Queen stage of Vuelta comes close to stopping after protesters block route

The toughest mountain stage of the Vuelta a España came perilously close to ending early as pro-Palestine protesters spilt onto the route with 20 kilometres to go at a roundabout, almost stopping the main bunch. Shortly after the break led by Mikel Landa (Soudal–Quick-Step) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) had gone through the roundabout, near the town of Beceril de la Sierra, around 100 protesters ran onto the road, some sitting on the ground.

At the last possible moment, the main peloton of around 30 favourites was able to ride around the blockade and continue, but all the team cars and many riders behind the principal chase group were blocked behind.

After roughly 10 minutes, the route was cleared and the team cars were once again able to proceed.

The 164-kilometre route had already suffered a minor change after protesters flooded onto the road at the small town of Cercedilla on the descent off the Navacerrada, preventing riders from going through an intermediate sprint. Police diverted the route around the town without further consequences.

The stage is due to finish at the summit of La Bola del Mundo, the last mountain top finish of the race. The public are barred from the final kilometres for environmental reasons, but there are numerous spectators and protesters on the last 11-kilometre climb of the 2025 Vuelta.

More to come...