Overview

• Organizers took official times 8 km before Castro de Herville after activists blocked the final ascent, declaring Egan Bernal the stage winner ahead of Mikel Landa.
• Protest tactics included a felled tree across the course and scattered tacks that caused punctures, with arrests reported as authorities failed to reopen the road.
• It was the second stage altered by such actions after the Bilbao finish was shortened last week, and organizers expect attempts at further disruptions at El Morredero, the Valladolid time trial and in Madrid.
• Guillén said blocking stages violates Spain’s sports law and penal code, ruled out a plan B to the route, and noted the race cannot unilaterally exclude Israel‑Premier Tech under current regulations.
• Rider unease is growing, with leader Jonas Vingegaard saying the peloton fears what could happen, and Javi Romo quitting after an earlier protest‑related crash, as police scale up security planning for the Madrid finale.