Urko Berrade took the win from the breakaway on stage 18 of the Vuelta a España to win a third stage for Equipo Kern Pharma at their home Grand Tour.
The Spaniard dropped his breakaway compatriots at the six kilometre mark when he tracked an initial move from Steven Kruijswijk (Visma-Lease a Bike). Berrade attacked over the top of the Dutchman and would not be seen again.
Born in Pamplona, Berrade was full of emotion at the finish line as he celebrated a win on his local roads with his teammates. Kern Pharma's Pau Michel very nearly took third, but Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AIUla) pipped him on the line.
Pablo Castrillo (Kern Pharma), winner of two stages at this year’s Vuelta, took ninth behind his two teammates.
Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) kicked off a GC battle on the slopes of the final categorised climb of the day. The Ecuadorian had one eye on the final podium place, but also on distancing Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) from the picture. Landa was unable to hold the pace and lost significant time. The Spaniard dropped to tenth overall.
Ben O’Connor retained his lead at the top of the overall standings. The Australian is still just five seconds ahead of Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) as the race enters the final weekend of action. It is set to conclude in Madrid on Sunday.
How it happened
Stage 18 of the Vuelta was, on paper, set to be one for the breakaway as the peloton took on 179 kilometres across hilly terrain in the heart of the Basque Country.
With 47 kilometres to race, three large groups of riders were spread out on the road with the lead move more than 10 minutes ahead of the peloton. There were several strong riders present in the group, including Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), Oier Lazkano (Movistar), Aleksandr Vlasov (Red-Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Steven Krujswjk (Visma-Lease a Bike), Max Poole (dsm–firmenich PostNL) and Pablo Castrillo (Equipo Kern Pharma).
Two categorised ascents were on the parcours. The final climb, the category one Puerto Herrera, saw the break begin to split. EF Education-EasyPost were leading the peloton on the climb as the leaders upped the tempo. Soler led the break over the summit before then attacking into the descent.
First place at the top meant that Soler moved into the lead in the mountains classification. The Spaniard took Quick-Step’s Matteo Cattaneo with him as he pushed on. Vlasov was part of the move, as was Mauro Schmid of Jayco-AIUla.
Meanwhile EF’s Richard Carapaz attacked from the peloton with the aim of moving into a podium spot in the general classification. Enric Mas (Movistar) was locked onto his wheel. Plenty of other GC riders joined the duo, including race leader Ben O’Connor, Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers), Primož Roglič and several others.
Carapaz’s relentless attacks in the group put Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) under severe pressure. The Spaniard was in the picture for the final podium in Madrid, but his capitulation in the Basque Country meant that the possibility a top three result was beginning to rapidly disappear.
With 20 kilometres to go Landa was nearly two minutes down on the Carapaz led GC group. The lead riders had just under eight minutes on the chasers which meant that the stage win was in their grasp. Several riders were stuck in no man’s land between the breakaway and chasers, including Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
Sensing the win was his for the taking, Kruijswijk pushed on from the break at the six kilometre mark. Urko Berrade (Equipo Kern Pharma) attacked over the top of the Dutchman and pushed on at speed. The Spaniard would not be caught and took the win ahead of Schmid and his Kern Pharma teammate, Pau Miquel, who took third in Maeztu-Parque Natural de Izki.
Results
Vuelta a España 2024, stage 18: Vitoria-Gasteiz > Maeztu-Parque Natural de Izki (179.5km)
1. Urko Berrade (Esp) Equipo Kern Pharma, in 4:00:52
2. Mauro Schmid (Sui) Jayco-AIUla, +4s
3. Pau Miquel (Esp) Equipo Kern Pharma,
4. Max Poole (Gbr) dsm-firmenich Post NL,
5. Aleksandr Vlasov Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe,
6. Oier Lazkano (Esp) Movistar,
7. Ion Izagirre (Esp) Cofidis,
8. Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek,
9. Pablo Castrillo (Esp) Equipo Kern Pharma, +7s
10. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +11s
General classification after stage 18
1. Ben O'Connor (Aus) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, in 72:48:46
2. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +5s
3. Enric Mas (Esp) Movistar, +1:25
4. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, +1:46
5. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, +3:48
6. Carlos Rodríguez (Esp) Ineos Grenadiers, +3:53
7. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, +4:00
8. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +4:27
9. Pavel Sivakov (Fra) UAE Team Emirates, +5:19
10. Mikel Landa (Esp) Soudal Quick-Step, +5:38
