Evenepoel will fight for his 4th Clásica San Sebastián and beat Marino Lejarreta

Today, July 28, at the town hall of San Sebastianthe official presentation of the Classic San Sebastian 2026. Among the attendees it is worth highlighting the presence of Jon Insausti, mayor of San Sebastián, Iñaki Gabarain, Councilor for Sports of Donostia, Goizane Álvarez, Provincial Deputy for Culture, Cooperation, Youth and Sports of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, Gorka Iturriaga – Director of Physical Activity and Sports, Izaskun Vazquez Head of Service and Senior Occupational Technician at FCC, and Javier Riaño, president of OCETA.

During the event, the official routes of the 45th editionas well as the main new features compared to the previous year’s layout. He president of OCETA, Javier Riañohighlighted the relevance of the event within the international calendar: “The Clásica San Sebastián reaches its 45th edition as a consolidated event on the WorldTour calendar and recognized as one of the great classics of international cycling.” Likewise, he stressed that “one more year, the race will travel through the territory of Gipuzkoa, facing seven mountain passes before concluding, as is tradition, on the Boulevard of Donostia.”

The mayor of Donostia, Jon Insausti, has stressed that “the Classic has managed to become one of those essential events of the cycling season but also of the San Sebastian calendar. It is already part of our tradition and our identity. Furthermore, we enjoy it as a community, sharing a hobby that passes from generation to generation. We are characterized by having an attractive race from the point of view of the route and the landscapes, but also by the spectacle that the fans provide from the roadsides, always with respect and generosity.”

Iñaki Gabarain, sports councilor of the San Sebastián city councilstated that “the Clásica de San Sebastián is one of the great sporting events of our city and proof of the prestige that Donostia has achieved as a venue for major events. We are a city of sport and this is reflected both in the involvement of citizens and in our capacity and solvency to organize top-level competitions with all the guarantees. Every year the Clásica brings together the elite of world cycling and thousands of fans, generating a great atmosphere in our streets and projecting the image of a city that understands the “sport as an element of identity, coexistence and international projection.”

“The Clásica San Sebastián reflects Gipuzkoa’s close relationship with cycling. Every summer, our roads are once again filled with fans to accompany the best cyclists in the world. All of this is possible thanks to the work of the organization, the institutions, the teams, the security and emergency services and the volunteers,” stressed the Deputy for Culture and Sports, Goizane Álvarez.

Gorka Iturriaga, Director of physical activity and sport of the Basque government: “together with Itzulia, Donostiako Klasikoa, is the showcase of the greatest exponent of top-level UCI cycling that is organized annually in Euskadi. After the spectacular images of the Tour de France, we will once again have the best stars who serve as a guide for the future talents of Basque cycling. Our country is the cradle of cycling and these races should contribute to reinforcing the role of organizers, clubs, federations and institutions in this shared commitment to making Euskadi Basque Country, Euskadi BIKE Country.”

Joseba Urkiolaclosed the presentation event by explaining how the race can be followed: “the San Sebastián Classic is for us one of the most important events of the year. Custom, tradition and importance. You cannot understand the summer at EITB without the San Sebastián Classic. Furthermore, it is the last ball of the season. What begins in spring, an exceptional occasion to round off. We will broadcast it live from 2:30 p.m. until the end on the different channels of EITB. Yes on all the radios, on the internet and of course on television. We will use high technology to show high-level cycling. In the Tour de France we have seen the real-world graphics resources and also all the technologies and needs. To open this race of ours to the world, we begin to establish the best we have. In addition, on August 1, the women’s Tour de France begins and we know that there are many alert eyes to watch our broadcast.

THE PARTICIPATING TEAMS

The provisional registration list includes great cyclists such as the last winner of the Classic, Giulio Ciccone (Lidl – Trek), Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic and Maxim Van Gils of Red Bull – Bora- Hansgrohe, and Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step), Julian Alaphilippe and Marc Hirschi (Tudor Pro Cycling Team), Igor Arrieta and Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates), Ben Healy (EF Education – EasyPost), Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGMTeam), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Ion Izagirre and Alex Aranburu (Cofidis), Enric Mas, Cian Uijtdebroeks and Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team), Oscar Onley and Thymen Arensman (Netcompany INEOS) among others.