info@businessghana.com
The Vuelta a Espana, the third and final three-week Grand Tour of the year, is currently taking place in Spain - but will it make it to Sunday's finish line in Madrid?
Pro-Palestinian protestors have disrupted the race on several occasions and with riders saying they are worried for their safety, there have been suggestions the competitors might quit the Vuelta before the final stage.
Asked whether the race should be ended early, the Vuelta organisers - who have had to shorten a number of stages - insisted there is "no Plan B" and that the race will continue until it reaches its conclusion in the Spanish capital.
"We are going to continue with La Vuelta," said race director Javier Guillen, who added that the disruptions were "illegal".
However, Thursday's time trial has been reduced from 27.2km to 12.2km to ensure "greater protection" for the riders.
The focus of the protests has been Israel-Premier Tech, the sponsors of a team which includes several British riders. The team changed to a kit that does not feature the team name midway through the race.
The protests come in the wake of the Israeli military launching a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 64,605 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.
Ending a Grand Tour early would be unprecedented. With just four stages remaining - including a huge, mountainous challenge on the penultimate day - the outcome of the race is still undecided.
The race across Spain has seen stages being cut short or interrupted by riders crashing as a result of the protests.
Stage 5: Half of the Israel Premier Tech team are forced to stop after ploughing into a makeshift barrier pulled across the road by protestors during the team time trial.
Stage 10: Simone Petilli of Intermarche-Wanty crashed as the peloton compressed when protestors ran into the road in the Pyrenees.
Stage 11: There was no winner declared after the stage in Bilbao ended 3km early as several protestors tried to push barriers over at the official finish line.
Stage 13: Protestors interrupted the breakaway riders before the climb up the Alto d'Angliru.
Stage 15: Spain's Javier Romo crashed after two protestors ran across the road in north west Spain's Galicia region. The Movistar rider later abandoned the race.
Stage 16: Final times were taken 8km from the official finish after a "big protest" 3km from the line.
Stage 18: Thursday's time trial was shortened and extra police and security employed.
Israel-Premier Tech have been competing in the sport since 2014
Israel-Premier Tech are a team co-owned by Canadian-Israeli property billionaire Sylvan Adams.
Adams has close ties to the Israeli government and has previously told BBC Sport he is a "self-appointed ambassador for Israel".
The 66-year-old was at the White House with US President Donald Trump during the signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel and other Emirati states, such as the UAE, in 2020.
The team was founded in 2014 as the Israel Cycling Academy before becoming a World Tour squad - the sport's top flight - in 2020.
For the 2021 season they signed British four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome on a big-money contract.
His signing failed to deliver big results, but Canadian Michael Woods won stage nine of the Tour de France in 2023, and the team's squad boasts four of Britain's best current riders - including Stephen Williams, the victor in last year's Tour of Britain.
This Vuelta has not gone well for the team, who lost their leading rider Derek Gee days before the race after he asked for his contract to be terminated because "certain issues simply made my continuation at the team untenable".
Neither Gee nor the team have given a reason, but the Canadian had previously been in negotiations to sign a new contract.
The team have instructed lawyers to dispute the cancelling of Gee's contract.
Protestors have been present all over Spain for the race
Those on the ground have put pressure on Israel-Premier Tech to leave the race, with Vuelta technical director Kiko Gonzalez saying: "There is only one solution: for the Israeli team to recognise that their presence here does not promote safety."
The team themselves have said quitting would "set a dangerous precedent for all teams".
They added that the race organisers and police are doing "everything in their power to create a safe environment".
The reality is, when you race through remote countryside as well as towns and cities across nearly 200km each day for three weeks, protests can be virtually impossible to police.
And those protests are having a significant impact on the race, and in the media.
This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.
We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.
The team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and pundits.
We will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world's biggest sporting events.
Our coverage will span the BBC Sport website, app, social media and YouTube accounts, plus BBC TV and radio.
