Best 2026 Itzulia Basque Country Odds, Predictions, and How To Watch

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On Monday, April 6, the 65th edition of the Tour of the Basque Country got underway in Bilbao as one of cycling’s most demanding week-long stage races returned to northern Spain. Also known as Itzulia Basque Country, this event once again delivered steep climbs, short explosive stages, and the kind of terrain that makes every day feel dangerous for the general classification.

The 2026 Tour of the Basque Country brought together an interesting mix of proven names and rising stars. Paul Seixas, Isaac Del Toro, Juan Ayuso, Primoz Roglic, and Florian Lipowitz all came in with real win equity, which made this one of the more fascinating stage-race betting boards of the spring. For cycling fans following the full calendar, this race also landed in a perfect spot between Tour of Flanders odds and predictions and Paris-Roubaix odds and predictions.

Now that the race is complete, this updated page looks back at the 2026 Tour of the Basque Country odds, the top betting favorites, the best value on the board, and how the final result actually played out. Like most editions of Itzulia, the route rewarded riders who could climb, recover, and stay sharp every single day.

How To Watch The Tour of the Basque Country?

Coverage for the 2026 Tour of the Basque Country was available through the usual cycling broadcasters. FloBikes handled the race in North America, while Eurosport and TNT Sports remained among the top options for viewers in Europe and the United Kingdom.

That matters for cycling bettors because races like Itzulia can change fast. Time gaps, late attacks, weather, and positioning all matter more when the stages are short and punchy. Watching the race live is often the best way to understand which riders are truly climbing well and which names are only hanging on.

Tour of the Basque Country Route

The 2026 Itzulia Basque Country route covered 809.6 kilometers across six stages, with more than 16,000 meters of climbing and 29 categorized climbs. This year’s design started with a short individual time trial in Bilbao and finished with another demanding day into Bergara, giving the race its usual mix of pressure from the first day to the last.

Stage 1 was a 13.9-kilometer time trial in Bilbao, short enough to keep the gaps manageable but still important for early GC order. Stage 2 ran from Pamplona-Iruña to Cuevas de Mendukilo over 164.1 kilometers, and Stage 3 stayed punchy with a 152.8-kilometer circuit around Basauri. Stage 4 brought another rolling test around Galdakao, while Stage 5 from Eibar to Eibar was the queen stage at 176.2 kilometers and nearly 3,900 meters of climbing.

The final stage from Goizper-Antzuola to Bergara was shorter at 135.2 kilometers, but it still packed enough climbing to create real GC stress. That is exactly why this race is so tricky to handicap. There are no free days, and the route keeps punishing riders who are even slightly off their best level. That same pattern showed up in our Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix coverage this month as well, where selective terrain made the betting market much more honest near the top.

Tour of the Basque Country 2025

The 2025 Tour of the Basque Country was won by Joao Almeida, who sealed the overall title with a strong final stage and became the first Portuguese rider to win the race. Enric Mas finished second overall, while Maximilian Schachmann rounded out the podium in third.

That mattered heading into 2026 because it reminded bettors that this race does not always go to the biggest global superstar on the start list. Itzulia rewards complete riders who can time trial, climb, and survive a full week of constant pressure. Almeida did that perfectly in 2025, and the 2026 field brought a similar balance of established GC names and explosive younger talent.

It also reinforced a bigger betting lesson: the Tour of the Basque Country can produce separation without needing a monster summit finish. The short, aggressive stages do enough damage on their own, especially when a rider is strong across multiple terrain types.

Tour of the Basque Country Odds

Check out the latest Tour of the Basque Country odds:

The 2026 Tour of the Basque Country odds leaned heavily toward youth and upside. Paul Seixas and Isaac Del Toro sat at the top of the board as co-favorites, with Juan Ayuso and Primoz Roglic not far behind. After those four, the prices widened quickly, which told you the market believed this race would most likely stay inside a tight group of genuine contenders.

That is usually a good sign in a race like Itzulia. The terrain is hard enough and selective enough that the better all-around riders tend to surface by the end of the week. If you like comparing outright prices before betting the next stage race or Monument, our best sports betting sites page is still one of the best tools for checking where the strongest cycling value shows up.

Tour of the Basque Country Favorites

Let’s take a look at the odds-on favorites for the 65th edition of the Tour of the Basque Country:

Paul Seixas +225

Seixas came into the race with plenty of buzz, but the market still put a lot of pressure on a rider this young by making him a co-favorite. That said, the profile made sense. He had the climbing ability, punch, and confidence to thrive on a route built around repeated stress instead of one giant mountain finish.

What made Seixas especially interesting was the way this route kept rewarding aggressive riders who could recover quickly from one hard day to the next. That profile fit him well, and once the race started, he justified every bit of that respect from the books.

Isaac Del Toro +225

Del Toro was right there with Seixas at the top of the board, and it was easy to understand why. He has the talent to win a race like this, especially one that demands punchy climbing, rhythm changes, and confidence under pressure. The biggest question was never talent. It was whether everything would line up over six straight days.

That is usually the hardest part for younger GC riders in Itzulia. The race looks manageable on paper, but it keeps asking questions every day. Del Toro had the upside of a winner, even if the week ultimately tilted toward another rising star.

Juan Ayuso +400

Ayuso entered as one of the most dangerous names on the board because he already had a recent Basque Country title on his resume. That matters in a race like this. Familiarity with the style of racing, the road furniture, the weather, and the constant accelerations can be worth a lot.

At +400, he was still firmly in the top tier without being priced quite as tightly as the co-favorites. For some bettors, that made him one of the more attractive names near the top of the market.

Primoz Roglic +550

Roglic never needs much explaining in a race like this. His style has always matched Itzulia well: explosive on short climbs, comfortable in time trials, and experienced enough to manage a tricky week of GC racing. Even when he is not the favorite, he always feels dangerous here.

The real hesitation came from price versus timing. At +550, you were paying for reputation and fit, but you still needed everything to click right away in a race that punishes even the smallest weakness.

The Best Tour of the Basque Country Betting Value

The best value play on the 2026 board was Florian Lipowitz at +900.

That number gave bettors a nice middle ground between realistic win equity and a price that still felt worth taking. Lipowitz had already shown he could handle difficult stage races, and this route looked like the kind of week where consistency could matter almost as much as one explosive move.

That turned out to be a strong read. He did not win the race, but he climbed onto the final podium in second overall and looked like one of the most reliable GC riders in the field. For anyone betting the race before it started, that was exactly the kind of profile you wanted from a value play.

The Top Tour of the Basque Country Longshot

Kevin Vauquelin at +2200 stood out as the most appealing longshot.

At that price, you were not pretending he was the most likely winner. You were simply looking for a rider with enough all-around quality to stay relevant longer than the odds suggested. Vauquelin had the type of engine that made sense in a race with a short time trial, tricky medium-mountain days, and no easy stages.

Longshot betting in Itzulia is always tricky because the route naturally favors the strongest GC riders, but this was still the type of number that deserved at least some attention. If you like hunting for these kinds of spots across the full cycling calendar, our Expert Betting Guide is a useful place to sharpen that approach.

Tour of the Basque Country Predictions

There were plenty of strong names on the board, and Ayuso or Roglic both made sense on experience alone, but the 2026 Tour of the Basque Country felt like the kind of race where a younger rider could use freshness and aggression to take over. Seixas checked every box for that kind of breakout week.

The route rewarded riders who could time trial well enough, climb repeatedly, and recover fast from one hard day to the next. That combination is what made Seixas such a compelling pick despite the pressure of being near the top of the market. The price was not huge, but it was still playable given the profile and the route.

Bet: Paul Seixas +225

Tour of the Basque Country Results

The 2026 edition of Itzulia Basque Country ended with Paul Seixas taking the overall title after a brilliant week that included three stage wins. He finished the race in 20:07:35 and held off Florian Lipowitz by 2:30, while Tobias Halland Johannessen completed the podium at 2:33.

That result was a major statement because Seixas did not just survive the week. He controlled it. Lipowitz rewarded bettors who backed him as a value pick, while Johannessen rounded out a podium that looked a little different from the one many expected when the race began.

AJ August won the final stage into Bergara, but the bigger story was Seixas making good on the talent that had already pushed him near the top of the pre-race market. In the end, the Tour of the Basque Country odds were not perfect, but they were close enough to tell us that the winner was likely to come from the top tier. For more cycling coverage throughout the season, check out our cycling archive and best handicappers pages.

The following is a list of the most recent Tour of the Basque Country winners: