Evenepoel Overcomes Disaster To Become The King Of San Sebastián

Remco Evenepoel has written a new chapter in the history of the Clásica San Sebastián. The Belgian defeated Richard Carapaz in a two-rider sprint on the Donostia boulevard to claim his fourth victory in the Basque classic, becoming the most successful rider the race has ever seen.

His triumph was far from straightforward. A mechanical problem near the decisive section of the race forced Evenepoel to change bikes just as Lidl-Trek increased the pace. He began the difficult Erlaitz climb more than 30 seconds behind the main group and appeared to be losing his chance of fighting for victory.

Giulio Pellizzari dropped back to help his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe leader, while the favourites continued attacking at the front. Evenepoel limited his losses on the climb and took advantage of the lack of cooperation among the leaders after the summit. He finally rejoined a group of around 20 riders with 32 kilometres remaining.

After recovering during the approach to the final climb, Evenepoel made his move on Murgil-Tontorra, a 2.1-kilometre ascent averaging 10.1%. Richard Carapaz was the only rider capable of following when the Belgian accelerated with approximately eight kilometres to go. The pair opened a decisive gap and reached San Sebastián together.

Carapaz started the sprint from the front, but Evenepoel waited before using his superior finishing speed in the final metres. Ben Tulett led the chasing group home 29 seconds later to complete the podium, ahead of Christian Scaroni and Pello Bilbao.

Evenepoel completed the 221.1 kilometres and more than 4,150 metres of climbing in 5 hours, 23 minutes and 10 seconds. After his previous victories in 2019, 2022 and 2023, this fourth txapela moves him beyond Marino Lejarreta and leaves him alone at the top of the race’s all-time standings. Only six days after finishing second at the Tour de France, the Belgian has returned to one-day racing with a record-breaking victory.