Tour of the Basque Country: The ambitions of the Germans Buchmann, Kämna, Schachmann & Co.
Andreas Kublik
· 05.04.2026
Itzulia is the name of the six-day stage race, which is known in Germany primarily as the Basque Country Tour. Itzulia is the Basque word for tour. This year's race consists of six stages. The event of the highest racing series, the World Tour, has a high-calibre line-up. Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard are missing (Status at the time of going to press) on the start list. But the next generation is lurking. Firstly, there is the Spaniard Juan Ayuso, who would like to show that he has what it takes to become a great tour specialist with his new racing team Lidl-Trek. And then there is the Mexican Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who in the absence of his captain Pogacar has the best chance of overall victory. And the whole of France will be watching with great interest to see whether the 19-year-old Paul Seixas (Decathlon CGA CGM) will continue his vertical take-off to the top of the world at the Itzulia. The German racing team Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe will start the race with 2018 and 2021 winner Primoz Roglic at the front. He is unlikely to have any German team-mates at his side during the race. Nevertheless, half a dozen professional cyclists from Germany will try their hand in the Basque Country - with different roles and expectations. An overview of the candidates - from B for Marco Brenner to Z for Georg Zimmermann:
Marco Brenner (23 years old/Tudor Pro Cycling Team)
In earlier times, a young man like Marco Brenner would have started his first professional season this year - now that he would no longer be eligible to compete in the U23 junior category. Next August, the professional cyclist from the Tudor Pro Cycling Team will celebrate his 24th birthday. However, the Augsburg native took the step into the highest cycling class directly after his junior days - he is already in his sixth year as a professional. His path was characterised by ups and downs - but even after winning the German championship title in 2024, the highly talented cyclist was unable to consistently deliver results at the highest level. Crashes, illnesses and form crises repeatedly set him back - as was the case last year. The terrain in the north of Spain should suit the strong climber and aggressive racer. His form seemed good at the start of the year, as his top placing at the Tour des Alpes Maritimes proved (see photo). Brenner would like to see more stability in the future.
Emanuel Buchmann (33 years old / Team Cofidis)
It's been a hell of a long time: in 2019, Emanuel Buchmann set off on the road to a great season in the Basque Country. Back then, he won a stage and came third overall - after a jury decision because he had been misdirected on the final stage shortly before the finish. "This is the most important victory of my career," said Buchmann at the time about his stage win in Arrate, when he distanced the eventual overall winner Ion Izagirre by more than a minute. His big breakthrough was still to come. He crowned the year with fourth place in the Tour de France, narrowly missing out on the podium in Paris. The best year by far for the professional cyclist from Upper Swabia began in the Basque Country. Fourth at the UAE Tour, seventh at the Tour de Romandie, third at the Critérium du Dauphiné - the former Bora pro was undoubtedly one of the best tour specialists at the time. Even if the lightweight (at 1.81 metres tall, his body weight is around the 60-kilogramme mark) has repeatedly ruined a better overall result due to his weakness in the individual time trial. This year, the ride through the Basque Country is his chance to once again recommend himself to his French team Cofidis for the Tour de France. His tasks on the six stages are manifold: to do the groundwork for possible stage wins for his Basque team-mates Alex Aranburu and Ion Izagirre and to finish as high up as possible on the daily stages and in the overall classification, according to the Cofidis press office. So far he has only three days of racing under his belt - without a good result. Two days before the start of the Tour of the Basque Country, he is due to compete in the GP Indurain one-day race on Saturday (4 April).
Lennard Kämna (29 years old/Team Lidl-Trek)
The really big successes have yet to come since Lennard Kämna got back in the saddle after his terrible training accident in Tenerife in early 2024 (here he talks about it in the TOUR interview). However, last year's Tour de Suisse showed that the former Tour and Giro stage winner is back among the world's elite. He finished sixth overall and was in the title race for a long time at the subsequent German Championships, finishing within sight of the new champion Georg Zimmermann. Following the signing of the new tour leader Juan Ayuso, who finally wants to step out of the shadow of Tadej Pogacar at Lidl-Trek, he is likely to play a role as a noble helper in difficult races such as the Basque Country and probably also the Tour de France. The ride through the Basque Country could show how well the collaboration with the 23-year-old Spaniard is already working, who is making a comeback of sorts in the Basque Country after winning the season opener at the Tour of the Algarve and crashing out of Paris-Nice.
Maximilian Schachmann (32/Team Soudal Quick-Step)
What a debut: Shortly after Maximilian Schachmann switched to Team Bora-hansgrohe for the 2019 season, he really hit the ground running in the Tour of the Basque Country. He won the opening time trial and then two more stages, wearing the leader's yellow jersey for four days, which he only had to cede to then team-mate Emanuel Buchmann after the fifth stage. After more difficult years, he returned to success in the same place last year after switching back to Soudal-Quickstep. He won the opening time trial again in 2025, wore yellow for three days and finished the stage race in third place overall. He had to let overall winner Joao Almeida (Portugal/UAE) and Spaniard Enric Mas (Movistar) pass him. This year, he may have to fight for the internal leadership role with team-mate Mikael Landa. At the age of 36, the Basque rider probably has almost the last chance to win the race himself. He finished second overall in both 2018 and 2023. However, Schachmann has an advantage at the start: the race will once again begin with an individual time trial - an exercise that Landa is not at all suited to.
Hannes Wilksch (24/Tudor Pro Cycling Team)
In the U23 class, Hannes Wilksch was regarded as a great talent for tours. Seventh place overall at the Tour de l'Avenir and third place overall at the Giro d'Italia for young riders are testament to his work. The Strausberg-born rider has been rather inconspicuous in the professional ranks, to which he joined Tudor in the summer of 2023. He has yet to win at the highest level. According to his team's website, he dreams of competing in a Grand Tour. He has not yet taken part in a three-week stage race. The challenging ride through the Basque Country could therefore be a kind of qualifying round for the man from Brandenburg, for whom the right hairstyle under his helmet is important. The most important item in his luggage for the race is, by his own admission, hair wax.
Georg Zimmermann (28/Lotto-Intermarché)
Alongside Brenner, he is the early starter among the Germans who have planned a start at the Tour of the Basque Country. Like his buddy from Augsburg, the man in the black, red and gold jersey of the German champion already started the season with races in January at the Tour Down Under in Australia. The 28-year-old would love to cheer as the winner of a cycling race in the German champion's jersey, as he said in the TOUR interview (available here) said. He can defend his national title on 28 June. The venue is not yet known and Zimmermann cannot judge whether the championship route might suit him. The terrain in the Basque Country, with its crisp climbs, could give him a chance of success: He likes short, crisp climbs. However, the competition in this World Tour race is extremely tough. His role in Team Lotto-Intermarché is likely to be twofold: The young Belgian climbing talent Jarno Widar will start the race as leader. Zimmermann is intended as a helper. But, according to his racing team, he should also be given the chance to ride for a stage win during the race.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
