Cycling: the start of the Tour of Andalusia postponed due to farmers' protests

Les agriculteurs espagnols manifestent depuis maintenant deux semaines. MAXPPP – Rafa Del Barrio

Les manifestations des agriculteurs qui perturbent l'Espagne depuis plusieurs jours ont empêché la tenue de la première étape du Tour d'Andalousie. 

The first stage of the Tour of Andalusia was canceled and the start of the event postponed due to the "lack of personnel" police, mobilized by the farmers' demonstrations which continue in Spain, declared the organizers of the event in a press release on Wednesday.

"The reason for the suspension is the lack of coverage, the lack of members of the Guardia Civil, who had to go to their various detachments" , announced the general director of the Vuelta a Andalucia, Joaquin Cuevas.

The organization plans to meet with the technical committee and the teams to "see what will happen in the coming days" , added the race director.

Road and infrastructure blockages

The competition was to begin on Wednesday in Almunecar and end on Sunday in La Linea de la Concepcion, near Gibraltar, with riders like the Spaniard Juan Ayuso (UAE) or the Colombian Santiago Buitrago ( Bahrain) as main headliners.

Spanish farmers enter their second week of demonstrations this Wednesday, increasing road and infrastructure blockages to denounce the difficulties plaguing the sector, like their European colleagues.

A dozen roads were blocked Wednesday morning in different regions of the country, including Andalusia, according to the General Directorate of Traffic.