Protests disrupt Vuelta a España at foot of Angliru on stage 13

Protestors disrupted the Vuelta a España again on Friday's stage 13, blocking the breakaway at the foot of the final climb, the Angliru.

As the breakaway approached the brutal final climb, a group with Palestine and anti-fascist flags stood in the road, forcing the lead car and the riders to stop. Police on bikes and on foot managed to clear the protestors, allowing the trio and the peloton to pass through.

The three, Bob Jungels (Ineos Grenadiers), Nicolas Vinokourov (XDS Astana) and Jefferson Cepada (Movistar) were all delayed as a result, with their lead over the bunch cut, although they were always likely to be caught on the vertiginous Angliru.

Protests have become a threat to the race and the safety of riders, with the presence of Israel-Premier Tech the main focus of activists, but their actions have interrupted the event consistently.

It follows a week of incidents at the race, with Wednesday's stage 11 shortened in Bilbao, with no win awarded. The day before, a rider crashed after protestors ran onto the road, with police unable to hold them back, while on stage five a group blocked Israel-Premier Tech's team time trial.

There were protests at the start, in Cabezón de la Sal, although the race was not interrupted. It was announced earlier on Friday that the government of the autonomous community of Asturias, where stage 13 finishes and stage 14 begins, would not be present at the race due to Israel-Premier Tech's presence.

Spain's Foreign Minister also said he supports Israel-Premier Tech leaving the Vuelta, although the team have maintained they're staying in the race.

While the privately-owned Israel-Premier Tech has no official connection to the state, its co-owner, Sylvan Adams, has called himself a "self-appointed ambassador-at-large for Israel".

Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, was the first senior European leader to accuse Israel of genocide over its actions in Gaza. More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's invasion of Gaza in response to the October 7 terrorist attacks, in which more than 1,200 people died.

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