Protests against Israel took place again during Friday's stage at La Vuelta a España, in the longest stage in the race and the hardest, the climb to L'Angliru. While there were naturally a lot less protesters in the finish line at the top of the mountain in Asturias than in downtown Bilbao, where the protesters were so numerous that the race was stopped earlier, today some protesters managed to block the race in the narrow mountain roads for about 30 seconds.
It happened at just 12.4 km to the finish line, at the start of the climb, affecting cyclists Cepeda (Movistar), Jungels (Ineos) y Vinokourov (Astana). They were moved by the police and the cyclists managed to continue.
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Earlier in the morning, some people protested with pots and pans in front of the city hall at Cabezón de la Sal, the town where the race started. And the government of Asturias, the region north of Spain where today's stage took place, published the following:
"The Government of Asturias urges Israel Premier Tech team to withdraw from La Vuelta. The Principality is reducing its participation as a sign of rejection: neither the president nor any member of the Governing Council will attend the Asturian stages of the competition. The vice president: 'We cannot remain impassive in the face of the massacre in Gaza.' The Executive requests that any type of protest be peaceful, not jeopardize the safety of cyclists, or impede the progress of the event."
However, Israel-Premier Tech has already said that they won't abandon the race as it would take a "dangerous precedent", and La Vuelta organisers say they cannot legally expulse the team.