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Urko Berrade wins stage 18 of the Vuelta a España.

Vuelta stage 18 report: Berrade writes another chapter in Kern Pharma’s storybook home Grand Tour

Kern Pharma's dream Vuelta continues.

Dane Cash
by Dane Cash 05.09.2024 Photography by
Cor Vos
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Urko Berrade won stage 18 of the Vuelta a España out of the breakaway on Thursday, giving Kern Pharma a third stage victory so far in the team’s home Grand Tour.

The 26-year-old Spaniard, who hails from nearby Pamplona, left the rest of the escapees behind on an uncategorized climb in the finale and held on to take the win. Jayco-AlUla’s Mauro Schmid settled for second, while Berrade’s teammate Pau Miquel took third on the day.

Race leader Ben O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R) finished safely in the peloton to retain his position atop the general classification standings, which did see some reshuffling as Mikel Landa (Soudal-QuickStep) lost touch with the red jersey group and shipped a hefty amount of time to the other GC riders, dropping from fifth overall to 10th.

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How it happened

The stage closest to my house, with my whole family watching me, friends, in the last stages of the Vuelta, few opportunities left to win from the breakaway but … it’s incredible.

—Urko Berrade after stage 18
Urko Berrade after stage 18 of the Vuelta a España.
Kern Pharma does not get that many opportunities to celebrate, but they have had plenty of reasons to do so on home roads at this race.

Brief analysis

Up next

After a calm start in the heart of La Rioja, stage 19 gets tough in the end with the Alto de Moncalvillo climb, whose 8.3% gradient could draw out some GC action. Then again, the last two days of the Vuelta will also test the GC riders, so maybe they will decide to keep their powder dry here.

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