"It is the best day of my life" - Pablo Castrillo overcome with emotion after Vuelta a Espana stage win
Cycling
Pablo Castrillo has arrived on the biggest stage of Spanish cycling. After a brilliant breakaway performance on stage 12 of the 2024 Vuelta a Espana, the Equipo Kern Pharma rider took the summit win.
Just after finishing, in the microphones for the press, Pablo Castrillo, exhausted, spoke emotionally: "In these last kilometres I suffered a lot. It is the best day of my life. I didn't see it until the last meters (the victory), I was at the limit. It's a very special day. I can't believe I won at the Vuelta a España," he says through tears.
His attack came 10 kilometres from the finish line, but he also noted that the plan was to do it "at kilometre 7, I saw the opportunity before and I took it."
The saddest day for Kern Pharma, which began with the news of the death of Manolo Azcona, has become one of celebration thanks to the feat of Pablo Castrillo, who did not want to forget the former president of the Spanish team: "I have been thinking about Manolo during the whole stage. I was thinking about the whole team, about all the hard work he has done. I dedicate the victory to Manolo, who passed away tonight."
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Results of stage 12 of the Vuelta a Espana 2024
| 1 | CASTRILLO Pablo | Kern Pharma Team | 03:36:12 |
| POOLE Max | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | + 08 | |
| SOLER Marc | UAE Team Emirates | + 16 | |
| SCHMID Mauro | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 23 | |
| 5 | NARVAEZ Jhonnatan | INEOS Grenadiers | + 34 |
| VANSEVENANT Mauri | Soudal Quick-Step | + 40 | |
| TEJADA Harold | Astana Qazaqstan Team | + 49 | |
| VERONA Carlos | Lidl-Trek | + 01:03 | |
| MEINTJES Louis | Intermarché-Wanty | + 01:14 | |
| RODRIGUEZ Óscar | INEOS Grenadiers | + 01:52 | |
| SKJELMOSE Mattias | Lidl-Trek | + 06:29 | |
| GALL Felix | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 06:29 | |
| SIVAKOV Pavel | UAE Team Emirates | + 06:29 | |
| O'CONNOR Ben | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 06:29 | |
| MORE Enric | Movistar Team | + 06:29 | |
| CARAPAZ Richard | EF Education-EasyPost | + 06:29 | |
| RODRIGUEZ Carlos | INEOS Grenadiers | + 06:29 | |
| ROGLIC Primoz | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 06:29 | |
| GAUDU David | Groupama-FDJ | + 06:29 | |
| RODRIGUEZ Cristian | ARKEA-B&B HOTELS | + 06:29 |
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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