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An individual clutching a Palestine flag caused a crash on stage 15.<\/a> The team time trial on stage five was also disrupted when the Israel-Premier Tech team, owned by Israeli-Canadian businessman Sylvan Adams, were stopped on the road <\/a>by a group of protesters holding Palestinian flags.<\/p>\n Tuesday’s stage 16 ended eight kilometres before the scheduled finish, while several other stages of this year’s race including stage 11 – which was shortened without a winner – have suffered the same issues.<\/a><\/p>\n Prior to Wednesday’s stage, riders in the peloton voted to neutralise the stage in the event of a disruption, rather than race to an undefined finish, which has been a feature on days disrupted by protests on the Grand Tour this year.<\/p>\n Vuelta organisers announced later on Wednesday the individual time trial in Valladolid on Thursday’s 18th stage will be reduced from 27.2km to a 12.2km route, with the same start and finish as originally planned, to ensure “greater protection” for the stage.<\/p>\n In an interview with news agency Reuters, the vice-president of the rider’s union Pascal Chanteur said they could decide to quit the race altogether because of safety concerns if there are further incidents.<\/p>\n “The riders voted by a majority to stop in case of a new problem. They will then decide whether to continue or to end the event,” said Chanteur.<\/p>\n Bahrain Victorious rider Jack Haig, added: “Unfortunately we’re being caught in the middle of something that maybe doesn’t even really involve us. <\/p>\n “At the moment we are kind of just the pawns in a very large chess game that unfortunately is affecting us.”<\/p>\n The race finishes in Madrid on Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n