Vuelta a España race director Javier Guillén has said that the race will seek to take action against the pro-Palestine protesters who blocked Israel-Premier Tech during Wednesday's stage 5 team time trial.
The team's riders were forced to come to a stop during the early kilometres of the stage as a group of five protesters holding Palestinian flags and other banners against Israel's actions in Gaza stood in the road.
Police motorbikes attempted to intervene but couldn't clear the road in time.
The squad passed through the first checkpoint in dead last before recovering somewhat to finish 19th in Figueres, albeit 54 seconds off stage winners UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
Speaking to Marca on Wednesday evening, Guillén stated that the race would be filing a complaint against the protesters.
"We are going to file a complaint; we cannot allow what happened. When it is protested with violence, it ceases to be a just cause," he said.
It's not the first time the team has been protested during a race, with protesters at the Giro d'Italia holding up the breakaway late on stage 6 into Naples.
Team directeur sportif Daryl Impey later said that several of his riders were "shaken up" by the protest, noting that this level of protest was different to what he had witnessed in the past.
"We're used to flags and signs along the side of the course by now. That's already difficult, but today is the first time you really realise: Wow, this is really close to home," he said, according to WielerFlits.
"Some riders were quite shaken up after the incident. But I can't really say much about it other than we were shocked, but we tried to recover.
"It was a tough day, but I'm proud of how the guys dug in as a team today. I don't know what we can do next, so we'll have to wait and see."
Following the stage, the team took to Instagram to condemn the "dangerous acts of the protesters", adding that they are working with Vuelta organisers and other authorities to ensure their safety during the race.
"The team continues to work with race organisers and relevant authorities to ensure our safety at the Vuelta a España and all races, and ensure any protests do not impact our safety, nor our right to race."
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