The eighteenth stage of the Vuelta a España, an individual time trial of 27.2 kilometers, will be heavily shortened to guarantee rider safety. The organization of the Vuelta a España announced this on Wednesday evening. From the original distance around Valladolid, only 12.2 kilometers remain.
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Time trial specialists who had set their sights on stage 18 will be disappointed, because a substantial and especially flat 27-kilometer test is being cut by 15 kilometers. Of course, this is all connected to the ongoing pro-Palestinian protests in this Tour of Spain.
To better secure the stage, the organizers of the Vuelta, in cooperation with the city of Valladolid, decided to stage the time trial on a 12.2-kilometer course. The start and finish will take place at the originally planned locations. What the exact route around Valladolid will look like was still unknown on Wednesday evening.
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Much lighter climbers at the top of the general classification will not mind the news of a shorter time trial. Specialists Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) and João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) will still struggle to put the explosive Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) and Red Bull duo Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari behind them.
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'.