Clásica de San Sebastián 2018 odds
Clásica de San Sebastián 2018
The Clásica de San Sebastián is a UCI World Tour professional cycling race held in the hilly Basque Country, Spain. The 2018 edition is on Saturday the 4th August, just a week after the end of the Tour de France.
Typically, the race is known for its hilly route - notably the amount of steep climbs as the peloton travels through the Basque hills, before the final descent takes them into San Sebastián.
In 2017, Team Sky rider Michal Kwiatkowski took the title, becoming the first Polish rider to do so. He won a five-man sprint to the line ahead of Tony Gallopin (Team Ag2r-La Mondiale), Bauke Mollema (Trek Factory Racing), Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), and fellow teammate Mikel Landa. Landa played a pivotal part in leading the peloton and paving the way for Kwiatkowski to take the crown.
Recent winners also include Mollema (2016), British rider Adam Yates (Team Mitchelton–Scott - 2015) and Spaniard Alejandro Valverde (Team Movistar - 2014). Spanish riders have had the most success over the race’s rich history. There have been thirteen Spanish winners, followed by seven Italian winners and four French and Dutch winners.
The race
The Clásica de San Sebastián is typically a climbers’ race, and often features many of the big names from the Tour de France. Over the course of the route, there are many winding roads and sections of undulating terrain, favouring aggressive riders.
The race itself is over 220 km in length, and includes the tough climbs of the Jaizkibel and Arkale. The Jaizkibel, in particular, is famous as a decisive point of the race. Unlike the 2017 race, the winner is often a lone rider who attacks and breaks away from the chasing pack.
Big World Tour teams such as Dimension Data, BMC Racing, Team Sky, Astana Pro Team, Team LottoNL-Jumbo and Team Katusha-Alpecin have confirmed they will be competing, so a strong lineup is once again suspected.
Last year was a masterful performance from Team Sky. Can they repeat the feat or will the title return to Spanish soil?