With an eye for Spanish talent, Equipo Kern Pharma is now conquering the Vuelta a España: "You lose the fear of the big names"

Pablo Castrillo became Equipo Kern Pharma's big hero in the first two weeks of the Vuelta. The 23-year-old Spaniard had never won anything in his career until he suddenly struck twice on days 12 and 15. The first time on a hilly stage, the second time on a ferocious final climb, against top renowned climbers. "A f*cking dream," he called it.

The party was complete when another stage win came on day eighteen, with three riders in the top ten of the day. Urko Berrade attacked from a strong breakaway and arrived solo. It was also his first professional victory for the 26-year-old Spaniard. "Let this Vuelta never end," he roared to Marca. What a moment for a team to be in its best shape ever!

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Castrillo and Berrade had never won this Vuelta before, but Equipo Kern Pharma as a team had only eight wins on its record. The team was founded in 2020 as a continental formation, with former pro and Basque Juan José Oroz as team owner and the recently deceased Manolo Azcona - the mastermind of the Galibier Sports Association - as founder. Azcono has trained Spanish riders since 1993, first in amateur cycling with the Lizarte team. With Kern Pharma, he found a "leading pharmaceutical company" as a primary sponsor before 2020, making the step to the continental circuit.

Azcono produced Joseba Beloki, Andrey Amador, Marc Soler, and Richard Carapaz, among others, through the Galibier Sports Association as young talents. And precisely with that mindset, Equipo Kern Pharma is now competing in the pro peloton. Giving Spanish riders - young and old - the chance to cycle at the highest level, hoping to create new stars. Stars that were once called Beloki and Soler but might soon turn out to be Castrillo and Berrade. To reinforce that, bike sponsor Giant and Kern Pharma set up a local scouting program in Pamplona to discover and recruit even more Spanish talents. Riders also continued to come through from Lizarte, including Castrillo and sprinter Pau Miquel.

In September 2020, Enrique Sanz provided the first victory for the brand new team at Belgrade Banjaluka, and that was all. Until this year's Vuelta, seven more victories were added, with Raúl García Pierna's Spanish time trial title in 2022 mainly catching the imagination. The great thing is that most of the riders from that first year in 2020 are still riding for the team in 2024. Roger Adria moved to the WorldTour and is now working for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. That was joined by Igor Arrieta and García Pierna after 2023, after both Spaniards joined in 2021 when Equipo Kern Pharma became continental. Arrieta moved to the UAE-Team Emirates after two good years, and García Pierna joined Arkéa-B&B Hotels.

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Manuel Garrido, CEO of Kern Pharma, described the cycling team's mindset early this season as "sacrifice, humility, eagerness." And that is reflected on the road. After his stage win on Thursday, Berrade stated that, in the end, it all starts with confidence. "We never believed in this at first, but we kept trying every day. That way, you lose the fear of the big names around you. You cycle as always once you break that barrier, and the results come."

So, at Equipo Kern Pharma, this Vuelta was about not being in awe. And so it was that Castrillo, on a steep monster, could lose Pavel Sivakov and Aleksandr Vlasov just as Berrade rode away from men like Mauro Schmid and Oier Lazkano. "You get self-confidence from results, breaking through mental barriers. We had never seen ourselves this way, but once you win, you throw off the shyness, and opportunities open up."

According to Berrade, Equipo Kern Pharma is now respected in the peloton. "We are congratulated almost every day for our performance. We were willing to give it our best for the podium, which showed. We feel that the public supports us tremendously and is happy for us. There are like hierarchies in the peloton, with the WorldTour teams leading the way. So we have to work harder to keep up. We showed that we are not riding around here for scraps but to win. Thanks to the whole team, who pushed us every day. We benefit from the sponsorship and can make new steps as a structure."