Vuelta 2024 - Rising Stars

The third and final Grand Tour of 2024 has come to an end. Time to pull out the rider cards for the participants of the Vuelta a España. Which riders have shown the most progress over these three weeks in Spain? Let's take a look at the rising stars in the following skill categories:

• Hills
• Mountains
• GC
• ITT
• Sprint

📸Follow us on Instagram for exclusive photo and video content

Rising stars: hills

1. Urko Berrade (+21)
2. Edward Dunbar (+19)
3. Max Poole (+17)
4. Florian Lipowitz (+17)
5. Marco Frigo (+13)

When thinking of the rising stars of the Vuelta, the Spanish talents from Equipo Kern Pharma quickly come to mind. The data backs it up too: in nearly every category, they emerge as the biggest improvers. Urko Berrade closed the gap from the breakaway to Steven Kruijswijk's well-timed attack and then soloed to victory in this hilly stage.

Eddie Dunbar is back! He showcased excellent form in the second and third week of the Vuelta, which not only boosted his hill-climbing but also his mountain and GC skills.

We also need to mention Max Poole. The young Brit was often close to a stage win, though it wasn't meant to be just yet. Nevertheless, we thoroughly enjoyed watching him spend so many kilometers in the breakaways, and we expect him to claim his first World Tour victory next year.

Rising stars: mountains

1. Pablo Castrillo (+26)
2. Edward Dunbar (+21)
3. Quentin Pacher (+18)
4. José Félix Parra (+18)
5. Mauro Schmid (+17)

If there’s one rising star of this Vuelta, it’s Pablo Castrillo. With not just one, but two stage wins, he was the standout in Equipo KP’s surprising performance. On the brutally steep Ciutu Negru, he impressively held off Pavel Sivakov and Aleksandr Vlasov, securing yet another win for the breakaway of the day.

Quentin Pacher was also a frequent attacker in this Vuelta. Alongside King Küng, he formed a strong duo in the breakaways, while team leader Gaudu delivered an outstanding Vuelta from the peloton, finishing among the top four climbers in the final stages.

Rising stars: GC 

1. Florian Lipowitz (+14)
2. José Félix Parra (+14)
3. Pavel Sivakov (+13)
4. Edward Dunbar (+13)
5. Quentin Pacher (+9)

At Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe, it was Florian Lipowitz who stepped up in the final week. The German talent managed to stay with Roglic for a long time, even finding himself in the battle for the white jersey, which ultimately went to Skjelmose. Lipowitz (7th) secured his first top-10 finish in the overall classification of a Grand Tour—certainly not the last we’ll see from him.

While most attention was focused on the stage wins of Castrillo and Berrade, it was Parra who finished highest in the GC, securing 17th place. For UAE, it was surprisingly Pavel Sivakov who fought his way to a 9th-place finish.

Rising stars: ITT

1. Filippo Baroncini (+23)
2. Florian Lipowitz (+23)
3. Marco Frigo (+22)
4. Mauro Schmid (+20)
5. Harry Sweeny (+20)

Two flat time trials bookended this exciting Vuelta. The time trial specialists delivered as expected, with McNulty and Küng taking the wins in these stages, but there were also a few surprises. Baroncini finished 4th in the final time trial, and Lipowitz was still in contention for the white jersey, though he ultimately had to concede to Skjelmose. Mauro Schmid also had an excellent Vuelta, finishing seventh and fifth in the time trials, while covering significant breakaway kilometers in the stages in between.

Rising stars: sprint

1. Pau Miquel Delgado (+12)
2. Pavel Bittner (+11)
3. Simon Guglielmi (+9)
4. Filippo Baroncini (+8)
5. Gianmarco Garofoli (+8)

Just when you thought Equipo KP had shown enough, there's the fast Pau Miquel. The Spaniard proved he could handle the climbs well and even finished third in the stage that Van Aert won in Cordoba. Pavel Bittner also proved he can handle the demands of a tough Grand Tour. With his stage win, a second-place finish, and the aggressive racing of Max Poole, it’s safe to say the atmosphere at DSM was likely quite positive throughout the Vuelta.