{"id":135768,"date":"2025-09-11T09:05:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T09:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/135768\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T09:05:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T09:05:08","slug":"more-farce-than-grand-tour-cycling-fans-call-for-vuelta-a-espana-to-be-cancelled-after-crucial-time-trial-cut-in-half-over-safety-concerns-amid-palestine-protests-more-on-the-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/135768\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMore farce than grand tour\u201d? Cycling fans call for Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a to be cancelled after crucial time trial cut in half over safety concerns amid Palestine protests + more on the live blog"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Vuelta just can\u2019t catch a break, can it?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a disastrous few weeks on the road for the Spanish grand tour, as a series of pro-Palestine protests, targeting Israel-Premier Tech\u2019s ongoing involvement in cycling, have left the race in chaos and teetering on the edge of collapse.<\/p>\n

During stage five\u2019s team time trial, the Vuelta\u2019s first day back in Spain after starting in Italy, protesters stood on the road as the Israel-Premier Tech squad approached<\/a>, forcing several riders to stop.<\/p>\n

In Bilbao, a rowdy demonstration at the finish line of stage 11 forced the organisers to stop the race with 3km to go<\/a>, with no winner awarded, while similarly chaotic scenes on stage 16\u2019s final climb in Galicia led to another abrupt early ending<\/a> (though this time, at least, Egan Bernal was able to claim the victory).<\/p>\n

Following this series of protests, the riders held a vote yesterday morning, telling the organisers they will stop racing \u2013 and potentially quit the Vuelta altogether<\/a> \u2013 if the demonstrations continue to disrupt the racing and potentially impact their safety.<\/p>\n

\"Pro-Palestine<\/p>\n

[Zac Williams\/SWpix.com]<\/p>\n

And last night, piling on the misery for an event mired in controversy, the Vuelta\u2019s organisers announced that this afternoon\u2019s potentially race-deciding time trial in Valladolid will be shortened considerably, due to safety concerns about expected protests in the city.<\/p>\n

According to a report in L\u2019\u00c9quipe<\/a>, additional security measures were already being put in place for the time trial \u2013 where red jersey Jonas Vingegaard will be aiming to defend his 50-second lead over Jo\u00e3o Almeida \u2013 with 300 uniformed and plain clothes police officers, and 150 security guards, set to be deployed.<\/p>\n

However, that extra security still doesn\u2019t seem to be enough to ensure the TT goes ahead safely. Last night, the Vuelta confirmed that today\u2019s race against the clock will be cut to just 12.2km \u2013 a full 15km shorter than the originally scheduled 27.2km route.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the aim of ensuring greater protection for the stage, the organisers of La Vuelta, in coordination with Valladolid City Council and following consultation with the College of Commissaires, have decided that tomorrow’s time trial will be contested over a 12.2-kilometre route with the start and finish remaining as originally planned,\u201d the organisers said in a statement.<\/p>\n

And, with today\u2019s time trial in Valladolid expected to play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the red jersey, it\u2019s fair to say fans aren\u2019t happy with the latest disruption to a Vuelta that descended into chaos, and became little to do with actual bike racing, long ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust cancel the race. Without the mountain finishes or a real TT, this is no longer a grand tour,\u201d said Peter Lewin on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, finish this race,\u201d agreed Arthur. \u201cIt is the worst grand tour of all time, courtesy of the UCI and their failure to [make] IPT to leave the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

>\u00a0“People do it for a reason, it’s horrible what’s happening”: Jonas Vingegaard defends Vuelta’s pro-Palestine protests, after latest crash caused by demonstration<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Jens was one of many to point out that the shorter 12km distance will skew the GC battle, writing: \u201cSo now it has absolutely no influence on the GC. La Vuelta is kind of done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not even a club 10 \u2013 it\u2019s a farce in a grand tour,\u201d said RM, while Tom Michalak added: \u201cI\u2019m over watching a race with no actual finishes.\u201d<\/p>\n

And one disgruntled Spanish fan said: \u201cWhat a mess of a Vuelta… what an image for the world. Light years away from the Tour and Giro.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you agree with IPT\u2019s continued participation or not, it\u2019s clear this Vuelta is more farce than Grand Tour,\u201d added cycling writer Peter Cossins.<\/p>\n

And GCN presenter Dan Lloyd said: \u201cI really feel for the Vuelta organisation. At this point, I\u2019ve lost almost all interest in the race, and I\u2019m sure many others feel the same, but it’s not their fault at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

But hey, look on the bright side \u2013 at least Tom Pidcock has an even better chance of holding on to his podium spot now. Right?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Vuelta just can\u2019t catch a break, can it? It\u2019s been a disastrous few weeks on the road…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135769,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-135768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}