Last Thursday, at the summit finish of La Manzaneda, Pablo Castillo of Khan Farma fended off the WorldTour contingent to win the 2024 Vuelta a España for the first time in Spain.

But in the end, the rare magic of a low-budget team beating a top WorldTour team in a Grand Tour did not end with Castrillo and Khan Farma's manzaneda.

Instead, in Sunday's fog-shrouded Cuito Negru, Castrillo again dispatched two stars, Pavel Sivakov (UAE Team Emirates) and Alexandre Vlasov (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), in a thrillingly fierce battle.

Nevertheless, Castrillo's early attack on the gravity-defying final Cute Negru slope was caught up with Vlasov on two occasions.

Instead, Castrillo dug deeper than ever, putting a crucial foggy distance between the Red Bull and Bora-Hansgrohe riders and finishing 12 seconds ahead of his nearest pursuer. In the process, Castrillo proved once again that in this exciting and unpredictable Vuelta a España, nothing can be taken for granted, with the top teams winning wherever they like.

“We are already satisfied with just winning one stage. So to win a stage like this, and on a tough slope that is totally unfavorable for a rider of my character, is just incredible,” Castillo said after the race.

“Vlasov came up on me on this last steep section, the one easy section. I thought I had a chance to drop him.”

Eight riders took on the 18km climb of Cuit Negru ahead of the group of contenders led by T. Rex Soudal. But despite looking like he was hanging on by his tail on the first long climb of Cuito, Castrillo said he had one big advantage over his rivals as the climb crested.

“I was much more relaxed today than I was in Manzaneda,” Castrillo said. I even watched the video of my win and saw how much I was looking back when I was away on the climb,” he said. This time I didn't care what was going on behind me and tried to attack more boldly. And I think that helped make a difference."

His strategy for one of the three toughest stages of this year's Vuelta was simple: unlike Manzaneda, he knew that Cuito Negru was a “GC stage,” so his ambitions were very limited.

“I just wanted to get into the break and actually didn't expend much energy. I was relaxed because I had already won the tournament and I knew the GC players could come back anytime.”

“But anyway, I didn't expect to win with such a mythical finish against Sivakov and Vlasov. It was great just to hold on to third place against them.”

“Manzaneda was already unreal,” he concluded.

Born in the eastern region of Aragon, Castrillo, who had the most notable results before this year's Vuelta, finishing third in the 2023 Vuelta a Langkawi and winning his first two races as a professional, is Aragon's most famous racer, podium of the 1999 Tour de France He paid tribute to Fernando Escartín, winner of the finish and summit finish stages, for “being an inspiration to us all. Of Escartín, the route designer for the Vuelta a España, he said, “He has always been a great reference. 'He paved the way for all of us in Aragon and got us to the point where we could fight for the win, as we did today.'

Castrello, who is set to move to Ineos Grenadiers in 2025, was asked if he dreams of one day repeating his Vuelta victory at the Tour de France. But despite his already established ability to break through the glass ceiling and challenge the top teams, the Khan Farma racer said he is keeping his feet on the ground.

“I'm not really thinking about the Tour at the moment,” he said.

Unlimited access to all coverage of the 2024 Vuelta a España. Details.