Visma calls for public not to 'interfere with riders' amid ongoing protests at Vuelta
Jonas Vingegaard remains the leader of the Vuelta a España, a race which is becoming increasingly under stress due to pro-Palestine protests
Stage 16 of the Vuelta a España was stopped with 8km remaining due to protests against Israel-Premier Tech’s participation, marking the second time a stage has been cut short in this edition of the race.
“It is really unfortunate that this decision once again had to be taken to guarantee the riders’ safety,” said Visma | Lease a Bike CEO Richard Plugge in a statement afterwards. “As long as the race organisers and the UCI allow the Vuelta to continue, I assume they can also ensure it is done in complete safety.”
The race organisers announced over radio, “We have a big protest at 3km before the line. We will decide the stage winner and take times at 8km before the line,” with around 20km of the stage remaining, skipping the summit finish to Castro de Herville.
Egan Bernal (Ineos) outsprinted Mikel Landa (Soudal-QuickStep) at the makeshift finish line to take his first Grand Tour stage win since the 2021 Giro d’Italia and first since his life-threatening crash in 2022.
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike), who leads the Vuelta by 48 seconds over João Almeida, finished as part of the main GC group, 5:52 behind Bernal.
"It's a shame that this has happened again. Everyone has a right to protest, but it's a shame that it has to happen here and in this way and that we can't finish the race,” said Vingegaard in the statement released by Visma | Lease a Bike.
The red jersey wearer added: "The team worked well today, and I would have loved to honour their work in the final of the race. It's a shame that the Spanish cycling fans did not get to see an exciting finale."
This incident adds to a growing list of protest-related disruptions at this year's Vuelta. Stage 11 to Bilbao was previously neutralised with 3km remaining due to demonstrations in the finishing straight.
Demonstrators attempted to block Israel-Premier Tech during the stage 5 team time trial, protesters causing a crash involving Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Wanty) on stage 10, a brief halt to the breakaway on stage 13, and another incident on stage 15 where Javier Romo (Movistar) indirectly crashed after a demonstrator tried to enter the road.
Plugge urged for heightened security for the remainder of the race and for the public not to 'interfere' with the riders and the outcome of the race.
"This is already the second time they have had to reconsider that during the race, and that has an impact on the outcome of the race. I would like to once again call on the public not to interfere with our riders and the race. At the same time, I urge the organisers to do everything possible to secure the event."
Spanish authorities have announced that approximately 450 police officers will be deployed for the stage 18 time trial in Valladolid due to potential demonstration threats.
