Vuelta final stage abandoned due to pro-Palestinian protest, Vingegaard crowned

MADRID (AFP) – The final stage of the Vuelta a Espana was abandoned on Sunday because of huge pro-Palestinian protests in Madrid, with Jonas Vingegaard crowned champion for the first time.

Thousands of protestors gathered in the Spanish capital, invading the course where the race was due to pass in the centre of Madrid, AFP journalists witnessed.

On Gran Via, where cyclists needed to complete several loops, protestors knocked down barriers and marched into the road, some chanting for a boycott of Israel as green and red smoke filled the air.

Riders, around 56 kilometres from the finish of the race, came to a halt before the Vuelta was abandoned, with two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard in the leader's red jersey, 1min 16sec ahead of second-placed Joao Almeida ahead of the ceremonial final stage.

Organisers said there would be no podium presentation as is traditional at the end of the race to celebrate the winners.

Near Atocha, Madrid's central train station, police charged demonstrators and fired tear gas, but then let them walk into the road with the race soon called off.

The decision to abandon the stage was celebrated by protestors, who chanted that "Palestine won the Vuelta".

Various stages of the Vuelta had been shortened because of protests, largely against the Israel-Premier Tech team's participation.

The protests had also led to moments of tension in the three-week grand tour, including crashes, with some cyclists saying they felt unsafe.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said before racing began on Sunday that the protests had filled him with "pride".

Several members of Spain's leftist government have publicly supported the movement in a country where backing for the Palestinian cause is strong.

Spain's far-left Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz said on Instagram Israel "cannot compete in any event while it continues to commit a genocide" after the race was stopped.

"Spanish society has given a lesson to the world (by) paralysing the Vuelta," Diaz added, days after the Israeli government barred her from entry for her criticism of their war in Gaza.

The leader of Spain's conservative opposition, Popular Party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo, slammed the government for causing an "international embarrassment televised worldwide" because of the chaotic protests.

PROTESTS WIN OUT

Authorities ramped up security for the final stage in Madrid but could not stop the race from being abandoned.

Protestors chanted: "It's not a war, it's a genocide", and "no more killing innocent children".

"When Russia invaded Ukraine (in 2022) they quickly removed them from all international competitions... why does Israel have impunity?" said retired university professor, Jose Luis Fernandez, one of the protestors.

"The majority of the Spanish people do not accept what is happening in Gaza... look, there are people of all ages, very young, very old, this is a popular sentiment in Spain," continued the 74-year-old.

Riders started the already-shortened 104-kilometre stretch from Alalpardo to Madrid in a relaxed way, taking turns to group at the front of the peloton with their team-mates in celebratory fashion as the gruelling race drew towards its planned close.

Visma-Lease a bike rider Vingegaard battled illness in the second week of the race but it had cleared up by the time of his solo charge up to the finish line on the Bola del Mundo mountain on Saturday which effectively sealed his victory.

Behind him, Portugal's Almeida and Briton Tom Pidcock secured their best ever grand tour finishes in second and third, respectively.

Protestors attempted to block the road on Saturday in the penultimate stage, a sign of what was to follow on Sunday.

"History will judge us in Europe for consenting to how far the war has gone... it's not a war, it's murder," said Pruden Saugar Lopez, a 60-year-old forest firefighter protesting. "History will judge us severely."

Israel launched its Gaza offensive in October 2023 in retaliation for an unprecedented cross-border attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

Israel's bombardment has killed at least 64,700 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations says are reliable.