Vuelta organization drums up hundreds of police officers to prevent potential time trial fiasco in Valladolid
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Follow us on GoogleThe Vuelta a España is having its hands full with protesters who, almost daily during this edition of the race, have been using flags, slogans, and even road-blocking actions to draw attention to the situation in Gaza. Demonstrations are expected to continue into the third and final week, including on Thursday. For the individual time trial on Stage 18, the organizers are being forced to go to great lengths to ensure safety.
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The large-scale protests have been focused throughout the Vuelta on Israel-Premier Tech, a team that the angry demonstrators believe should not be allowed to participate in the race. The team itself has stated it will never yield to such external pressure, although by the end of the second week, the word “Israel” was removed from their jerseys. It had already been absent from the team bus and cars for several months.
So far in this Vuelta, it has mostly been the peloton that has suffered from the protest actions. Only during the team time trial on Stage 5 was Israel-Premier Tech directly impacted, when protesters stood in the road as the team passed by. The riders were forced to brake hard. The organizers later awarded the team a few seconds to compensate.
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There has been a lot of police surveillance at Israel-Premier Tech throughout the Vuelta
Will Israel-Premier Tech riders face more backlash during the individual time trial?
To prevent a repeat of earlier incidents during the upcoming time trial, the Vuelta organization is pulling out all the stops. L'Équipe reports that 300 officers from the national police, both in uniform and plainclothes, along with another 150 security personnel will be present on Stage 18 in Valladolid. The start and finish take place in the city, and the 27.2-kilometer course forms a controllable loop.
“We have indications that actions are being planned which go beyond simply placing or displaying flags along the route,” said Jacinto Canales from the city of Valladolid. According to him, radical groups are active in Valladolid and neighboring provinces. “There are ways to protest without disrupting the event or putting riders in danger,” Canales stated.
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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