Vuelta director: We will go to Madrid, there is no Plan B

The Director of the Vuelta a Espana cycle race Javier Guillen insists that the race will continue to its finish in Madrid on Sunday.

Guillen made a statement to the press after Tuesday's 16th stage had to be halted eight kilometers from the finish line after Pro-Palestine demonstrators, protesting against the presence of the Israel-Premier Tech team in the race, blocked the road, three kilometers from the finish line.

It is the second time a Vuelta stage has been stopped before the finish line, after protests in Bilbao saw the race's 11th stage halted three kilometers from the finish.

The protests look certain to continue and with five stages still to race, it is a very real possibility that other stages could also be affected, but Guillen insisted the Vuelta would continue.

"What we want now is to work toward reaching Madrid. That's what we want. There's no Plan B," he insisted, saying that although "we all want peace in Gaza, we have to move forward with the race."

"What's happening (in Gaza) is terrible, and we all want peace there. We also want to defend our sport, our race, and that's why we want to continue working," commented Guillen.

"I'm not here to fight anyone. I just want the race to happen," he added.