The Vuelta a España organisers have cut 5km from the route of the race’s final stage into Madrid on Sunday, reducing its length to 103.6km by removing a section through the suburb of Aravaca.
Contacted by Spanish daily El País, the organisers said that the route change had been made as a result of the loss of a race sponsor. However, the same newspaper reported on Thursday that a major pro-Palestinian protest was being planned in Aravaca for the final stage, with demand for Palestinian flags said to be so high that supplies had been exhausted and locals were adapting the similar-looking flag of the Spanish province of Extremadura for Sunday’s demonstration of support.
