There was no triumphant welcome for Egan Bernal's first Grand Tour stage victory since his almost career-ending crash in early 2022. Instead, only a handful of fans and security guards were there to watch the Ineos Grenadiers rider win on day 16 of the Vuelta a España, which finished beneath the 8km-to-go banner.
The decision was made to curtail the stage mid-race due to protests at the summit of the final climb. As has become a common sight at this year's Vuelta, pro-Palestine protestors lined the final 3km of the route, which was scheduled to finish atop the Castro de Herville in Galicia.
