Clásica San Sebastián 2026: How to Ride Steep Climbs Like a Classics Pro

On Saturday afternoon in the Basque Country, Remco Evenepoel made history — and nearly lost it first. A puncture at the worst moment, two long solo chases, and one decisive acceleration on a 10% wall with 8.7 kilometres to go: that's what it took to win the 2026 Clásica San Sebastián and become the first rider to claim it four times.

The Klasikoa is a different beast from July's grand-tour epics: no 20-kilometre alpine cols, just 221.1 kilometres of relentless, punchy ramps stacked one after another in early-August heat. Which is exactly why this race is the perfect template for your riding. If your local climb is Tai Mo Shan's final ramps, Bride's Pool or Shek O rather than the Tourmalet, San Sebastián is the WorldTour race that actually looks like your Sunday loop. Here's what happened — and the steep-climb playbook you can steal from it.

What happened at the 2026 Klasikoa

The 45th edition packed seven categorised climbs and 4,150+ metres of elevation into 221.1 km, raced in 5 hours 23 minutes. The early break was swept up on the Jaizkibel (7.9 km at 5.6%), and then the race nearly broke its favourite: Evenepoel punctured on the descent with around 50 km remaining, leaving him 30 seconds down without a teammate, chasing through the convoy just as the road tipped up to the Erlaitz — a vicious 3.8 km climb averaging 10.6%.

Distanced a second time on the Erlaitz, he clawed back with help from teammate Giulio Pellizzari, rejoining the leaders with 33 km to go. Then the finale everyone expects and nobody can stop: on the steepest slopes of the Murgil Tontorra (2.1 km at 10.1%), Evenepoel attacked, and only Richard Carapaz — fresh from two stage wins and the polka-dot jersey at the Tour — could follow. The pair worked together over the top and down the descent before Evenepoel won the two-up sprint on the seafront. Ben Tulett took third at 29 seconds.

"It was the most difficult one of all four," Evenepoel said afterwards. Wins in 2019, 2022, 2023 and now 2026 — four starts, four victories, and the outright record ahead of Basque legend Marino Lejarreta.

Why San Sebastián is the perfect template for Hong Kong riders

Most pro races ask you to imagine climbs you'll never ride. The Klasikoa doesn't. Erlaitz and Murgil are two-to-four-kilometre ramps at 9–11% — the same shape as the steep pinches on Tai Mo Shan, Fei Ngo Shan, Bride's Pool Road or Clear Water Bay. The race is decided by repeated short, maximal efforts with descents between them, not one 45-minute tempo grind.

The conditions match too: the Basque Country in early August means high twenties and humidity — a softer version of a Hong Kong summer. And the winning pattern is pure amateur gold: survive the accumulation, stay cool, hold position, and have one big effort left when the road kicks hardest. Evenepoel didn't win because he was strongest all day. He won because he was strongest on the last ramp.

Five steep-climb lessons from the pros

1. Budget your matches — the race is won on the last ramp

Evenepoel chased twice and attacked exactly once. Between the Erlaitz and the Murgil, he sat in and recovered while others burned their matches. Translation: on a loop with five ramps, ride the first three just under threshold, seated and controlled. If you're out of the saddle on climb one, you've spent the match you needed for climb five.

2. Seated vs standing: pick the right tool for the gradient

Watch Carapaz on a 10% pitch and you'll see the textbook: seated, high-cadence spinning as the default, with short standing stints reserved for the steepest metres or a change of rhythm. Standing recruits different muscles and lifts power instantly, but it costs more energy and spikes heart rate. Under 8%, stay planted; save the out-of-saddle work for the pitches where the gradient — not your ego — demands it.

3. Gear for the worst pitch, not the average

Erlaitz averages 10.6% — which means stretches far beyond it. The pros run cassettes their egos would have rejected a decade ago, because grinding at 50 rpm up a wall destroys your legs for the next climb. If your local ramp has a 12–15% pinch, a 34-tooth cassette with a compact chainset isn't a confession of weakness; it's pacing insurance. Rule of thumb: if you can't keep cadence above 65 rpm seated on the steepest pitch, fit a bigger cog before your knees complain.

4. Fuel and cool like it's your job

Five hours and 23 minutes in August heat means the pros were drinking a bidon or more per hour and using every trick to dump heat — water over the head, jerseys unzipped, ice down the back. You won't have a team car, so plan it: two bottles on the bike, electrolytes in at least one on rides over three hours. A lockable-spout bottle like the ZZCC Bidon lets you drink one-handed mid-climb without breaking rhythm — which matters when the gradient doesn't give you a free hand for long. Cooling matters as much as calories: an ultralight summer jersey such as the Summer Essential Jersey Pro — Italian textiles built for high-temperature efforts, with an optional integrated rear ice-pack pocket — is the closest amateurs get to the pros' ice-stocking trick on long, slow ramps.

5. The descent is part of the climb

Evenepoel and Carapaz didn't just hold their gap off the Murgil — they extended it downhill, arriving with enough margin to sprint between themselves. Descending well when tired is a trainable skill: look through the corner, brake before it rather than in it, weight low, hands relaxed on the drops. On dawn rides or long descents off Tai Mo Shan, a packable wind layer like the Breezer Gilet — wind-resistant front, mesh back, stuffs into a jersey pocket — keeps your core warm without cooking you on the next climb.

Kit for steep, hot climbs: what actually matters

Forget marginal gains marketing. For short, steep climbing in Asian summer heat, five things decide whether your last ramp feels like the Murgil or like survival:

One thing to notice: nothing here is about aerodynamics. At 14 km/h on a 10% gradient, heat management, comfort and low weight are the whole game.

Your own "Klasikoa": a Hong Kong steep-climb session

Want to train like the race was raced? Here's a two-hour session built on the San Sebastián pattern:

1. Pick your circuit. A loop with four to six ramps of one to three kilometres at 8–12% — Tai Mo Shan repetitions via Route Twisk, or a Bride's Pool–Luk Keng loop.
2. Warm up properly. Twenty to twenty-five minutes easy spinning; a hot, humid day is not a shortcut around a warm-up.
3. Ramps one to three: the accumulation phase. Steady, seated, just under threshold, heart rate capped — boring discipline, but this is where the session is built.
4. Ramp four: your Erlaitz. Threshold effort with one deliberate standing stint on the steepest pitch.
5. Ramp five: your Murgil. Full-gas two-to-three-minute attack, out of the saddle when it bites. This is your Evenepoel moment at 8.7 km to go.
6. Descend easy, spin the legs out, pour water over your head and wrists. Ride home easy and note which ramp broke you — that limiter is next week's training.

Bottom line

Steep climbing isn't a talent reserved for 61-kilo mountain goats. It's pacing discipline, honest gearing, aggressive heat management, and one well-timed effort when it counts — the same formula that just won Evenepoel a record fourth Klasikoa. Build your steep-climb kit from the links below, run the session above this weekend, and the last ramp of your Sunday loop will feel very different.

Ready to climb like it's the Murgil Tontorra? Shop the picks:

• Summer Essential Jersey Pro — ultralight Italian textiles with an optional rear ice-pack pocket
• All-Day Bib Shorts Pro — stable chamois and compression for repeated out-of-saddle efforts
• Breezer Gilet — packable wind protection for fast descents
• Mountaineer Cap — sweat and glare control under your helmet
• ZZCC Bidon — biodegradable, lockable spout, one-handed drinking

Hero photo: Tuvalum / Pexels — free for commercial use.