Vuelta final stage abandoned due to protest, Vingegaard crowned champion

The final stage of the Vuelta a Espana was abandoned on Sunday because of huge pro-Palestinian protests in Madrid, with Jonas Vingegaard crowned champion for the first time.

Thousands of protestors gathered in the Spanish capital, invading the course where the race was due to pass in the centre of Madrid, AFP journalists witnessed.

On Gran Via, where cyclists were due to pass multiple times, protestors knocked down barriers and marched into the road, some chanting for a boycott of Israel as green and red smoke filled the air.

Riders, around 56 kilometres from the finish of the race, came to a halt before the Vuelta was abandoned, with two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard in the leader's red jersey, 1min 16sec ahead of second placed Joao Almeida ahead of the ceremonial final stage.

Organisers said there would be no podium presentation as is traditional at the end of the race to celebrate the winners.

Near Atocha, Madrid's central train station, police charged demonstrators and fired tear gas, but then let them walk into the road with the race soon called off.

The decision to abandon the stage was celebrated by protestors, who chanted that "Palestine won the Vuelta".

Various stages of the Vuelta had been shortened because of protests, largely against the Israel-Premier Tech team's participation.

The protests had also led to moments of tension in the three-week grand tour, including crashes.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said before racing began on Sunday that the protests had filled him with "pride".

Several members of Spain's leftist government have publicly supported the movement in a country where backing for the Palestinian cause is strong.

PROTESTS WIN OUT

Authorities ramped up security for the final stage in Madrid ahead of the expected large protests but could not stop the race from being abandoned.

Protestors chanted: "It's not a war, it's a genocide", and "no more killing innocent children".

Riders started the already-shortened 104-kilometre stretch from Alalpardo to Madrid in a relaxed way, taking turns to group at the front of the peloton with their teammates in celebratory fashion as the gruelling race drew towards its planned close.

Dane Vingegaard battled illness in the second week of the race but it had cleared up by the time of his solo charge up to the finish line on the Bola del Mundo mountain on Saturday which effectively sealed his victory.

Behind him, Portugal's Almeida and Briton Tom Pidcock secured their best ever grand tour finishes in second and third respectively.

On Saturday, protesters briefly breached reinforced security and attempted to block the road during the penultimate stage in the Guadarrama mountains, forcing cyclists to swerve around them. It was a sign of what was to follow on Sunday.

Israel launched its Gaza offensive in October 2023 in retaliation for an unprecedented cross-border attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which resulted in the deaths of 1 219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

Israel's bombardment has killed at least 64 700 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations says are reliable.