After leaping into the limelight with two sensational stage wins at this year’s Vuelta a España and finding himself in the middle of a transfer tug-of-war, Pablo Castrillo (Equipo Kern Pharma) is looking to cement himself in the elite level of cycling in 2025.
For months, rumours had circulated that the Spaniard was bound for Ineos Grenadiers next season. However, after the 23-year-old’s performance at La Vuelta, Movistar swooped in to claim his signature with a three-year deal.
The motivation to race for Spain’s biggest team seems to have been significant in his decision to reject Ineos Grenadiers and sign for Movistar instead.
“I wanted a Spanish team that would give me freedom in the race,” Castrillo told Marca after participating in La Nucía Criterium.
“I was also very interested in the sporting project. It's a project that is very committed to young people. I'm really looking forward to starting with Movistar."
"It was a long negotiation and I was looking forward to it being announced. I am very happy with the signing and eager to contribute as much as possible,” he added.
Castrillo won what was an emotional stage 12 for Kern Pharma at La Vuelta, coming just a few hours after they had announced that the team's founder and former president, Manolo Azcona, had died at the age of 71. He won his second stage of the race on stage 15 on the mountaintop finish of Cuitu Negru. Kern Pharma won a third stage at the Vuelta through Urko Berrade on stage 18.
He turned professional with Equipo Kern Pharma in 2023. Alongside his Vuelta success this year he was fifth overall at the Tour of Slovenia, seventh at the Vuelta a Burgos and seventh at the recent CRO race.
The powerful climber from Huesca is looking forward to a higher-level calendar next season as he moves to the WorldTour and has recently met up with his future teammates.
"With the World Tour calendar, many races are opening up for me and they all really catch my attention. I'd love to race with Movistar in a Classic or a Grand Tour," Castrillo said.
"We recently had the training camp and the atmosphere is really good. I felt very integrated with my teammates and the work group is pretty good. I'm looking forward to getting started."
In addition to Castrillo, Movistar have also signed four other riders ahead of 2025 including Natnael Tesfatsion from Lidl-Trek and Orluis Aular from Caja Rural-Seguros RGA. Meanwhile, the likes of Alex Aranburu will head to Cofidis and Oier Lazkano is due to ride for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
Castrillo had a warm parting message for Kern Pharma, having been part of their development setup since he was a junior racer.
"I hope they have a very good future because they deserve it. These have been years that I have enjoyed a lot and with these two victories, I hope to have given them a lot of projection. I hope they have invitations to more races and that they do very well."
