After stage 16 of the Vuelta a España was shortened due to protests, Visma-Lease a Bike CEO Richard Plugge has called on the race organisers to 'do everything possible' to secure the race as it heads towards its final days,
Race leader and Visma-Lease a Bike team leader Jonas Vingegaard said it was 'a shame that it has to happen here and in this way and that we can’t finish the race."
Vingegaard leads the Vuelta, with Visma-Lease a Bike battling with UAE Team Emirates-XRG and João Almeida for overall victory.
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Tuesday's stage was cut short at little notice, with the final category 2 climb removed and the winner decided eight kilometres from the original finish line due to pro-Palestine protesters blocking the road in the last 4km.
It is the second time a stage has had to shortened, with the stage 11 finish neutralised. There have also been rider crashes as a result of protests, with Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Wanty) falling heavily after a demonstrator ran into the road on stage 10. While he has been able to continue racing Javier Romo (Movistar), who fell after reacting to the sudden emergence of the protestors roadside, has abandoned.
“It is really unfortunate that this decision once again had to be taken to guarantee the riders’ safety," Plugge said in a team statement.
"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. But 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."
Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) claimed stage 16 from the break and it was a GC stalemate among the very top riders, with Vingegaard holding his 48 second gap to João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) with Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) maintaining third ahead of Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).
Hindley's teammate Giulio Pellizzarri moved up a spot to fifth overall after Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) paid a price for his struggles on the Alto de Prado, which was originally meant to be the penultimate climb of the stage.
The removal of the final climb was announced over race radio within the final 20km of racing.
“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.
"That should not happen. The team worked well, 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.”
The protests against Israel's actions in Gaza which surround the race have centred on the presence of the Israel-Premier Tech team, with the squad receiving an automatic invitation to the race under UCI rules and having raced through the other Grand Tours of the season, the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France without the same level of disruption to the event. On Tuesday evening Vuelta a España Director Javier Guillen said that despite the increasingly vocal protests the race would continue as planned.
Plugge also repeated his earlier plea, first issued after the stage 11 neutralisation, for those roadside to keep the riders safe.
"I would like to once again call on the public not to interfere with our riders and the race," said Plugge.
"At the same time I urge the organisers to do everything possible to secure the event so that we can all enjoy an exciting battle in the final week of the Vuelta.”
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