Pro-Palestine protest at finish line ends Vuelta Stage 11 without winner - WATCH

A disruption by pro-Palestine protestors on Wednesday (Sep 3) meant that Stage 11 of the Vuelta a Espana in Bilbao, Spain ended with no winner. The 157.4-kilometre stage of the event was going smoothly before last kilometres were hit by a protest and the race was ended without declaring a winner just three kilometres before the finish line. The local police tried to manage the protestors but the stage was called off in the end, leaving the participants disappointed. The next stage, Stage 12, will go ahead as planned on 144.9km stretch from Laredo to Los Corrales de Buelna.

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Pro-Palestine protest disrupts cycling race - What exactly happened

The Vuelta a Espana Stage 11 was going smoothly when the last few kilometres became chaotic. The organisers, along with local police, tried to manage the protest at the finish line before race director announced on Radio Vuelta: "Due to some incidents at the finish line, we have decided to take the time at 3 kilometres before the line. 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." Have a look at the video of the disruption below:

When did the protest begin

The protest did not start suddenly but early in the race when the participants were stopped in the neutral zone after the protestors gathered on the road carrying a banner for their cause. The Police moved them to side before the race could start again. Towards the end of the stage, protestors managed to pull a banner in front of a peloton and waived Palestinian flags all along the route.

A total of three people were arrested in the aftermath of the incident and another five have been identified. Four members of regional police were also injured during the unfortunate event.