered Christen shortly after and crested first. The gap at the summit was about ten seconds.