‘There were bodies on the floor’: The Basque Country has just debuted this immensely hard climb and it left the peloton in tatters

A wall of 32%. How long until the Vuelta has a summit finish here?

Itzulia
(Image credit: Getty)

To the surprise of absolutely no cycling fan, a bike race in Spain has found a new brutally savage climb to force the riders up, and unsurprisingly it destroyed the race.

Stage three of the Itzulia Basque Country finished at the HIKA Bodega, just 20km from San Sebastian. To arrive at the vineyard which overlooks rolling green hills and mountains, the riders had to ascend a final 300m climb that consistently had gradients above 25%. At one point, my Wahoo showed a mindboggling 32.1%.

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Chris Marshall-Bell

A freelance sports journalist and podcaster, you'll mostly find Chris's byline attached to news scoops, profile interviews and long reads across a variety of different publications. He has been writing regularly for Cycling Weekly since 2013. In 2024 he released a seven-part podcast documentary, Ghost in the Machine, about motor doping in cycling.

Previously a ski, hiking and cycling guide in the Canadian Rockies and Spanish Pyrenees, he almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains. He lives in Valencia, Spain.