Vuelta: David Gaudu loses red jersey, fifth stage disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters

Life in red lasted twenty-four hours for David Gaudu. The French rider, leader of the Vuelta a España general classification since Tuesday, August 26, relinquished the race leader's jersey to Jonas Vingegaard on Wednesday, after the ^fifth stage, a 24.1-kilometer team time trial around Figueras (Spain), won by the UAE Emirates team.

Led by Spaniard Juan Ayuso and Portuguese Joao Almeida, the Emirati team set the fastest time in 25 minutes 26 seconds, just 8 seconds ahead of Vingegaard's Visma Lease a Bike. Gaudu's Groupama-FDJ finished ^9th , 24 seconds behind the day's winners. "I'm proud to have worn this jersey," Gaudu told Eurosport after his effort. "It only lasted 24 hours, but it's one of the best moments of my career."

The French rider remains in ^6th place in the general classification, 16 seconds behind the Dane, runner-up to Tadej Pogacar in the last Tour de France. Respectively in ^2nd and ^3rd , Ayuso and Almeida are 8 seconds behind Vingegaard, as is their Spanish teammate Marc Soler ( ^4th ). The Italian Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) is ^5th , 9 seconds behind.

This team time trial was also marked by the appearance of pro-Palestinian protesters on the course, who attempted to block the riders of the Israel-Premier Tech team. Several individuals carrying Palestinian banners and flags blocked the path of the riders of the Israeli team, created by Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams.

In a video of the scene circulating on social media, three people can be seen holding a banner reading "Neutrality is complicity, Boycott Israel" in Catalan, before being pushed off the road by members of the organization on motorcycles. Some riders were forced to slow down to avoid an accident, but no falls were reported.

Other similar incidents targeting this team took place in July during the Tour de France, where a pro-Palestinian activist disrupted the finish of the stage in Toulouse.