Protestor causes crash on stage 15 of Vuelta a España

A protestor indirectly caused a crash within the breakaway on stage 15 of the Vuelta a España. Just over fifty kilometres from the finish, an individual carrying a Palestinian flag attempted to climb out of the embankment as the riders were passing. The protestor fell, and a member of the Guardia Civil moved in to prevent him from entering the road.

In the confusion, Movistar’s Javier Romo was startled and crashed heavily, while another rider was forced to take evasive action. Romo remounted with visible damage on his left side but was able to continue the stage and reach the finish.

The 2025 edition of the Vuelta a España has been subject to protests due to the participation of the Israel-Premier Tech team.

Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Wanty) crashed on stage 10 after protestors spilt onto the road, but the Italian was able to remount and finish the stage.

Stage 11 in Bilbao was neutralised with 3km to go due to a human rights demonstration on the finishing straight. Israel-Premier Tech were halted during their team time trial effort on stage 5 after protestors attempted to block the route with Palestinian flags and a banner that read "Neutrality is Complicity. Boycott Israel"

In a statement on Wednesday after the stage 11 protests, the UCI said that it "firmly condemns the actions" that led to the stage's neutralisation, and affirmed its "commitment to the political neutrality," which it said was in line with "the principles of the Olympic Movement."