Spanish police reported on Tuesday that they had arrested four people, identified as catalan independentistaswho tried to sabotage the Back to Spain pouring oil on a road where cyclists passed.
The four suspects were detained in a wooded area near the town of Suria (Catalonia, northeast), when they were preparing to spill 400 liters of a liquid “similar to motor oil” on the road where the “cycling squad would pass during Monday’s stage,” said a statement from the National Police.
The two drums containing the liquid and the hose they would use to pour the liquid were hidden “among the vegetation, making it difficult to detect,” police said.
The third stage of the Back to Spain at the top of Arinsal, which the Belgian won Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), included the passage through that place.
The four men are catalan independentistasaccording to the separatist platform Solidarity Alertwhich rejected the passage of the Vuelta through the region, which in 2017 experienced a failed attempt to secede from Spainby crossing out the sporting event of “colonialist”.
The detainees are accused of crimes of belonging to a criminal group, public disorder, against road safety and against the environmentaccording to the police.
The four were presented on Monday before a court in the town of solsonawhich ordered their release but prohibited them from coming closer than 500 meters from roads used by the Back to Spain on his way through Cataloniainformed the press his lawyer, Eva Pous.
Next to Tour de France and Giro d’Italiathe Back to Spain It is one of the most prestigious cycling events.
The 78th edition is currently taking place, which will culminate on September 17 in Madrid.
Source: Ambito
