Author: Reuters

• Organisers cancel stage and declare Vingegaard winner

• Protesters threw barricades into the street on Gran Vía

The final stage of the Vuelta a España was abandoned in chaotic and violent scenes, after groups of pro-Palestine protesters swamped the finish line area and presentation podium in central Madrid on Sunday.

As huge crowds engulfed the finish area, the race leader Jonas Vingegaard, his Visma Lease-a-bike team and the rest of the peloton were forced to turn back from the city centre, with more than 55km still to race on stage 21. In an official statement, the Vuelta organisers said: “For security reasons, stage 21 of La Vuelta has been ended early. There will be no podium ceremony.”

• Belgian rider wins his third stage of 2025 race

• Jonas Vingegaard adds four seconds to overall lead

Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen sprinted clear at the end of stage 19 to seal his third win at this year’s Vuelta a España on Friday while Jonas Vingegaard added four seconds to his overall advantage over Joño Almeida.

After 160km of relatively flat riding in west central Spain, Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Philipsen burst to the front near the finish and never looked like being caught. Denmark’s Mads Pedersen was the first to make his move but could not hold off Philipsen and he crossed the line in second place with Venezuela’s Orluis Aular third.

• Italian wins 12.2km time trial with time of 13 minutes

• Almeida closes gap on overall leader Vingegaard

Filippo Ganna tore through the final third of Thursday’s shortened individual time trial to win stage 18 of the Vuelta a España in Valladolid, and third-placed João Almeida gained 10 seconds on the overall leader, Jonas Vingegaard.

Ganna, the Italian time-trial specialist, repeated his success of two years ago in the same city but had an agonisingly long wait after the Ineos Grenadiers rider was fifth out of the gate, setting a time of 13 minutes.

• Colombian outsprints Landa; Vingegaard retains lead

• Stage shortened by 8km after protesters blocked road

Pro-Palestinian protesters continue to disrupt the Vuelta a España, with stage 16 ending on Tuesday 8km before the scheduled finish at ­Castro de ­Herville because of protests close to the line. The Colombian rider Egan Bernal won the stage, with Jonas Vingegaard retaining the overall race lead.

“We have a big protest at three kilometres before the line. We will decide the stage winner and take times at eight kilometres before the line,” the race directors announced on Radio Vuelta.

• Colombian outsprints Landa; Vingegaard retains lead

• Stage shortened by 8km after protesters blocked road

Pro-Palestinian protesters continue to disrupt the Vuelta a España, with stage 16 ending on Tuesday 8km before the scheduled finish at ­Castro de ­Herville because of protests close to the line. The Colombian rider Egan Bernal won the stage, with Jonas Vingegaard retaining the overall race lead.

“We have a big protest at three kilometres before the line. We will decide the stage winner and take times at eight kilometres before the line,” the race directors announced on Radio Vuelta.

• Belgian wins in photo finish to keep sprint leader’s jersey

• Vingegaard retains 48-second lead over Almeida

The Belgian cyclist Mads Pedersen sprinted to victory in stage 15 of the Vuelta a España on Sunday as Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard retained the overall lead in the 167.8km ride from Vegadeo.

Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), the points classification leader, attacked in the last two kilometres, beating Orluis Aular (Movistar) and Marco Frigo (Israel Premier Tech) in a photo finish at Monforte de Lemos.

• Wednesday’s stage disrupted by pro-Palestinians

• Team to wear monogram-branded kit for rest of race

The Israel-Premier Tech team have removed their full name from riders’ jerseys for the rest of the Vuelta a España after pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted the finish on stage 11 on Wednesday.

The stage ended without a winner after organisers decided to take the time at three kilometres before the line as police struggled to contain hundreds of Palestinian flag-waving protesters in Bilbao. The Israel-Premier Tech team were also stopped on the road by a group holding Palestinian flags during last week’s team time trial in Figueres.