Sawt Falasteen - Ganna takes Vuelta stage 19 time trial victory, two protestors arrested

Race organisers said Wednesday the route was being cut down by 15 kilometres to 12.2km, after pro-Palestine protests hit several stages of cycling's third-biggest grand tour.

Police numbers were ramped up in Valladolid and two protestors were detained for trying to jump over barriers, government delegation sources told AFP.

There was a strong pro-Palestinian presence with hundreds of protestors waving flags along the route and whistling riders from Israel-Premier Tech, but racing was not affected.

During stages 11 and 16 strong protests led to the finish line being moved during the stage to protect riders.

General classification leader Jonas Vingegaard retained the red jersey but lost 10 seconds to second-place Joao Almeida, The Dane now leads overall by 40 seconds.

Ineos Grenadiers rider Ganna posted an early benchmark of 13 minutes on the dot, which few threatened until Jay Vine hit the road.

The Australian finished one second behind his Italian counterpart, with Almeida taking third on the podium.

Vingegaard came in ninth and looked exhausted at the finish.

Antonio Tiberi, usually a strong time-trialist, did not push himself to stay fresh for the days ahead to help Bahrain Victorious team-mate Torstein Traen finish in the top ten of the general classification.

Stage 19 on Friday is a flat 162km-ride from Rueda to Guijuelo, before the potentially decisive last mountain stage on Saturday.

Sunday's final stage, which ends in Madrid, is another potential security risk, with policing reinforced in the Spanish capital in preparation.

F.AbuZaid--SF-PST