Route amended and sprint safety zone increased on Vuelta's stage 21
The Vuelta a España's race jury has announced an extension of the sprint safety zone for stage 21, moving it from 3 km to span the entire final lap, which means 5.8-km-to-go will be the start of the safety zone for GC riders.
The stage has also been reduced to 103.6 km after a five-kilometre stretch was cut to avoid a major pro-Palestinian protest in Aravaca, which the race was due to pass through about 40 km into the stage.
This comes at the end of a race that has seen far greater pressure on the management of external factors, protests being a near-daily occurrence in the second half of the Spanish Grand Tour. There was even talk by the second rest day of the race never reaching Madrid where further protests are expected, but the race has been able to continue, as almost 2,000 police and Guardia Civil officers have been drafted in for the Madrid finale.
