Gorka Izaguirre won the UCI C2-ranked cyclocross event Abadinho Udalla Salia in Spain on Sunday, but it was not on a fast, dry roady course. The Basque rider endured heavy rain and a muddy course to win by 42 seconds over his closest rival, 20-year-old Gonzalo Inguanzo; third was Mario Junquera (Unicaja Banco Gijón) and fourth was Jonatan Lastra of Caja Rural Seguros RGA.

Izaguirre, who will move to the Movistar team in 2022, held his arms high and his turquoise Astana kit completely obscured by mud after leading the second of six laps in the one-hour race.

But this was not the 34-year-old's first UCI cyclocross victory. After competing in cyclocross in his junior and U23 years, Izaguirre has focused on the road, but has continued to dabble in cyclocross in the off-season.

In 2019, he slipped on a bridge and fell face-first into a stone wall at a 'cross race in Ormaiztegi, suffering a major crash that left him with four stitches in his eyebrow.

Izaguirre then went on to win the final edition of the 2019 Abadinho Udallah Salia. He also finished third in the 2020 Spanish cyclo-cross championships behind cross pros Felipe Ortz and Kevin Suarez.

The win was Izaguirre's first since taking sole first place in the 2020 Gran Trittico Lombardo.

The 34-year-old stage winner of the 2017 Giro d'Italia will return to the Spanish team to support Movistar's Grand Tour contender Enric Mas.