Spain’s most important one-day race appeared on the calendar for the 44th time this year. The peloton departed from San Sebastián for a 211-kilometre race featuring six climbs and more than four thousand metres of elevation. Team Visma | Lease a Bike lined up with a blend of youth and experience.  

With around forty kilometres to go, the favourites tested each other on the steep Erlaitz climb. A select group managed to follow an attack by Primož Roglič. As the climb wore on, the lead group thinned out. At the summit, Isaac Del Toro and Giulio Ciccone were first over the top. Uijtdebroeks and Benoot followed shortly after in the chasing group.  

Del Toro and Ciccone reached the final climb together, where only Jan Christen managed to join them. In the end, Ciccone proved the strongest at the front. In the chasing group, Benoot still had a powerful sprint left but narrowly missed out on a podium place. His teammate Uijtdebroeks, competing in his first race since April, finished ninth.  

“I’ve recovered well from the Tour de France,” Benoot said afterward. “Clásica San Sebastián is always a tough and honest race, so I’m happy that I was able to show myself again. For a long time I thought I’d take third, but Van Gils passed me just before the line. That stung a bit, but I’m definitely pleased with this result. We can look back on a strong team performance. It was also great to see Cian immediately performing in a race of this calibre.”  

Uijtdebroeks had a long recovery following an injury. The 22-year-old Belgian rode his first race since late April and was satisfied with his return. “I felt good from the start. On the Erlaitz, I was just a little too far back when Roglič attacked. I had to dig deep to close the gap, but I managed it just after the top. I ended up in the chasing group with Tiesj. On the final climb, I decided to do some work for him, and he was able to sprint for the podium.”  

“I’d already been feeling good in training over the past few weeks, but translating that into a race is something else,” Uijtdebroeks added. “I started without too many expectations, but things definitely turned out positively. The course suited my strengths well. I hope to carry this good feeling into the next races, starting with the Tour de l’Ain.”