Professional cyclist Maximilian Schachmann clearly missed out on overall victory in the Tour of the Basque Country, which was overshadowed by heavy falls among the top favorites.
After the queen stage with demanding mountain classifications, the Spaniard Juan Ayuso triumphed with a lead of 3:40 minutes over the 30-year-old, who came in 13th place in the final tally. The day before, Schachmann, who was in good form overall during the tour, was only two seconds behind the Dane Mattias Skjelmose, who was leading at the time.
Heavy falls for the top favorites
For Ayuso, who is only 21 years old, winning the tour is the greatest success in his career so far. Over the 137.8 kilometers with start and finish in Eibar, Spaniard Carlos Rodriguez took the day’s victory by six seconds ahead of Ayuso. Marc Soler completed the Spanish daily podium in third place. Schachmann crossed the finish line in 26th place, 3:36 minutes behind the day’s winner.
The race was overshadowed by a serious crash for the favorites. Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and, among others, the Australian Jay Vine suffered serious injuries in the mass fall. Schachmann’s teammate Primoz Roglic was also affected by the incident. The overall leader at the time had to retire, but got off lightly.
