Clásica San Sebastián

Belgian star says it was 'mission accomplished' in first major GC tussle at the Spanish grand tour.

Lighter and more experienced, Evenepoel looking better than ever ahead of Vuelta a España debut.

Evenepoel sets tone for Vuelta a España with 45km solo at Clásica San Sebastián: 'I can go to the Vuelta with a really good feeling.'

Tadej Pogačar popped off the back at around 62km to go as Evenepoel roars to second victory in tough Basque race.

US rider was feeling a bit worn down and ill after the hard-fought Tour de France, and made the hard decision not to race.

Belgian superstar is coming off three-week altitude camp with the Clásica, Vuelta a España and world championships in his sights.

The field is arguably the deepest and most varied of any one-day race on the men's WorldTour calendar.

Aussie crew looking to covert Tour de France triumph and Yates' top form into victory in tough Basque one-dayer.

The Tour de France will return to Spain's Basque Country for the start of the 110th edition for three stages.

We look at the power numbers put up by the American riding for the EF Education-Nippo squad at the Clásica San Sebastián.

Powless outthinks and outfights opposition to score first pro win and join elite club of U.S winners on the sport's biggest stage.

Californian 24-year-old Powless outsprints Matej Mohorič and Mikkel Honoré for debut pro win in tough Basque race.

Van Vleuten secures her first Clásica San Sebastián victory, just days after winning Olympic time trial gold in Tokyo.

Here's the news making headlines for Wednesday, July 28.

The young Belgian took his first WorldTour win with attack on the final climb of the day before time trialing to victory.

Several top riders are heading to Spain for the Clásica San Sebastián, but recent Tour winner Egan Bernal might be heading home.

American Ben King apologizes for causing San Sebastian crash that knocked out Mikel Landa and Egan Bernal.

After escaping on the final climb, Julian Alaphilippe sprints to victory in Clásica San Sebastián Saturday in Spain.

Michal Kwiatkowski wins a five-way battle for the line as the Clasica San Sebastian culminated with a thrilling finale on Saturday.

The 40-year-old raced as a professional for 20 years and will step away from the sport after this weekend's Clásica San Sebastián.

Bauke Mollema goes on the attack to win the demanding — though always scenic — Clásica San Sebastián

Bauke Mollema sticks a late attack to win the Clásica San Sebastián ahead of Tony Gallopin and Alejandro Valverde

Alberto Contador returns to competition at Clásica San Sebastián, three weeks after crashing out of the Tour de France.

Adam Yates wants race organizers held accountable for Van Avermaet crash but bristles at claims that he doesn't deserve WorldTour victory.

Simon Yates takes to Twitter to voice his frustration over the reaction to his twin's victory in the Clásica San Sebastián

The Bay of Biscay, the Basque countryside, and plenty of attacks on an undulating parcours: scenes from the 2015 Clásica San Sebastián

Adam Yates takes the first ever British victory at the Clásica San Sebastián with a solo attack on the final climb of the day

A collision with a race moto takes Greg Van Avermaet out of contention in the final kilometers of the Clásica San Sebastián

22-year-old Adam Yates makes a solo attack over the final climb of the Clásica San Sebastián to nab his first WorldTour victory

Fresh off his third-place finish in France, Alejandro Valverde returns to Saturday's Clasica San Sebastian as one of the favorites.

Photos from the 2014 Clásica San Sebastián

Valverde quieted critics who said he blew a chance to finish on the Tour de France podium with a big win at the Clasica San Sebastian

Results from the 2014 Clásica San Sebastián

Valverde helps forge a break in the final kilometers of the WorldTour race through Basque Country, then drops it to ride in solo for the win

One of Spain's most elegant cities, San Sebastián will be on display at the end of the 219km race this weekend

Results from the 2013 Clasica San Sebastian

Gallopin's attack over the Alto de Arkale, coupled with some hesitation in the chase, brings the young Frenchman his biggest win yet

A number of riders that finished the Tour de France will line up for Saturday's one-day classic in Spain

Spaniard wins hilly semi-classic

1. Luis Leon SANCHEZ GIL, Rabobank, in 5:55:35 2. Simon GERRANS, Orica-GreenEdge, at :7 3. Gianni MEERSMAN, Lotto-Belisol, at :7 4. Christophe LE MEVEL, Garmin-Sharp, at :7 5. Bauke MOLLEMA, Rabobank, at :7

Preliminary startlist for the 2012 Clásica San Sebastián

Two endangered Basque races back through 2013

With severe economic problems in Spain, the Basque Country Tour and the Clásica are on the brink of the abyss

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain (VN) - Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) just keeps on winning at will, but there's one race that he's determined to win one day, and that's the world championships.

