There was no stage winner on stage 11 of the Vuelta a Espana on Wednesday, after race organisers ordered the race to finish three kilometres from the line due to pro-Palestinian protesters causing disruption at the finish in Bilbao.
"Due to some incidents at the finish line, we have decided to take the time at three kilometres before the line," was the announcement made by the race director on Radio Vuelta.
"We won't have a stage winner. We will give the points for the mountain classification and the intermediate sprint, but not on the finish line."
The 157.4km stage which began and ended in Bilbao was into the final 20 kilometres when the announcement came, while the main general classification riders were battling it out ahead of the peloton.
Race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Britain's Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) broke away from their rivals in the final kilometres to come to the premature finish first.
Before the stage, the Professional Cyclists' Association (CPA) had called for better security at the Vuelta after a number of incidents involving protesters had already brought concern over rider safety, with the Israel-Premier Tech team the main target.
