There was no winner of stage 11 of the Vuelta a Espana on Wednesday, after organizers ordered the race to finish 3km from the line after pro-Palestinian protesters tried to burst onto the course at the finish line in Bilbao, sparking calls for the Israeli team’s withdrawal.
“Due to some incidents at the finish line, we have decided to take the time at 3km before the line,” the race director announced on Radio Vuelta. “We won’t have a stage winner. We will give the points for the mountain classification and the intermediate sprint, but not on the finish line.”
Disruptions began early when the race was stopped in the neutral zone after protesters carrying a banner gathered on the road before they were ushered to the side by police.
Photo: AP
Late on protesters pulled a banner across the road in front of the peloton, but they got past without any problems, and all along the race route there was a mixture of Basque and Palestinian flags. Some protesters attempted to push barriers into the road to disrupt the event at the finish line.
Basque Minister of Security Bingen Zupiria told reporters that three people were arrested, another five were identified and four members of the regional police were injured during the protests.
Protests have targeted the Israel-Premier Tech team at each stage of this year’s Vuelta.
The Israel-Premier Tech team said in a statement that they remained committed to continuing the race and respected everyone’s “right to protest, as long as those protests remain peaceful and do not compromise the safety of the peloton.”
“The behavior of protesters in Bilbao today was not only dangerous, but also counterproductive to their cause. It deprived the Basque cycling fans, some of the best in the world, of the stage finish they deserved,” the team added.
The UCI governing body “firmly condemned” the incident, saying cycling “has a role to play in bringing people together and overcoming barriers between them, and should under no circumstances be used as a tool for punishment.”
There was a surreal end to the race, with race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Britain’s Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) unsure of where exactly the new finish line was.
“It’s hard to describe the disappointment to be honest,” Pidcock said. “I felt like today was my day. I feel like there should always be a finish line.”
The Briton also had a message for the protesters.
“Putting us in danger isn’t going to help your cause,” he said.
Nottingham Forest FC are to go into the Europa League play-off round after a 4-0 win over Ferencvaros TC on Thursday, while Celtic FC secured their place in the knockout phase with a victory over FC Utrecht. Aston Villa FC finished second in the league phase after recovering from two goals down to beat FC Red Bull Salzburg 3-2 with their spot in the last 16 already assured. Forest stood an outside chance of climbing into the top eight going into the final round of matches, but needed to beat Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros and rely on other results going their way. Sean Dyche’s
HEATED RIVALRY: The pair had met 14 times previously, with Sabalenka winning eight of the encounters and entering the final as the favorite to take the title Elena Rybakina took revenge over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win a nail-biting Australian Open final yesterday and clinch her second Grand Slam title. The big-serving Kazakh fifth seed held her nerve to pull through 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne in 2 hours, 18 minutes. It was payback after the Belarusian Sabalenka won the 2023 final between two of the hardest hitters in women’s tennis. The ice-cool Rybakina, 26, who was born in Moscow, adds her Melbourne triumph to her Wimbledon win in 2022. It was more disappointment in a major final for Sabalenka, who won the US Open
Denver superstar Nikola Jokic returned from a 16-game injury absence to post a 31-point, 12-rebound double-double on Friday and propel the Nuggets to a 122-109 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic had not played since suffering a bone bruise in the left knee he hyperextended in a game against Miami on Dec. 29 last year. The Serbian big man did not miss a beat. He led all scorers, connecting on eight of 11 shots from the field, and also handed out five assists with three steals while playing just 24 minutes, 32 seconds as the
BATTERED AND BRUISED: Alcaraz suffered a cramp in the third set, but was allowed treatment despite Zverev’s protests, and continued on to win in five-and-a-half hours An ailing Carlos Alcaraz battled past Alexander Zverev yesterday in five epic sets to reach his first Australian Open final and move within a match of becoming the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam. The world No. 1 outlasted the German third seed 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (3/7), 6-7 (4/7), 7-5 over a titanic 5 hours, 27 minutes in hot conditions to head to tomorrow’s title match. He only narrowly avoided crashing out after a huge fright at 4-4 in the third set when he pulled up in pain with what appeared to be cramp. He was allowed to have treatment
RSS