The 24-year-old Hayter, for whom it is the first victory of the season. Mauro Schmid and Jon Aberasturi moved into second and third place. Of the contenders for the overall victory, Richard Carapaz did best in seventh place. Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard also finished in the front group.
A leading group of three Spanish cyclists got a lead of several minutes, but was caught up with about 30 kilometers to go. The classification riders fought for bonuses with 20 kilometers to go, but then the peloton prepared for a sprint. The Ineos riders launched Hayter’s sprint, who finished it with a short acceleration.
The Tour of the Basque Country has a total of six stages. Classification riders such as Vingegaard from Jumbo-Visma, the Colombian Egan Bernal, the Briton Simon Yates and the Spaniards Enric Mas and Mikel Landa are participating. Last year’s Colombian winner, Daniel Felipe Martínez, is also present.