Andrew Hood takes some snaps at the Clásica San Sebastián.

Clásica San Sebastián

• 1. Philippe Gilbert (Bel), Omega Pharma-Lotto, 5:48:52
• 2. Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Esp), Rabobank Cycling Team, at 0:12
• 3. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel), BMC Racing Team, at 0:14
• 4. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Esp), Team Katusha, at 0:14
• 5. Dries Devenyns (Bel), Quick Step, at 0:14

Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) wins the Clásica San Sebastián with a bold attack in the final kilometers.

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain (VN) - An all-star start list headlines the 31st running of the Clásica San Sebastián in northern Spain on Saturday.

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain (VN) — The dust has barely settled following the Tour de France and big-time racing returns across Europe with a busy weekend.

MADRID (VN) - There's no rest for the weary for Ryder Hesjedal.

One rider quietly lining up at the start of last weekend’s Clásica San Sebastián was Andrey Kashechkin.

Luis Leon Sanchez takes the Clásica San Sebastián ahead of Alexander Vinokourov and Carlos Sastre.

The Clásica San Sebastián has arguably been cycling’s classiest one-day race. Now it may be among the hardest.

Alexander Kolobnev hopes to be speaking Russian from atop the world championship podium some day ... soon

Last year’s champion Carlos Barredo will be back to defend his title at Saturday’s Clásica San Sebastián in northern Spain

Carlos Barredo (Quick Step) won a wet Clásica San Sebastián in Spain's northern Basque region on Saturday. Barredo beat Czech rider Roman Kreuziger of Liquigas in a sprint to the line at the end of the 237-kilometer mountainous course that begins and ends in the city. The two were seven seconds ahead of a group led by Frenchman Mikael Delage. Canadian Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Slipstream) finished fifth.

Alejandro Valverde will have something to prove when the Clásica San Sebastián, one of the top one-day events on the UCI ProTour, takes places on Saturday in northern Spain. The 29-year-old Caisse d'Epargne rider was recently banned from competing in Italy for two years by the Italian Olympic Committee after he was implicated in the Operación Puerto doping scandal. The decision, which Valverde has contested, ruled him out of the Tour de France, the 16th stage of which passed through Italy.

Caisse d'Epargne's Alejandro Valverde won Saturday's Clásica San Sebastián by outsprinting a group of about ten riders including Davide Rebellin, Paolo Bettini, Franco Pellizotti, Denis Menchov and Samuel Sánchez. The group formed after Bettini's Quick Step team put the hammer down in the final kilometers, leading into the Cat. 3 Alto de Arkale climb 16km from the finish. Bettini attacked twice on the climb and whittled the peloton down to about a dozen riders.

It’s time for cycling to forget the Tour de France and all of its scandals as the international racing calendar kicks back into gear Saturday with the 27th Clásica San Sebastián in the heart of Spain’s Basque Country… at least for one day. Perhaps there couldn’t be a better tonic for cycling’s woes than a good old-fashioned race and the always-exciting Clásica could just be the ticket. With its spectacular backdrop – San Sebastián is easily one of Europe’s most glamorous cities – coupled with the passion that comes from the fiery Basque fans, the Clásica could help cycling fans remember

It seems either Oscar Freire is winning races or facing some career-threatening health problem. There’s no in between for the three-time world champion who seems snake-bit when it comes to debilitating pain. The Rabobank sprinter – fresh off winning two stages at the Tour de France and the Vattenfall Cyclassics race in Hamburg – will miss Saturday’s Clásica San Sebastián due to strange headaches and dizzy spells that have been dogging him since the Tour. For a rider who’s suffered through back problems and infected saddle sore that kept him out of last year’s world championships, it’s just

Spanish star Alejandro Valverde will return to competition next weekend for the summer classic Clásica San Sebastián, but isn’t expected to race the weeklong Vuelta a Burgos. Valverde, 26, fractured his clavicle in stage three of the 2006 Tour de France and will use the one-day race on Aug. 12 in northern Spain to prepare for his run at the Vuelta a España title. Illes Balears-Caisse d’Epargne officials said Valverde isn’t quite in condition to race the Burgos tour, set for Aug. 6-10. “As of today he won’t race the Vuelta a Burgos but he will be at the Clásica,” sport director Eusebio

