Tom Pidcock told protestors that “putting us in danger isn’t going to help your cause”, as pro-Palestine protests disrupted the finish to stage 11 of the Vuelta a Espana in Bilbao.
There was no official stage winner, with the overall times neutralised from the 3km to go mark and the finish line relocated from its original location as protestors massed behind the barriers and riot police were called in.
The stage, a hilly 157km route starting and beginning in Bilbao, was hampered from the off. Protestors blocked the road during the neutralised roll-out and meetings were held between the riders, race organisers, the riders’ union the CPA, and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), cycling’s governing body.
Stage 11 continued as planned but people waving Palestine flags threw paper onto the road as riders crossed the finish line for the first time, while protestors carrying a banner then invaded the road on the Alto del Vivero climb, forcing riders to duck out of the way.
The race organisers made the decision with around 16km to go to neutralise the general classification times 3km from the planned finish and to divert the riders away from it.
Pidcock, who moved up to third place in the general classification and was in pole position to win had the stage continued, said: “It’s hard to describe the disappointment to be honest, I felt like today was my day. I feel like there should always be a finish line, we’re not riding a f***ing sportif, are we.”
Asked why he continued towards the finish line, he said: “I was just doing a Tom Pidcock thing – I knew the finish line was at 3k, I just didn’t know when 3k was.
“It’s not easy, I think the Vuelta, the organisation did what they could to keep us safe. I don’t want to say anything political, I’m going to get in trouble.
“I think a lot of people have held back from talking about it publicly but it is a bit scary sometimes in the peloton. I think as long as our safety is first and we can continue racing, that’s what we’re here to do. My racing’s got nothing to do with what’s happening…” he trailed off.
Asked what he would say to the protestors, Pidcock said: “Putting us in danger isn’t going to help your cause. They’ve got the right to protest about whatever they want but putting us in danger is not the way forward.”
Similar protests have dogged the race so far. Israel Premier-Tech’s team time trial was disrupted on stage five when the road was blocked by protestors carrying a banner, while Intermarché-Wanty’s Simone Petilli crashed on Tuesday’s stage 10 as a result of spectators running onto the road, with police unable to hold them back.
Petilli later posted on social media, writing: “I understand that is not a good situation, but yesterday I crashed because of a protest on the road. Please, we are just cyclists and we are doing our job, but if it will continue like this our safety is not guaranteed anymore, and we feel in danger! We just want to race! Please.”
Various reports suggested some teams had requested the Israel Premier-Tech team withdraw from the race in the build-up to stage 11 due to concerns over rider safety. The team is not officially affiliated with the state of Israel, but its owner, Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams, is a vocal supporterof the country.
Stage 11 had been billed as a Classics-style, full-throttle day of racing, with multiple short, sharp climbs dotting the route and providing the red jersey hopefuls another serious test.
Ultimately that did not happen, but there was still movement in the overall standings as Pidcock and Jonas Vingegaard gained time on Joao Almeida, with the Briton moving up to third.
Pidcock underlined his credentials as a serious contender for the podium in Madrid by attacking on the lower slopes of the 2.3km Alto de Pike, the final climb of the stage, which averages 8.9%.
He initially rode away from race leader Jonas Vingegaard before the Dane managed to latch back on, but he distanced him again on the bruising 16% upper slopes and crested the top alone. “I had to let him go there,” Vingegaard admitted afterwards. “I’m not sure Tom knew there wasn’t going to be any stage winner!”
The Briton, who has impressed throughout this race so far, picked up six bonus seconds to the Dane’s four over the top.
Vingegaard managed to bridge across on the start of the descent, with the pair working together to put more time into their general classification rivals including Almeida, and holding off a four-man chasing group for the remaining 5km of the shortened stage.
