\n<\/p>\n
Jonas Vingegaard closed in on his first Vuelta a Espana title as he powered to victory in stage 20 while Britain’s Tom Pidcock tightened his grip on a first Grand Tour podium finish.<\/b><\/p>\n
Denmark’s Vingegaard, 28, sped away in the final kilometre on the gruelling climb up the Bola del Mundo mountain to finish 11 seconds in front of team-mate Sepp Kuss, the 2023 winner.<\/p>\n
Victory for Vingegaard extends his general classification lead over Portugal’s Joao Almeida to one minute and 16 seconds before Sunday’s ceremonial final stage in Madrid.<\/p>\n
Pidcock, 26, finished fourth. It means that in the overall standings, he is 30 seconds in front of fourth-placed Jai Hindley, all but ensuring his place on Sunday’s podium.<\/p>\n
It is a mark of success for the Olympic and former world mountain bike champion in his first Grand Tour where he has prioritised the general classification over stage wins.<\/p>\n
“I’m pretty proud of myself. It’s definitely the biggest performance of my career,” said Pidcock. <\/p>\n
“It’s maybe not the biggest win – others are more special – but I’m exhausted, to be honest, and I can’t really find any words.”<\/p>\n
Earlier in the race, Pro-Palestinian protesters attempted to block the road around 20 kilometres from the finish.<\/p>\n
Cyclists were quickly diverted around a group of about 50 protesters and the race was able to continue without significant disruption.<\/p>\n
Race organisers had announced the the 21st and final stage of the Vuelta would be shortened from 111.6km to 103.6km.<\/p>\n
Organisers did not specify a reason for the section removed, which would have crossed the plush Madrid neighbourhood of Aravaca.<\/p>\n
There have been various protests against the Israel-Premier Tech team throughout the race, forcing stages to be shortened.<\/p>\n
Riders have crashed as a result of the protests, with some saying they have been worried for their safety.<\/p>\n
Last week, Israel-Premier Tech began racing in modified jerseys which did not display their team name.<\/p>\n
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.<\/p>\n
At least 64,605 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n