Evenepoel beats Carapaz in sprint for record fourth San Sebastián win

Record fourth victory

Remco Evenepoel won the Clásica de San Sebastián for the fourth time on Saturday, breaking the record he had shared with Marino Lejarreta. The Belgian beat Richard Carapaz in a two-man sprint on the Boulevard, adding the 2026 title to his wins in 2019, 2022 and 2023. Lejarreta, who won in 1981, 1982 and 1987, had held the record alone for nearly four decades. Evenepoel, second overall in the Tour de France last month, arrived as the favourite in the absence of Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič, who withdrew at the last moment. The 45th edition of the Basque classic once again served as a post-Tour showdown, with Evenepoel and Carapaz reprising their duel from Alpe d'Huez.

Puncture and chase

The race turned dramatic 49 kilometres from the finish when Evenepoel punctured at the exit of Hondarribia, just before the Erlaitz climb. He was forced to change bikes and lost around 40 seconds, leaving him isolated behind a peloton that was already pushing the pace. Frustrated with commissaires who did not allow him to draft behind his team car, Evenepoel began the Erlaitz ascent 36 seconds down. His teammate Giulio Pellizzari helped pace him back, and Evenepoel rejoined the main group with 30 kilometres remaining. After the finish, he called it the hardest of his four victories.

The fourth was the hardest, the most complicated.

Evenepoel explained that the initial plan had been to attack on Erlaitz, but the puncture made that impossible. He praised his team's work and said patience was key.

It wasn't easy; after the penultimate climb I had a puncture. We knew the Erlaitz climb is very fast and then I had to wait patiently to come back. I have to thank my team for the huge work they did, especially Giulio (Pellizzari), who got me as close as possible to the peloton.

Murgil decides the race

The decisive move came on the Murgil climb, with its ramps reaching 10 percent. Evenepoel attacked and only Carapaz, the best climber of the recent Tour, could follow. The pair rode together into San Sebastián, where Evenepoel launched his sprint with about 300 metres to go. Carapaz latched onto his wheel but could not come past.

I think it was the right tactic, stay calm and not rush. It could have been a better day without the puncture; obviously the initial plan was to attack on Erlaitz, but I couldn't. It's a nice victory, because Carapaz was still very strong.

Podium and Spanish best

Ben Tulett (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) finished third, crossing the line 30 seconds after the leading duo. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) was the highest-placed Spanish rider in fifth, while Giulio Ciccone, the 2025 winner, took sixth. The early breakaway, led by Joan Bou, had built a gap of more than three minutes before the peloton reeled it in on the Jaizkibel climb, where the gap was cut to 20 seconds. A group of six riders (Bart Lemmen, Tim Rex, Maxim Van Gils, Sean Quinn, Jay Vine and Lorenzo Quartucci) then tried to keep the move alive, but Lidl-Trek led the chase.

Looking ahead

Evenepoel, a double world champion and Olympic gold medallist, said his immediate focus is on rest, with the goal of winning a second elite world championship title at the end of September in Canada. The victory in San Sebastián extends his unbeaten record in the race and cements his place as the most successful rider in its 45-year history.