Pro-Palestine protest disrupts Vuelta team time trial

Pro-Palestine protesters briefly blocked the course of the Vuelta a España team time trial on Wednesday, interrupting Israel Premier Tech as the squad began its 24.1 kilometer effort in Figueres and costing the team time in the general classification contest. Television footage showed about 10 demonstrators with banners and Palestinian flags standing across the road as the eight-rider team approached; police motorbikes cleared the obstruction and the riders were able to continue, but Israel Premier Tech was 47 seconds behind the provisional best time at the first checkpoint and finished roughly 45 seconds behind the stage winners.

The disruption came early in the team’s run, with several riders forced to slow or weave around the blockade and some reportedly coming to a complete stop. The team ultimately placed 19th out of the 23 squads that started the test. Race marshals and local police were seen moving to eject the protesters, and the team later lodged a request with the UCI jury to have its time adjusted because of the incident.

Israel Premier Tech’s sport director Daryl Impey described the episode as upsetting and said several riders were shaken. “It was shocking for us,”...