CYCLING – There was no winner on stage 11 of the Vuelta a Espana yesterday, after organisers ordered the race to finish three kilometres from the line due to pro-Palestinian protesters causing disruption at the finish in Bilbao.
“Due to some incidents at the finish line, we have decided to take the time at three kilometres before the line,” was the announcement made by the race director on Radio Vuelta. “We won’t have a stage winner. We will give the points for the mountain classification and the intermediate sprint, but not on the finish line.”
Disruptions began early when the race was stopped in the neutral zone after protesters gathered on the road before they were ushered to the side by police.
The 157.4km stage which began and ended in Bilbao was into the final 20 kilometres when the announcement came, while the main general classification riders were battling it out ahead of the peloton.
Race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Britain’s Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) broke away from their rivals in the final kilometres to come to the premature finish first.
Vingegaard moved further clear in the GC and has a 50-second lead over Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) while Pidcock moved into third spot, a further six seconds back, with one-time leader Torstein Traeen (Bahrain Victorious) dropping to fourth.
Pidcock made his move on the final climb, Alto de Pike, and Vingegaard was the only rider able to go with him, leaving Almeida, who began the day third overall and 38 seconds off the leader, trailing.
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