The 11th stage of Spanish cycling race Vuelta a Espana was cut short and finished without a winner due to pro-Palestine protestors at the course.
The stage, which was supposed to start and finish in the heart of the ‘botxo’ – a neighbourhood at the centre of Bilbao, was brought to an abrupt end three kilometers from where it was supposed to due to ‘safety concerns’.
Organisers made the call during the race that the mountain points and points picked up during the intermediate sprints would count, but no winner points would be awarded for the stage.
Israel-Premier Tech, a cycling team, have been the main focus of the protests, with one group stopping riders in Figueres, and flags and graffiti have been on show since.
On Wednesday, meanwhile, the start of the race was interrupted when protestors heckled a group near San Mames stadium.
The race then continued, but the end, near Gran Viam was blocked by thousands of protestors donning flags. According to Marca, three people were arrested, with four police officers injured. The Basque Government’s Security Minister, Bingen Zupiria, condemned the ‘uncivil behaviour that threatens security and coexistence’.
The 11th stage of Spanish cycling race Vuelta a Espana finished without a winner due to pro-Palestine protestors being at the course
The call was made during the race due to safety concerns surrounding the number of protestors at the finish
Madrid-born rider Carlos Verona said of the events: ‘The UCI must make decisions for the benefit of everyone. I understand peaceful protests, but I don’t understand them interrupting our work. Perhaps Israel should compete without a flag.’
Race officials, meanwhile, said: ‘Due to some incidents at the finish line, we have decided to take the time at 3km before the line. We won’t have a stage winner. We will give the points for the mountain classification and the intermediate sprint, but not on the finish line.’
Overall leader Jonas Vingegaard said it was disappointing not to be able to finish the stage – particularly because it was his son’s birthday.
‘It’s a big shame,’ he said. ‘We really would have loved to win the stage.’
British rider Tom Pidcock, meanwhile, was the front runner and expressed his frustrations in the aftermath of the events.
‘It’s hard to describe the disappointment honestly,’ the 26-year-old said. ‘I felt like today was my day.
‘I felt we should have crossed the finish line. We’re not riding a f***ing sportive.’
‘I’m not saying I would have won, but I had a good chance to win. But I won’t waste any energy on it, there’s a long way to go.’
A number of riders expressed their frustration with the outcome of the race in its aftermath
Protestors have been a regular feat throughout the race but made a real difference in Bilbao
Four police officers were reportedly injured, with three arrests made in total
The Israel-Premier Tech team were reportedly offered the chance to withdraw, but opted not to
Riders had met race organisers in the city to discuss safety concerns before the race on the back of pro-Palestine protests and a crash caused by demonstrators running onto the track on Tuesday.
‘It was a conversation between us and the organisation,’ rider Elia Viviani told Cyclingnews and The Cycling Podcast. ‘We, the riders, know that in the last few weeks the organisers have been doing as much as they can – so many police, so many.
‘Obviously, if there’s a situation that is dangerous for the peloton, we should decide something. But as the organisation has said, we don’t know what’s going to happen, we’ll see how it goes.
‘If it’s all peaceful, then there’s no problem, so the race will proceed normally. We are dependent on that. On our part, if it’s peaceful, then we’ll simply restart. If there are falls, danger and so on, then we’ll decide what we do, because they don’t know what’ll happen.’
Three-time world champion Oscar Freire said of the events in Bilbao: ‘There have always been some protests, but today they were aggressive. It’s a shame, because it was the stage with the most fans and it could have been the best of this Vuelta.’
He added: ‘The team probably won’t even start tomorrow, because given what happened today, the start could be complicated. You can’t race like that.’
Organisers, meanwhile have reportedly offered the Israel-Premier Tech team the chance to withdraw ‘for the safety of everyone’, but they have opted to continue to compete, with the next stage in Madrid on Thursday.
