Tour of the Basque Country
# Rider Stage wins
1 Domingo Perurena ( ESP ) 11
1 Seán Kelly ( IRL ) 11
3 Laurent Jalabert ( FRA ) 9
4 Tony Rominger ( SUI ) 8
4 Samuel Sánchez ( ESP ) 8
6 Alberto Contador ( ESP ) 7
7 Miguel María Lasa ( ESP ) 6
7 Joaquim Rodriguez ( ESP ) 6
7 Alejandro Valverde ( ESP ) 6
9 José Antonio González Linares ( ESP ) 5
9 Stefano Zanini ( ITA ) 5
Winners -- Most stage wins
The Tour of the Basque Country (Officially: Itzulia Basque Country, Spanish: Vuelta al País Vasco, Basque: Euskal Herriko Itzulia) is an annual cycling stage race held in the Spanish Basque Country in April. It is one of the races that make up the UCI World Tour calendar. As the Basque Country is a mountainous area, there are few flat stages, and thus the event favors those who are strong climbers. The race is characterized by its short stages, rarely exceeding 200 km, and steep ascents. While the ascents featured in the race aren't particularly high compared to other stage races, they are among the steepest seen in professional cycling, some having sections with gradients reaching well above 20%.