The team leadership drama at Jumbo-Visma ended on stage 18 of the Vuelta a España with Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard guiding Sepp Kuss to the line instead of attacking the race leader, but the craziness of the race continued as a Jumbo-Visma staff member had an altercation with Spanish police beyond the finish line.
Video footage published on social media by Relevo and other media shows the Jumbo-Visma helper pushing one police officer after he and Jonas Vingegaard were encouraged to move to the side of the road. The team helper was then tackled to the ground by three police officers.
The staffer flails to get off the ground before police officers escort him away from the crowd.
In chaotic scenes from the finish line, television images from a different angle show the staffer with race leader Kuss just as police arrive and shout at the people on the road to move out of the way of the race organisation and team cars that are trying to get through.
Cyclingnews reached out to Jumbo-Visma for comment; however, they did not reply.
Other video footage of the altercation also shows the team's communications manager, Ard Bierens, attempting to calm the situation down. The staff member in question, who had the correct accreditation visible in the video, was then grabbed by the back of his shirt and guided away by police.
Roglič avoided the drama and removed himself from the situation after another tough day of climbing.
According to eyewitness Marcelo La Gattina, who published the initial video footage to social media, the man was not arrested, but the moment was tense and unpleasant.
Relevo stated alongside its video footage that the Jumbo-Visma staffer was in an altercation with the police and had to be restrained to the ground and that Jonas Vingegaard later went to ask how he was; however, agents stated that rules must be followed.
A similar incident occurred on stage 11 when a Cofidis soigneur was taken down by police past the finish line as he tried to encourage breakaway winner Jesús Herrada to the finish line, eventually letting the man go to celebrate and look after his rider.
Remco Evenepoel collided with a member of the Andorra police who was standing in a crowded chute after the finish line following his victory on stage 3.
Spanish Police have been on high alert at this year’s Vuelta, including when they prevented a plotted oil attack ahead of stage 3 and arrested a man for trying to cause an accident in the final stretch of stage 7.
This incident adds to the multitude of others that have taken away from the racing at this year’s Vuelta, with riders completing the opening team trial in darkness on wet roads, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) crashing into a soigneur past the finish on stage 3 and the stages where GC times had to be taken before the finish.
