Protesters have brought fresh disruption to the Vuelta a Espana, with Colombian Egan Bernal winning a 16th stage which ended eight kilometres before the scheduled finish at Castro de Herville, with Jonas Vingegaard retaining the overall lead.

It was the second time a stage was cut short because of protests by pro-Palestine activists that are threatening to overshadow Spain's three-week Grand Tour race.

The latest events prompted a strong repudiation from race director Javier Guillen, who said the intention is to finish the race in Madrid on Sunday as planned and described the disruptions as illegal.

He said: "We want to clearly express our strongest rejection of what we experienced today. You cannot cut stages short, you cannot block the cyclists' path.

"It's illegal because it's defin

See Full Page