Belgian Nick Nuyens (Quick Step) soloed to victory in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday, crossing seconds ahead of Leif Hoste and Tom Boonen. The 25-year-old Nuyens made a key move 3km from the finish of the 194km race, attacking a nine-man break as the others marked his teammate, world champion Boonen, who seemed very much in form, often creating the selection in key sections of the course. "The team did formidable work all day. Having numerical superiority in the lead group, we controlled the finale very well," said Nuyens. "Everyone was watching Tom. I benefited from this and got

An all-star cast will line up Saturday for the Clásica San Sebastian, the 227km ProTour race in the heart of Spain’s cycling hotbed of Basque Country. Olympic gold medalist Paolo Bettini (Quick Step), Iban Mayo (Euskaltel), Francisco Mancebo (Illes Balears), Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros), Juan Antonio Flecha (Fassa Bortolo, Oscar Sevilla (T-Mobile), defending champion Miguel Angel Perdiguero (Phonak), Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel), ProTour leader Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) and Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) are among the top names starting Saturday. The 227km race starts and

Spanish rider Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero (Saunier Duval) uncorked a vicious sprint with 250 meters to the line in Saturday’s Clasica San Sebastián to surprise pre-race favorite Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) for the biggest win of his career. Martin Perdiguero was part of a seven-man break that cleared the always-decisive Category 1 climb up Alto de Jaizkibel with 31.5km to go in the sweltering 227km race across the verdant hills of northern Spain’s Basque Country. “I sprinted at 250 meters, it wasn’t too far,” said Martin Perdiguero, the first Spanish winner since 1990. “I was confident I

There's no stopping Paolo Bettini, even when he's marked as the man to beat. Bettini attacked up two decisive climbs late in Saturday's 227km Clasica San Sebastian to win his third World Cup victory of the season and his second in a week after holding off compatriot Ivan Basso (Fassa Bortolo) in a two-up sprint. "Everyone said that I was the favorite, but it's true I have great form and I wanted to attack and take advantage of the situation," said Bettini, who won in 5 hours, 44 minutes, 42 seconds. "We started the race thinking about taking the World Cup lead, but at the base of the

Team CSC's Tyler Hamilton won't be racing in September's Vuelta a España, according to sport director Johnny Weltz. Hamilton is set to return to Europe next week after a trip back to the United States, where he was honored with a parade in his hometown, an appearance on the “Today” show and served as the starter for the New York City race last weekend. Hamilton will likely race some events in August and September, but the Vuelta is not in the plans, Weltz said. "It's too hard to focus all the way through the season. He's had a long season and he's still recovering from his injuries at the

The Clasica San Sebastian always opens the summer fiesta season of thisposh seaside resort in Spain's Basque Country. The Basques are crazy forcycling and they love a good party and the two passions mix together likea good paella.With four-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong takingthe start against rival Joseba Beloki and Paolo Bettini hopingto bounce ahead of Johan Museeuw in the overall World Cup standings,the 2002 Clasica has the makings of a classic.Armstrong is back in Europe after lighting up the streets of New YorkCity last weekend. The Texan has a home in Girona on the other

Laurent Jalabert took his Tour de France form straight into Spain and outfoxed three Italians to win the Clasica San Sebastian on Saturday. Jalabert, a winner of two stages and the best climber’s jersey in the 2001 Tour de France, edged Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo), Davide Rebellin (Liquigas) and Wladimir Belli (Fassa Bortolo) to win the first World Cup victory for his Danish CSC-Tiscali team. "I was worried when you have three Italians, two on the same team, I thought the only way I could win is if I had the strongest legs," said Jalabert, who won in 5 hours, 17 minutes, 54 seconds.

Lance Armstrong is still feeling the effects of his post-Tour de France jet-setting and is skipping Saturday’s Clasica San Sebastian, the traditional kick off to the second half of the World Cup racing season. Armstrong returned to Europe this week after celebrating his third consecutive Tour victory with a whirlwind American visit and had been expected to race here. But U.S. Postal Service director Johan Bruyneel said Armstrong barely rode his bike during his U.S. tour and decided he didn’t have to legs to compete at the highest level in the gruelling 227-km (137-mile) race through Spain’s