Once again, a pro-Palestine protest has caused an incident in the tour of the Spain.
On the 15th stage, a man with a Palestine flag jumped out of the bushes a good 55 kilometers in front of the finish. The demonstrator fell shortly before the street itself, but scored the passing outlier group, which caused the Spaniard Javier Romo. Another cycling professional fell over the Movistar driver.
Vingegaard continues in front of Almeida
Sportily, the 15th section ended after 167.8 kilometers with the stage victory of ex-world champion Mads Pedersen, who won in front of Orluis Aular from Venezuela in the sprint of a small group. The favorites reached the goal of over 13 minutes behind. The Danish top favorite Jonas Vingegaard remains in the lead before the second day of rest with a 48-second lead on the Portuguese Joao Almeida.
There were numerous demonstrators in the finish area again, but it remained peaceful. The vuelta is affected by the numerous protest actions almost every day. The demonstrations are particularly directed against the Israel Prime Minister Tech, which is under police protection and has been on his jerseys since Saturday even without the lettering “Israel”.
Political debate in Spain
The highlight was the eleventh stage when numerous demonstrators with Palestinian flags in the finish area had caused the racing jury to let the stage run out three kilometers before the finish without a winner. Previously, demonstrators had stopped the Israeli team in team time trials on the fifth stage.
The incidents at the Vuelta have long since led to a political debate in Spain. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares had recently advocated the exclusion of the Israeli team, also to send a message to Israel because of the Gaza war.