Spanish Vuelta stage cut short because of disruption by pro-Palestinian protesters near finish line

BILBAO Spain AP The th stage of the Spanish Vuelta was cut short and finished without a winner because of a disruption by pro-Palestinian protesters near the finish line in the Basque Country city of Bilbao on Wednesday The protesters appeared to be targeting riders from the Israel Premier Tech organization Particular attempted to invade the road when the riders of the Israeli crew crossed in front of them prompting organizers and shield staff to rush in to try to contain them behind the assurance fences Police were called in to contain the protesters a large number of of whom carried Palestine flags and pro-Palestine signs Race administrators made an announcement to the teams as the riders had about kilometers miles to go in the -kilometer -mile stage that also started in Bilbao Due to specific incidents at the finish line we have decided to take the time at kilometers 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 they revealed The start of the stage also had been disrupted by protesters who forced race bureaucrats to pause the peloton for a sparse minutes The police appeared to have the crowd under control by the finish forming a line to keep the protesters from going over the safety fences but functionaries decided it was safer to keep riders from reaching that point At the Tour de France in July a man protesting the participation of Israel Premier Tech ran onto the module as the leaders raced for the finish line A assurance guard ran out and apprehended the man The group had previously faced protests because of its association with Israel which has killed Palestinians since the start of the Israel-Hamas war according to the Gaza Fitness Ministry The war was sparked by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed several people on Oct Vingegaard disappointed Overall Spanish Vuelta leader Jonas Vingegaard of crew Visma-Lease a Bike declared it was disappointing not to be able to finish the stage It s a big shame we really would have loved to win the stage he disclosed adding that he was looking forward to a strong finish by his gang on the day of his son s birthday Tom Pidcock a British rider from unit Q Pro Cycling had been ahead during the final parts of the stage It s hard to describe the disappointment to be honest he announced I felt like nowadays was my day I had a good chance to win Pidcock continued through the finish line despite the decision to cut the stage short Thursday s th stage will take riders on a -kilometer -mile highway with mid-size mountains AP cycling https apnews com hub cycling Source