In an emotional and historic moment for Spanish cycling, 23-year-old Pablo Castrillo of Kern Pharma claimed victory in Stage 12 of the 2024 Vuelta a España on August 29. Castrillo’s triumph marked the first Spanish win in this year’s Vuelta and the first-ever Grand Tour stage victory for the Kern Pharma team.The 137.4 km mountain stage from Ourense to Estación de Manzaneda saw Castrillo break away from a group of 10 riders with about 10 kilometers remaining. He maintained his lead despite challenges from experienced cyclists, crossing the finish line with a time of 3h 36m 12s, at an average speed of 38.1 km/h.Visibly overcome with emotion, Castrillo dedicated his win to Manolo Azcona, the founder and former president of Kern Pharma, who had passed away the previous day. ‘I wanted to pay homage to him by winning this stage,’ Castrillo said, ‘I felt something special, something that I will never forget’.The general classification remained largely unchanged after the stage. Ben O’Connor retained the overall lead, 3 minutes and 16 seconds ahead of Primoz Roglic, with Enric Mas 3 minutes and 59 seconds behind. Richard Carapaz held onto fourth place, 4 minutes and 10 seconds off the lead.The stage also saw the introduction of a new yellow card system, although it was still in a testing phase and no riders were penalized. As the Vuelta enters its second half, the competition for the leader’s red jersey is expected to intensify in the upcoming mountain stages.
Key points
- Pablo Castrillo won Stage 12 of the 2024 Vuelta a España, marking the first Spanish victory in this year’s race.
- Castrillo dedicated his win to Manolo Azcona, the late founder of his team Kern Pharma.
- The general classification remains unchanged, with Ben O’Connor retaining the overall lead.
- A new yellow card system was introduced in this stage, though no penalties were issued.
