Itzulia Basque Country: Close but no cigar for Schmid

Mauro Schmid finished again on the podium at the prestigious one-week race, after a great display of teamwork and strength from his Soudal Quick-Step teammates that took our squad to the top of the team classification ahead of the last two days.
On a relentless stage four which comprised four climbs, including La Asturiana (7.4km, 6.7%), our team hit the front both before and after this demanding ascent, taking center stage at the front of the peloton. After pulling to bring Mauro in a good position at the start of the ascent, the Wolfpack regrouped on the incredibly technical descent to Santurtzi, signalling the start of a fierce chase behind the two riders in the lead.
Around half a minute separated them with ten kilometers to go, but Mattia Cattaneo and James Knox rode admirably, burying themselves for Mauro and reducing the deficit to just five seconds going under the flamme rouge. Another huge pull of the Italian brought the chasers within reach, but the duo barely made it and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) took the win, just ahead of the small group from where Mauro sprinted to third place.
“The guys worked hard for me today and I am grateful for that. On the climb I suffered a bit on the steep part, but I tried to ride at my own pace and towards the top I began feeling better. I was then lucky to have Mattia and James with me on the descent, they believed in our chances and gained time with each kilometer. I am disappointed that in the end it was so close, but we can be proud of how we raced. I am grateful to the boys, they were amazing”, said Mauro after the stage.
Photo credit: ©David Ramos / Getty Images
Race details
1 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Jumbo-Visma |
4:22:26 |
2 |
Mikel Landa Meana Bahrain - Victorious |
0:00 |
3 |
Mauro Schmid
Soudal - Quick Step |
0:02 |
4 |
Matteo Sobrero Team Jayco AlUla |
0:02 |
5 |
Brandon McNulty UAE Team Emirates |
0:02 |
6 |
Rigoberto Urán Urán EF Education-EasyPost |
0:02 |
7 |
David Gaudu Groupama - FDJ |
0:02 |
8 |
Felix Gall AG2R Citroën Team |
0:02 |
9 |
Clément Champoussin Team Arkéa Samsic |
0:02 |
10 |
Mattias Skjelmose Jensen Trek - Segafredo |
0:02 |
16 |
James Knox
Soudal - Quick Step |
0:02 |
21 |
Mattia Cattaneo
Soudal - Quick Step |
0:02 |
30 |
Andrea Bagioli
Soudal - Quick Step |
0:46 |
80 |
Rémi Cavagna
Soudal - Quick Step |
8:15 |
110 |
Martin Svrček
Soudal - Quick Step |
12:46 |
122 |
Dries Devenyns
Soudal - Quick Step |
12:46 |
1 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Jumbo-Visma |
17:08:56 |
2 |
Mikel Landa Meana Bahrain - Victorious |
0:12 |
3 |
David Gaudu Groupama - FDJ |
0:31 |
4 |
Matteo Sobrero Team Jayco AlUla |
0:33 |
5 |
Ion Izagirre Insausti Cofidis |
0:33 |
6 |
Enric Mas Nicolau Movistar Team |
0:36 |
7 |
Mattias Skjelmose Jensen Trek - Segafredo |
0:37 |
8 |
Brandon McNulty UAE Team Emirates |
0:38 |
9 |
Simon Yates Team Jayco AlUla |
0:39 |
10 |
James Knox
Soudal - Quick Step |
0:46 |
15 |
Mattia Cattaneo
Soudal - Quick Step |
1:07 |
19 |
Andrea Bagioli
Soudal - Quick Step |
1:23 |
20 |
Mauro Schmid
Soudal - Quick Step |
1:39 |
59 |
Rémi Cavagna
Soudal - Quick Step |
17:36 |
88 |
Martin Svrček
Soudal - Quick Step |
28:56 |
126 |
Dries Devenyns
Soudal - Quick Step |
46:59 |
1 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Jumbo-Visma |
67 pt |
2 |
Mikel Landa Meana Bahrain - Victorious |
50 pt |
3 |
David Gaudu Groupama - FDJ |
37 pt |
4 |
Matteo Sobrero Team Jayco AlUla |
37 pt |
5 |
Mauro Schmid
Soudal - Quick Step |
36 pt |
6 |
Alex Aranburu Deba Movistar Team |
34 pt |
7 |
Brandon McNulty UAE Team Emirates |
32 pt |
8 |
Mattias Skjelmose Jensen Trek - Segafredo |
28 pt |
9 |
Ion Izagirre Insausti Cofidis |
26 pt |
10 |
Ethan Hayter INEOS Grenadiers |
25 pt |
11 |
Andrea Bagioli
Soudal - Quick Step |
23 pt |
19 |
James Knox
Soudal - Quick Step |
10 pt |
21 |
Rémi Cavagna
Soudal - Quick Step |
10 pt |
1 |
Jon Barrenetxea Golzarri Caja Rural - Seguros RGA |
29 pt |
2 |
Alan Jousseaume TotalEnergies |
11 pt |
3 |
Georg Zimmermann Intermarché - Circus - Wanty |
10 pt |
4 |
Rémi Cavagna
Soudal - Quick Step |
9 pt |
5 |
Pierre Latour TotalEnergies |
7 pt |
6 |
Txomin Juaristi Arrieta Euskaltel - Euskadi |
7 pt |
7 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Jumbo-Visma |
6 pt |
8 |
Mikel Landa Meana Bahrain - Victorious |
5 pt |
9 |
Cristián Rodríguez Martín Team Arkéa Samsic |
4 pt |
10 |
Bauke Mollema Trek - Segafredo |
3 pt |
16 |
James Knox
Soudal - Quick Step |
1 pt |
1 |
Mattias Skjelmose Jensen Trek - Segafredo |
17:09:33 |
2 |
Brandon McNulty UAE Team Emirates |
0:01 |
3 |
Felix Gall AG2R Citroën Team |
0:13 |
4 |
Andrea Bagioli
Soudal - Quick Step |
0:46 |
5 |
Mauro Schmid
Soudal - Quick Step |
1:02 |
6 |
Attila Valter Jumbo-Visma |
1:05 |
7 |
Clément Champoussin Team Arkéa Samsic |
1:41 |
8 |
Igor Arrieta Lizarraga Equipo Kern Pharma |
2:35 |
9 |
Andreas Leknessund Team DSM |
3:40 |
10 |
Marc Hirschi UAE Team Emirates |
4:00 |
25 |
Martin Svrček
Soudal - Quick Step |
28:19 |
1 | Soudal - Quick Step | 51:29:23 |
2 | Jumbo-Visma | 2:29 |
3 | Movistar Team | 3:28 |
4 | EF Education-EasyPost | 4:24 |
5 | Cofidis | 4:26 |
6 | Team Jayco AlUla | 5:25 |
7 | BORA - hansgrohe | 5:30 |
8 | Team Arkéa Samsic | 5:34 |
9 | UAE Team Emirates | 9:53 |
10 | Groupama - FDJ | 10:27 |