Spanish police arrest four people suspected of planned Vuelta a España sabotage

The Spanish national police service have arrested four people who were planning to drop 400 litres of unidentified oil on the road during stage 3 of the Vuelta a España.

In a video posted to the Policía Nacional Twitter account, officers are shown dismantling a set-up of drums and tubes that had been placed on a bridge above the stage 3 route from Súria to Andorra.

“With this system they intended to sabotage yesterday's stage of #LaVuelta23,” the Tweet alongside the video read.

“Two drums with 400 litres of liquid that they intended to throw on the road as the peloton passed. Four people arrested red-handed in Lleida.”

The video also shows four people being led into what appears to be the police headquarters in Lleida, just west of the stage start in Súria.

A separate statement from the police, reported by Reuters, said that the liquid was “similar to motor oil”. Reuters also reported that a “police source” said the individuals were members of a Catalan independence group.

The four people were reportedly released and ordered to stay 500m away from the race, and are being investigated for “crimes against road safety, the environment, being part of a criminal group and public disorder”.

Had it not been stopped, this would have been the second incidence of sabotage to befall this Vuelta a España, after drawing pins were thrown on the road during stage 2, causing several riders to puncture.

These incidents are separate from the less deliberate dramas that have surrounded the start of the race, from poor weather and visibility during the stage 1 time trial, heavy rain and a neutralisation on stage 2, and Remco Evenepoel’s post-win crash in the congested finish zone of stage 3.

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Vuelta a España

• Dates 26 Aug - 17 Sept
• Race Length 3,133 kms
• Race Category Elite Men