Bernal wins Vuelta stage 16 as protesters again cause premature finish

Pro-Palestinian protesters continue to disrupt the Vuelta a Espana, with Colombian Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) winning stage 16 on Tuesday which ended 8km before the scheduled finish at Castro de Herville, with Jonas Vingegaard retaining the overall 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.

The race had entered the final 15 km, with Bernal and Spain's Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) out in front, and the Colombian won the sprint to the new finish line, with Brieuc Rolland (Groupama-FDJ) coming in third.

A large group of protesters, waving Palestinian flags, had completely blocked the road on the ascent to the line, and the finish was moved to the foot of the climb, on the 167.9 km ride from Poio to Mos.Castro de Herville.

Landa and Bernal were part of a 17-man breakaway group early in the stage, and the pair had dropped everyone else by the time the announcement came, and Bernal, a former Tour de France and Giro d'Italia winner, claimed his first Vuelta stage win.

The peloton had been content to allow the riders up ahead to stay away, but on the penultimate climb the main bunch began to split, with the general classification contenders forming their own group.

Vingegaard, who suffered a puncture and needed to take one of his teammates bicycles, came in 15th, almost six minutes behind the stage winner, with the Dane's GC rivals alongside him.

The pre-race favourite remains 48 seconds ahead of Portugal's Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates XRG) with Britain's Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) third overall, over two and a half minutes down on the red jersey.

Previously there