Giulio Ciccone, the smartest in the Clásica de San Sebastián

Just quietly until his winning attack arrived, Giulio Ciccone demonstrates that his preparation for La Vuelta a España is going smoothly by brilliantly winning the Clásica de San Sebastián where he managed to overcome the numerical majority at the decisive moment of the UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

Neither Del Toro, nor Ayuso, nor Roglic... Giulio Ciccone wins the Clásica de San Sebastián

Finally, although they were in the pre-selection for the Clásica de San Sebastián 2025, neither Remco Evenepoel nor Mikel Landa took part in the Guipuzcoan race. Who did join at the last minute was the Slovenian Primoz Roglic seeking to take advantage of the good moment that allowed him to complete a great last week in the recently concluded Tour de France.

The Clásica de San Sebastián began with a breakaway of 12 cyclists with Ben Swift and Jordan Labrosse as the most outstanding, covering kilometers knowing that their adventure would have an expiration time. The escapees reached the ramps of Jaizkibel where the attacks began among them, leaving the Frenchman from Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, Jordan Labrosse, ahead while, in the peloton, riding just a minute and a half behind, Luke Plapp started chasing the leaders.

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The escapees managed to resist until the start of the tough climb Erlaitz where, initially, Primoz Roglic attacked but failed to make the selection. Counterattacks from Isaac del Toro, Jan Christen, Maxim Van Gils until, at the top, it was Isaac del Toro who made a strong attack and Giulio Ciccone stuck to his wheel.

Meanwhile, a worrying sight of Juan Ayuso, with two weeks left before the start of La Vuelta a España. The Alicante rider was dropped from the group right from the start.

Del Toro and Ciccone made their way while the chasing group with Roglic, Van Gils, Christen, Powless, Benoot, Uijtdebroeks, Scaroni, and Plapp maintained a strong pulse 40 seconds behind. A difference that remained until the start of the ascent to Murgil Tontorra, the last difficulty of the day where Primoz Roglic started from the bottom to push hard, seeking the options for his teammate Maxim Van Gils.

The leading duo watched each other and climbed at a steady pace, waiting for the right moment to attack but, however, the tables turned when Jan Christen attacked from behind and quickly caught up with his teammate Del Toro and the Italian from Lidl-Trek. Without much time to think, the Swiss rider sought to take advantage of the numerical superiority of the UAE Team Emirates-XRG and attacked hard, and to everyone's surprise, only Giulio Ciccone held onto his wheel with Isaac del Toro whose legs said enough.

The tables turned for Giulio Ciccone who, knowing the effort made by Christen to first catch up and then attack, counterattacked with strength to open a gap that would ultimately be decisive. This despite Jan Christen not giving up until the last meter and maintaining a tremendous battle of just 10 seconds which would only serve to see Giulio Ciccone crowned winner on the streets of San Sebastián. Closing the podium, after winning the sprint of the chasing group, was Maxim Van Gils who saved the day for Red Bull-BORA-hasngrohe.

Clásica de San Sebastián 2025 Classification

1. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) 5h05'33''
2. Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +09''
3. Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +19''
4. Tiesj Benoot (Visma-Lease a Bike) +19''
5. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +19''
6. Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) +19''
7. Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla) +21''
8. Christian Scaroni (XDS-Astana) +1'09''
9. Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1'10''
10. Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +2'01''