Team Visma | Lease a Bike animates queen stage Itzulia Basque Country but misses out on top result

# Team Visma | Lease a Bike Shines in Queen Stage of Itzulia Basque Country, Yet Falls Short in Outcome

In a thrilling showdown at the Itzulia Basque Country, the queen stage, spanning 176 kilometers with over 4,000 meters of elevation gain, took place in Eibar. Despite a strong effort from Team Visma | Lease a Bike, the squad ultimately missed a top result in the grueling competition.

The stage kicked off explosively, led by the yellow-and-black brigade, featuring riders Steven Kruijswijk, Menno Huising, and Tijmen Graat. The trio quickly joined a breakaway group of 35 cyclists. Their led group managed to stretch their advantage to four and a half minutes, though this lead began to shrink as the peloton faced the series of taxing climbs.

Kruijswijk, showcasing tenacity in his final professional season, launched an attack just after the halfway mark, forming a brief partnership with Baptiste Veistroffer. However, their effort was thwarted on the treacherous Krabelin climb, as the favorites for the general classification surged toward the front.

In a decisive moment of the race, the current leader Paul Seixas made his move alongside Florian Lipowitz, propelling them towards the finish line in Eibar. Seixas emerged victorious while Ben Tulett, who suffered a crash earlier in the competition, could not fight through the pain and ultimately fell out of the top ten.

Frans Maassen, the team’s sports director, commented on the day’s events, stating, “Everything went according to plan in the opening phase of the stage. The goal was to have one of our riders in the early breakaway. With Steven, Menno, and Tijmen, we actually had three riders up there. Unfortunately, Ben already indicated early in the stage that he was still feeling too much discomfort from his crash a few days ago. It’s a shame he wasn’t able to compete at full strength with the best riders today.”

### Stage 5 Results:
1. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 04:30:02
2. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) – +00:00:00
3. Javier Romo (Movistar Team) – +00:01:03
18. Tijmen Graat (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +00:09:28
42. Ben Tulett (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +00:10:53
53. Steven Kruijswijk (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +00:18:19

### General Classification After Stage 5:
1. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 16:33:45
2. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) – +00:02:30
3. Primož Roglič (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) – +00:03:40
16. Ben Tulett (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +00:13:50
21. Tijmen Graat (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +00:17:10

As the race progresses, Team Visma | Lease a Bike aims to rebound and capitalize on their efforts in forthcoming stages.