A great battle between the climbers took place in stage twelve of the Vuelta a España 2024, where Pablo Castrillo (Team Kern Pharma) was surprisingly the strongest in the Mountain Station of Manzaneda, taking the solo victory after 137.5 kilometers.
The Spanish rider, who achieved a memorable and emotional victory for his team, won the duel with his breakaway companions. Second came the British Max Poole (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), third Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), fifth the Ecuadorian Jhonatan Narváez (INEOS Grenadiers) and seventh the Colombian Harold Tejada (Astana Qazqstan).
Among the favorites there were no differences. The peloton entered commanded by the Danish Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl – Trek) more than 6 minutes behind the winner with all the ‘Gallos de la General’ included.
The mountainous day began with the early movement of ten men, who went on the attack forming the breakaway of the day. Among the escapees was Colombian Harold Tejada (Astana Qazaqstan Team), who went in the company of Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), Jhonatan Narváez (INEOS Grenadiers), Óscar Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers), Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal Quick-Step), Carlos Verona (Lidl – Trek), Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco AlUla), Max Poole (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), Pablo Castrillo (Team Kern Pharma) and Louis Meintjes (Intermarché – Wanty).
The breakaway maintained the harmony of the pedaling in the early stages. The escapees, who reached a gap of more than ten minutes, stayed together until the final climb of the first category.
Entering the final 10 kilometers, the battle between the escapees began. The first to try was Spaniard Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), but he was quickly neutralized by his rivals. Then Carlos Verona (Lidl – Trek) tried, but suffered the same fate as his compatriot.
In the final stretches, Pablo Castrillo hurried the pace and launched an attack that ended up destroying the leading group. In the end no one could catch him, achieving a great victory for Kern Pharma.
The Iberian round will continue this Friday with stage 13 over 176 kilometers that includes four mountain prizes, with an uphill finish at the Puerto de Ancares, which foresees another great battle of climbers and a day of great selection towards the champion’s title.
La Vuelta Ciclista a España (2.UWT)
Results Stage 12 | Ourense Termal – Estación de Montaña de Manzaneda (137,5 km)
| 1 | Pablo Castrillo | Equipo Kern Pharma | 3:36:12 |
| 2 | Max Poole | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | 0:08 |
| 3 | Marc Soler | UAE Team Emirates | 0:16 |
| 4 | Mauro Schmid | Team Jayco AlUla | 0:23 |
| 5 | Jhonatan Narváez | INEOS Grenadiers | 0:34 |
| 6 | Mauri Vansevenant | Soudal Quick-Step | 0:40 |
| 7 | Harold Tejada | Astana Qazaqstan Team | 0:49 |
| 8 | Carlos Verona | Lidl – Trek | 1:03 |
| 9 | Louis Meintjes | Intermarché – Wanty | 1:14 |
| 10 | Óscar Rodríguez | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:52 |
Ranking General
| 1 | Ben O’Connor | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | 47:37:35 |
| 2 | Primož Roglic | Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe | 3:16 |
| 3 | Enric Mas | Movistar Team | 3:58 |
| 4 | Richard Carapaz | EF Education – EasyPost | 4:10 |
| 5 | Mikel Landa | Soudal Quick-Step | 4:40 |
| 6 | Carlos Rodríguez | INEOS Grenadiers | 5:23 |
| 7 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe | 5:29 |
| 8 | Adam Yates | UAE Team Emirates | 5:30 |
| 9 | Felix Gall | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | ,, |
| 10 | George Bennett | Israel – Premier Tech | 5:46 |