When Dunbar held off a strong group of GC favorites and soloed to victory atop the steep slopes of the Picón Blanco climb to win Stage 20, the final summit finish of this year’s final Grand Tour, it was official—CADEX WheelSystems were the most successful wheels of the Vuelta a España.
“I knew if I just kept pacing myself and kept riding at threshold, if someone was going to come across it was going to take a big effort, so I paced myself really well," Dunbar said. "It wasn’t until about 200 meters to go that I thought I could probably hold them off, when I looked back and saw a bit of daylight there. I was just enjoying that last 50 meters.”
Dunbar’s stage win in Burgos came 10 days after his Stage 11 success in Padrón, and just two days after Spaniard Urko Berrade took a third stage for Kern Pharma, adding to the Spanish team’s tally after Pablo Castrillo rode to victory on Stages 12 and 15. All five wins were solo victories, and all five were taken on lightweight and aerodynamic CADEX WheelSystems.
Dunbar’s wins were aided by the Max 40 Disc WheelSystem, the lightest WheelSystem ever from CADEX, as were all three Kern Pharma victories.
In addition to Dunbar’s two stage wins, Mauro Schmid and Filippo Zana also delivered Team Jayco AlUla to three second-place stage finishes between them.
When Berrade won Stage 18, four of the top-10 finishers on the stage were on CADEX WheelSystems, with Schmid finishing second. Berrade’s teammates Castrillo and Pau Miquel were also in the front group, finishing eighth and ninth respectively.
“I saw the moment and I said to myself, 'I'm going to go all out,'" Berrade said of his Stage 18 triumph. "And so until the end, my option to win was to arrive alone and that was my chance. This third victory is a dream for the whole team. A joy and a triumph that we have achieved together, fighting and enjoying these good moments together just as we faced the bad ones before."
Dunbar finished the Vuelta 11th overall, while José Félix Parra was the top finisher for Kern Pharma in 17th place.