Hundreds of demonstrators on the course in Madrid, knocked down crush barriers, riders who stand still and VIPs who are hurriedly evacuated: the Vuelta a Espana ended in complete chaos on Sunday evening. With 57 kilometers to go, the organization decided that the final stage would not be driven – as was already the case with two previous journeys. The ceremony was deleted.
The Vuelta, for example, got an end that fitted in well with the past three weeks. The 80th edition of the Tour of Spain was disrupted from start to finish by violent Pro-Palestinian protests, directed against the participation of the controversial cycling team Israel Prime Minister Tech.
On the face of final winner Jonas Vingegaard, there was little joy to be found while he was taken away from the course in a team leader car. His Vuelta victory-the first in his career-will not be reminded for his red sweater and the three stages he won, but as the first great cycling round in modern times that fell prey to geopolitical tensions.
Steep final kilometer
On Saturday, Vingegaard had succeeded in saving his own sporting honor. The Danish rider convincingly won the second-to-last stage on Saturday, with finish on top of Bola del Mundo. In the incredibly steep final kilometer of the Klim, he drove away from the leading group with favorites and only crossed the finish line – well before his most important rival, the Portuguese Joao Almeida.
In the general classification, Vingegaard had a lead of a minute and sixteen seconds on Almeida after Saturday. The Vuelta was decided.
Had Vingegaard not been able to do this end salvo, then his Vuelta victory would have been mistreated sportingly. The protests at that time had already influenced the price trend to the disadvantage of Vingegaard’s direct competitors that only an irrefutable statement in the last mountain rit could still cause shine.
Twice – in the second week in Bilbao and in the third week in the interior of Galicia – a stage with a finish uphill was demolished prematurely due to large quantities of demonstrators at the finish. Almeida deprived a double chance of attacking the red sweater in the final climb.
The most painful manifested the influence of the price trend last Thursday. Then the individual time trial in Valladolid was shortened from 27 to 12 kilometers, because the police could not sufficiently protect the course. In that shortened time trial, Almeida won ten seconds on Vingegaard in the general classification. If the full 27 kilometers had been held, then that would most likely have been 25 to 30 seconds – and the difference in the general classification had only a little more than 20 counts. A completely different starting point for the decisive mountain rit to Bola del Mundo – and a missed opportunity for a truly exciting final weekend.
Less dominant fingaard
Because of his victory at Bola del Mundo, this turbulent Vuelta with Jonas Vingegaard eventually got the rightful winner. Although the leader of the Dutch Visma-Lease a Bike team raced less dominant than expected-fatigue from the Tour de France clearly played a role-he was the best at the decisive moment. He also simply had the best team: Visma rode as usually disciplined and fully employed by the leader.
At Almeida, who finished second on stage for the Brit Tom Pidcock, the opposite was precisely the opposite. His UAE Team Emirates is the richest team of the peloton and is over from cycling talent. But as soon as the figurehead Tadej Pogacar – the best cyclist in the world – is missing, the team appears to consist of a collection of individuals who mainly ride for their own chance. The result: UAE won seven stages in this Vuelta, but leader Almeida lacked the support of his teammates at decisive moments and therefore offered Vingegaard less well than he could – in view of his form – could have been.
Vulnerable sport
The large -scale protests have disrupted the Vuelta almost daily in the past three weeks – and seriously endanger the safety of the riders. At the beginning of the third week, after the second decapitated stage, the peloton even lived whether Madrid would be achieved at all.
Against Israel Prime Minister Tech this year were already small-scale actions, especially in the Giro d’Italia in May, but demonstrators discovered in the Vuelta which is a grateful vehicle for protest the cycling sport. Competitions take place on the public road – and it is impossible to secure its whole.
As soon as the Vuelta ended up on Spanish territory after three (calm) opening stages in Italy, it was hommeles: demonstrators ran up the trail, sprinkled with pins, riders crashed (one driver had to go home as a result of his injuries), blocked the road with a fitted treeish at the same time.
The Vuelta organization looked powerless. Israel Prime Minister Tech from Koers was not possible according to the rules and the team refused to leave voluntarily. In the meantime, removing the team name of the Tricots was the maximum gesture for the owners – insufficient to get the action party back in the bottle.
On Saturday everyone relieved breath that the last mountain rit could be held without major disruptions. And with a small adjustment in the course and a police force of no fewer than 1,900 agents, the authorities hoped to be able to keep the final ride to Madrid up.
That turned out to be an illusion. The finish was not the backdrop for a triumphant Jonas Vingegaard but for demonstrators with Palestine flags and their fist in the air. Even after the stage stopped, the protest continued – later in the evening, demonstrators were successful with the police. What remains and probably will not disappear quickly is the realization how vulnerable cycling is in times of geopolitical turbulence.