Vingegaard reclaims red jersey at Vuelta. Pro-Palestinian protesters block path of Israeli team
FIGUERES, Spain (AP) — Jonas Vingegaard reclaimed the leader’s red jersey at the Spanish Vuelta on Wednesday after finishing second in the team time trial, which was disrupted by a small group of pro-Palestinian protesters who attempted to block the path of an Israeli-sponsored team.
Just a day after he lost the overall lead to David Gaudu, Vingegaard’s Team Visma-Lease a Bike came in eight seconds behind UAE Team Emirates on the first stage of this year’s race held in Spain.
The first four stages of the Vuelta were raced in Italy and France. The team time trial was held in Figueres, a city located north of Barcelona, covering a 24.1-kilometer (14.9-mile) circuit.
In the overall standings, Vingegaard now has an 8-second lead over Spanish rider Juan Ayuso and Joao Almeida of Portugal, who both ride for UAE.
Gaudu, who rides for Groupama, fell to sixth place, 16 seconds behind.
At one point during the stage, the Israel-Premier Tech team found the road blocked by a group of protesters holding up a pro-Palestinian banner. Race officials on motorcycles riding ahead of the team rode through the banner, but several of the team’s cyclists had to temporarily stop as protesters stood in front of their bikes.
One person was arrested, according to local police.
“That’s violence, we can’t allow what happened,” Vuelta director Javier Guillen said. “We consider any protest legitimate as long as it’s channeled peacefully. We haven’t reported any physical injuries, but there could have been.”
The Israel-Premier Tech team said in a statement that it respects everyone’s right to protest peacefully but that “we absolutely condemn the dangerous acts” of the group, “which not only compromised the safety of our riders, race personnel, but the protesters themselves.”
On Thursday, the sixth stage will take the peleton from Olot to Pal Andorra. It is a 170.3-kilometer, mountainous stage with a summit finish in Andorra.
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