Pello Bilbao entered his eighth Iturria Bask on Monday as the clear leader of the Bahrain Victorias and with the record he has built up in this race. But after only one day of racing, he had to drop the pin due to illness.

The Basque rider has competed in and finished every edition of this race since 2015, taking a stage win and fifth overall in last year's race. He is also off to a strong start this season, finishing third overall in the Tour Down Under and fourth overall in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and UAE Tour.

It is no surprise that Bahrain Victorious said in a pre-race media statement that his goal in Iturria Basque was to support Bilbao in his eighth appearance and contribute to a GC podium and stage win.5]

"Due to a respiratory infection, the leader (Pero Bilbao) has been forced to abandon (Iturria-Basque) and will not be available for the start of the second stage tomorrow," Barlene Victorious said on Twitter (opens in new tab).

Mikel Landa, a two-time winner of the Vuelta a Burgos, is also an eight-time winner of the event, having finished second in 2018.

Landa not only has a solid history in this race, but has also started the season strong, finishing second in GC at the Vuelta a Andalucía, seventh at the Tirreno Adriatico, and fifth at the Volta a Catalunya last month. However, the course is more suited to Bilbao, where he is also a Basque rider, due to the narrow roads and difficult climbs.

"Looking at the route, the course is not for me, but racing at home always motivates me," Landa said in a media release before the race began.

"Knowing the roads in a race like this is always an advantage.

The Ituriá Basque, a six-stage race, began on Monday in Vitoria Gasteiz, with Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) winning the opening stage. Stage 2 will be the longest of the race at 193.8 km, with five climbs from Viana to Laitza in the east. The race then ramps up over the next week until the final stage on Saturday, April 8, which includes seven mountain sections with three first-class climbs.