Colombian Egan Bernal has won the 16th stage of the Vuelta, which was shortened by eight kilometers due to renewed protests.
Because a great demonstration took place three kilometers before the planned destination in Castro de Herville, the times and the winner were determined eight kilometers before the actual finish line. Second in the sprint of an outlier group after 160 kilometers, the Spaniard Mikel Landa was in front of the Frenchman Brieuc Rolland.
Denz wins a mountain and a sprint rating
The German Nico Denz took fourth place. The professional from Red Bull racing team was 1:02 minutes behind the winner. Previously, he was one of the most active in the outlier group, won a mountain and a sprint rating before losing the connection to the Alto da Groba on the last climb.
Jonas Vingegaard remains the leading overall ranking. The Dane from Team Visma finished with the big field with almost six minutes behind and goes to the 17th stage with a lead of 48 seconds on the Portuguese Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates). The 143 kilometers from O Barco de Valdeorras at the height of Alto de El Morredero has almost 3,400 meters in altitude.
Romo has to leave the vuelta
The 16th daily section of protests against the Gaza War was also accompanied. A tree was felled on a street that blocked the route. Palestinian flags could be seen in sprint and mountain ratings that were swiveled peacefully.
Javi Romo was suffering from previous protests. The Spaniard had to give up the race two days after his fall on the 15th stage. Despite severe pain, the cycling professional had started again and tried “To stay in the race and continue to fight, but ultimately couldn’t go on“, said his team Movistar.
On Sunday, a man with a Palestine flag jumped out of a bush on Sunday. The demonstrator fell shortly before the street itself, but soaked up the passing outlier group, which caused Romo to fall.