{"id":254197,"date":"2026-07-22T18:49:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T18:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/22\/ion-izagirre-focuses-on-final-tour-de-france-stages-ahead-of-retirement\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T18:49:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T18:49:21","slug":"ion-izagirre-focuses-on-final-tour-de-france-stages-ahead-of-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/22\/ion-izagirre-focuses-on-final-tour-de-france-stages-ahead-of-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Ion Izagirre focuses on final Tour de France stages ahead of retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"elk-d097b996-85fb-11f1-841e-f35df7cc8e61\">By the end of stage 17 of this year&#8217;s <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tour de France<\/a>, just eight of the 23 teams had scored at least one stage win and the fight to make it into the break of the day was growing ever more fraught as a consequence.<\/p>\n<p>For Basque veteran <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/ion-izagirre-insausti\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/ion-izagirre-insausti\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/ion-izagirre-insausti\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ion Izagirre <\/a>(Cofidis), due to retire at the end of the season, his squad&#8217;s constant pushing for a still-elusive victory was helping keep him on his toes, right through to the end of the race.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-d097b996-85fb-11f1-841e-f35df7cc8e61-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">As Izagirre, 37, told <em>Cyclingnews<\/em>, the team was exclusively concentrated on getting a stage win in a sprint or a break, but the opportunities for the latter in particular have rarely been so scarce.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-6 w-full overflow-hidden rounded-[10px] lg:my-8\" data-component-name=\"JwPlayer:Carousel\" data-jwp-carousel=\"\" data-jwp-carousel-payload=\"{&quot;ids&quot;:{&quot;playerID&quot;:&quot;jYDCcabO&quot;,&quot;searchPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;divID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;fallbackPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;fallbackDivID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;key&quot;:&quot;X9\\\/mXVGac0NphghLH9hZaqWA5d3dhAM\\\/Ih07grnEyMLjuO2E&quot;,&quot;tintLogo&quot;:true,&quot;useSearchPlaylist&quot;:false,&quot;enabled&quot;:true},&quot;signPostingEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;signPostingLinkEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;waitForAdLoad&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnDesktop&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnMobile&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnTablet&quot;:false}\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-nowrap items-center justify-between gap-3 bg-zinc-900 px-[14px] py-3\" data-jwp-carousel-header=\"\">\n<div class=\"flex min-w-0 shrink items-center\"><span class=\"inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 text-sm font-article-heading capitalize leading-5 text-white whitespace-nowrap\"><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-mobile\"\/><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-desktop\">Latest Videos From<\/span><span class=\"jwp-carousel-brand inline-flex items-center\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"aspect-video w-full min-h-[200px] lg:min-h-[330px] relative overflow-hidden bg-black\" data-jwp-carousel-container=\"\">\n<div class=\"absolute inset-0 size-full items-center justify-center bg-white\" data-jwp-carousel-fallback=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/flexiimages\/gmvwmhupgi1715762145.svg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/flexiimages\/gmvwmhupgi1715762145.svg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] max-h-12 w-auto\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I&#8217;m still focused, at the end of the day, we&#8217;ve still got those goals here in the Tour, in my case it&#8217;s about getting in the breaks. And that goes both for myself and the teammates.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;But it&#8217;s not been easy for anybody; this Tour has been very hot and very difficult with very few breaks,&#8221; pointed out Izagirre, who raced his first Tour of 12 back in 2013, and has wins in all three Grand Tours &#8211; the first a stage of the Giro back in 2012 in the third week.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><br \/>\n            You may like<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Just three have made it to the finish so far and it&#8217;s not ideal for us, particularly because we brought a team specifically for breaks and sprints.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Izagirre said that with so much still to play for, even if there were only four days left to go, and even if he had much more to see in the rear view mirror than he does ahead in terms of his professional career.<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-bMo2W9H6ysGCCkhqSUiX8f\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-bMo2W9H6ysGCCkhqSUiX8f slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I&#8217;m not yet thinking that this is the last time in the Tour de France, I&#8217;ll have time to get used to that idea. There&#8217;s no time for nostalgia.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I&#8217;ve always been somebody who simply looks at where they are without thinking too much about what else is out there. And right now I&#8217;m in the Tour and this is my last big race, just taking it on the day by day.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Maybe when I come to see the race next year in the Pyrenees with my family, I&#8217;ll miss it. But not now.&#8221;<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><br \/>\n            What to read next<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">His family have been with him on the race, too, but only at the start in Catalunya for now.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;They were there in Tarragona and in the Grand D\u00e9part in Barcelona, too,&#8221; Izagirre says good humouredly, &#8220;and my wife will come to Paris, too, to say goodbye to the Eiffel Tower.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">And after that? While it is possible that he will do the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a in September, and despite a very strong season so far including <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/gp-miguel-indurain-ion-izagirre-drops-quinn-simmons-to-claim-his-third-victory-in-the-last-year-of-his-pro-career\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/gp-miguel-indurain-ion-izagirre-drops-quinn-simmons-to-claim-his-third-victory-in-the-last-year-of-his-pro-career\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/gp-miguel-indurain-ion-izagirre-drops-quinn-simmons-to-claim-his-third-victory-in-the-last-year-of-his-pro-career\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a victory on home soil in the GP Miguel Indurain<\/a>, there is no truth in the rumour, he said, that he&#8217;ll go on to race in Euskatel Euskadi in 2027.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Everything&#8217;s signed off, my promise is made,&#8221; confirmed Izagirre, set to end his racing career in a small cyclo-cross race this winter near his home in the Basque Country.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Meantime there&#8217;s the possibility of a breakaway on stage 18 to Orci\u00e8res-Merlette, but that will almost definitely be the last-chance saloon for Izagirre in the Tour. Come the two stages to Alpe d&#8217;Huez, he has a realistic outlook on what can and can&#8217;t be done, while Sunday&#8217;s stage will be dedicated to working for teammates.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;For sure I&#8217;ll be in the gruppetto, right at the back of the race. These Alpe d&#8217;Huez stages are for the GC guys, although we&#8217;ll do what we can, and Paris is a good chance for [Cofidis sprinter] Alex Aranburu. Alpe d&#8217;Huez is something I&#8217;ll just try to enjoy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><em><strong>The world\u2019s biggest bike race deserves world-class coverage. Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our unrivalled reporting of the 2026 Tour de France. From Barcelona through to Paris, our experienced team will bring you breaking news, expert insight, and in-depth coverage from every stage as the battle for the yellow jersey plays out. Plus, access the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go!<\/strong><\/em><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDF26\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDF26\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDF26\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong> <\/strong><\/em><\/a><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDF26\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDF26\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDF26\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>Find out more<\/strong><\/em><\/a><em><strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/theres-no-time-for-nostalgia-increasingly-fraught-fight-for-last-chance-breaks-in-tour-de-france-keep-2026-retiree-ion-izagirre-focused-on-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By the end of stage 17 of this year&#8217;s Tour de France, just eight of the 23 teams had scored at least one stage win and the fight to make it into the break of the day was growing ever more fraught as a consequence. For Basque veteran Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), due to retire at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":254198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6804],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-254197","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}