After stage 16 of the Vuelta a España was shortened due to protests, Visma-Lease a Bike CEO Richard Plugge has called on the race organisers to ‘do everything possible’ to secure the race as it heads towards its final days,
Race leader and Visma-Lease a Bike team leader Jonas Vingegaard said it was ‘a shame that it has to happen here and in this way and that we can’t finish the race.”
Vingegaard leads the Vuelta, with Visma-Lease a Bike battling with UAE Team Emirates-XRG and João Almeida for overall victory.
It is the second time a stage has had to shortened, with the stage 11 finish neutralised. There have also been rider crashes as a result of protests, with Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Wanty) falling heavily after a demonstrator ran into the road on stage 10. While he has been able to continue racing Javier Romo (Movistar), who fell after reacting to the sudden emergence of the protestors roadside, has abandoned.
“It is really unfortunate that this decision once again had to be taken to guarantee the riders’ safety,” Plugge said in a team statement.
Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) claimed stage 16 from the break and it was a GC stalemate among the very top riders, with Vingegaard holding his 48 second gap to João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) with Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) maintaining third ahead of Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).
“Everyone has a right to protest, but it’s a shame that it has to happen here and in this way and that we can’t finish the race,” said Vingegaard.
“That should not happen. The team…
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