5km cut from Vuelta’s Madrid finale as protesters threaten race’s final weekend

The Vuelta a España organisers have cut 5km from the route of the race’s final stage into Madrid on Sunday, reducing its length to 103.6km by removing a section through the suburb of Aravaca.

Contacted by Spanish daily El País, the organisers said that the route change had been made as a result of the loss of a race sponsor. However, the same newspaper reported on Thursday that a major pro-Palestinian protest was being planned in Aravaca for the final stage, with demand for Palestinian flags said to be so high that supplies had been exhausted and locals were adapting the similar-looking flag of the Spanish province of Extremadura for Sunday’s demonstration of support.

Close to 2,000 police and Guardia Civil officers are being drafted into the Spanish capital for Sunday’s Vuelta finale, in what’s the biggest security operation seen in Madrid since it hosted a NATO summit in 2022.

This follows a string of incidents instigated by Palestinian supporters during the race that have targeted the Israel-PremierTech team. These began on stage five when protesters blocked the team’s riders during the team time trial and subsequently resulted in several stages being shortened in order to ensure the safety of riders. In recent days, the team has dropped the word Israel from its jerseys and is now riding in monogram-branded kit in an effort to protect its riders.

To further complicate the security situation, Saturday’s mountain stage to the Bola del Mundo summit north of Madrid was under threat from two sets of protesters. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators were set to gather at three locations, including the very steep climb to the finish. Environmental groups were also planning to target this same key section of the route to protest against the race’s impact in what is a protected area of the Guadarrama National Park.

In the face of these protests, which have resulted in racers not only being hampered but in some cases being knocked from their bikes, the riders’ union, the CPA, polled its members at the Vuelta and subsequently announced that the riders would stop racing during any stage where they came under threat again. Speaking on behalf of the riders, Bahrain Victorious’s Jack Haig said: “Unfortunately, we’re being caught in the middle of ­something that maybe doesn’t really involve us. At the moment we are just the pawns in a very large chess game that is affecting us.”

Spain’s government has been one of the most vocal in condemning Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Earlier this week Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez accused the Israeli government of “exterminating a defenceless people” and “killing innocent boys and girls with hunger”.

In a statement released following the neutralisation of stage 11 into Bilbao, the Israel PremierTech team said: “Israel – Premier Tech has repeatedly expressed its respect for everyone’s right to protest, as long as those protests remain peaceful and do not compromise the safety of the peloton. The Vuelta a España race organization and police are doing everything in their power to create a safe environment and, for that, the team is especially grateful.”