In the midst of the centenary edition of Itzulia Basque Country, a series of crashes have led to several riders being forced to abandon the race. The latest incident occurred just one day after Remco Evenepoel and ten other riders were forced to withdraw following a devastating mass crash. It seems that this year's edition of the race has been particularly plagued by unfortunate accidents.

The list of general classification (GC) abandons started before the race even began, as Tom Pidcock from Ineos Grenadiers was forced to exit due to a training recon crash. Unfortunately, the accidents did not stop there. David Gaudu from Groupama-FDJ suffered an injury to his right hand, preventing him from starting stage 3 after falling just 4km from the finish. Stage 4 saw injuries to race leader Primož Roglič from Bora-Hansgrohe, Jay Vine from UAE Team Emirates, and Jonas Vingegaard from Visma-Lease a Bike.

Evenepoel, who had been performing well in the race, suffered a broken collarbone and shoulder blade in the recent crash. As a result, he will be unable to participate in the upcoming Ardennes Classics. However, his Tour de France debut, where Mikel Landa is slated to play a crucial mountain domestique role, remains unaffected.

Landa, who was placed 27th overall when he crashed out, has had an impressive start to the season. He secured a second-place finish in the Volta a Catalunya, his best GC result since last year's Itzulia where he finished second again behind Vingegaard. Landa also achieved a third-place finish in the Flèche Wallonne, a race that he will now likely miss due to his injuries.

This is not the first time Landa has faced such adversity in his career. He suffered a serious fall in stage 5 of the 2021 Giro d'Italia, which resulted in a broken collarbone and forced him to withdraw from the race. Despite these setbacks, Landa has had notable performances in the Itzulia, with two runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2023, as well as two stage wins in 2015 and 2016.

Meanwhile, the Soudal-QuickStep team perseveres in the 2024 Itzulia Basque Country with only four riders remaining: James Knox, William Lecerf, Pieter Serry, and Louis Vervaeke. The race is set to conclude on Saturday with the final stage taking place in Eibar.

The constant crashes and resulting withdrawals have undoubtedly cast a shadow over this year's Itzulia Basque Country and have highlighted the inherent risks of professional cycling. As the race comes to an end, all eyes now turn to the remaining riders as they tackle the final stage and strive to claim victory in this prestigious event.