Berrade Scores Third Vuelta Stage Win for Kern Pharma!

Thursday, September 5, 2024

Urko Berrade gave the Kern Pharma team its third stage win at the Vuelta a España, winning Stage 18 from a breakaway to continue the upstart Giant-sponsored team’s storybook run at the Spanish grand tour.

Four of the top-10 finishers on Stage 18 were all on Giant Propel Advanced SL bikes with CADEX WheelSystems, with Mauro Schmid from Team Jayco AlUla finishing second. Berrade’s teammates Pablo Castrillo and Pau Miquel were also in the front group, finishing eighth and ninth respectively.
 
Castrillo Climbs to New Heights
 
Berrade’s victory follows two incredible stage wins from his teammate Castrillo, who broke through for his first pro victory on Stage 12 with a superb climbing display and solo attack in the final 10km. The 23-year-old was part of a 10-man break that went clear 27km into the shortest stage of this year’s Vuelta, a 137km race from Ourense to a summit finish atop Montaña de Manzaneda.
 
That Stage 12 victory was the biggest win of Castrillo’s career to date, and also of his Giant-sponsored Spanish squad. It was an emotional day for the team, whose former team president and founder Manolo Azcona had passed away the previous day.
 
“Honestly, I still don’t believe it,” said Castrillo, who wore his Giant Rev Pro helmet for the win. “I’ve won my first stage at the Vuelta. I’m going to dedicate the victory to my team, my family, and a very special person, Azcona, who died last night, and I was thinking about him today.”
 
Three days later Castrillo struck again, launching a solo attack 3km from the summit finish of Stage 15 to Cuito Negru. In a thrilling battle with Russian Aleksandr Vlasov, the Spaniard proved strongest again, conquering the brutally steep 20 percent grades in the final kilometer to earn another career win in his home country.
 
“I am speechless,” Castrillo said after the win. “Winning this second stage, on such a climb and with such tough rivals, is something incredible. It is something I will remember for the rest of my life.”
 
Kern Pharma Shines
 
Kern Pharma, a team that Giant has sponsored since the squad was founded in 2020 and has partnered with Giant for its Grassroots development program, was already riding high in the final week of its home nation grand tour. But the underdog squad wasn’t content to rest on their laurels, they had set their sights on achieving more.
 
This time it was Berrade’s turn to score his first professional win. He and his teammates Castrillo and Miquel were also part of a 42-rider breakaway that formed early in Stage 18, a hilly route through the Basque Country of northern Spain. That group got whittled down as the riders tackled several categorized climbs on their way to the finish at Maestu-Parque Natural de Izki.
 
Following a series of attacks and counter-attacks, a lead group of 13 survivors, including the Kern-Pharma trio of Berrade, Castrillo and Miquel, along with Team Jayco-AlUla rider Mauro Schmid, was set for the final showdown. Schmid, the Swiss national road champion, had been active throughout the Vuelta and already had an impressive second-place finish on Stage 13. That result came two days after his Jayco AlUla teammate Eddie Dunbar won Stage 11, another big result for riders on Giant bikes. 
 
Hitting the final climb with 6km to go, Dutch rider Steven Kruijswijk was the first to attack. He was quickly joined by Berrade, and halfway up the climb the Spanish rider went solo. He continued to pour it on, gaining a 15-second gap and then holding it to the line to score his first professional win since he turned pro in 2019.
 
“At the beginning of the Vuelta, our manager told me that I had to become famous,” Berrade said after his win. “I said that it’s difficult for me, because I’m not a big media guy, but I think with this victory maybe I have a chance.”

Source:

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/global/news/berrade-scores-third-vuelta-stage-win-for-kern-pharma/29129