The Donostia-Donostia Klasikoa — Clásica San Sebastián-San Sebastián (San Sebastián Classic) is a one-day professional men's bicycle road race in the Basque Country that has been held every summer since 1981 in San Sebastián. It is the most important one-day race in the Basque Country and in Spain, is considered a one-day race of great prestige, just behind the 'Monuments', and contributes points towards the UCI World Ranking.
Clásica de San Sebastián is known for its winding, undulating terrain which favours aggressive riding, favouring climbers. It includes the tough Jaizkibel and Erlaitz climbs, usually the decisive points of the race. It is one of the three summer classics that form part of the UCI World Tour calendar, along with the Laurentian Classics.
Usually the protagonists of the Clásica de San Sebastián are those who, until a few days before the race have been competing on the roads of the Tour de France, given the proximity of dates of the two competitions. There are many Klasikoa winners who also have a Grand Tour in their palmares.
It has always started and finished in San Sebastián, although the initial and intermediate stretches have varied throughout its history, so its total mileage has not been the same, although it has almost always been around 230 km. The race traditionally finishes at the Boulevard de San Sebastián a major street in the centre of the city.
It is organized by Organizaciones Ciclistas Euskadi, after the merger of the Euskal Bizikleta with the Tour of the Basque Country in 2009. A women's race was held in 2019 and 2021, before being replaced by the Itzulia Women stage race from 2022 onwards.
History
150px|thumb|left|Jaime Ugarte (1996)
thumb|right|alt=200px|Joaquim Rodríguez and his teammate Constantino Zaballa, wearing the [[txapela, usually given to winners in the Basque Country.]]
Clásica de San Sebastián is the most important one-day race in Spanish professional road cycling. It was first run in 1981 and has stopped only due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The race was created by a cycling journalist of Diario Vasco and founder/chief of Organizaciones Deportivas Diario Vasco, Jaime Ugarte. He later went on to found Tour of the Basque Country.
Ugarte won the elections to lead the Guipuzcoan Cycling Federation, and one of his first tasks as president was revitalize the track, and the creation of an important race for San Sebastián. Along with his friends and colleagues, José Mari Eceiza and the Ayestarán brothers, they devised the idea of a professional race to inspire amateurs and fans. They designed a race between San Sebastián and Bilbao, but several reasons impeded this, so they decided to focus on Gipuzkoa, where the mountain pass Jaizkibel was located. Helped by UCI president Luis Puig, they placed the race in the highest steps of world cycling.
Ugarte has talked about the creation of the race: