Up to this point, cycling fans were already beginning to wonder if this year’s Vuelta a España was cursed. Seemingly everything that could go wrong has, from the terrible weather, TTT finishing in the dark, race referees having to resort to using a fan’s video to figure out which racer actually crossed the line first, buses crashing into trees, and then there was Evenepoel crashing into people immediately after crossing the finish line and cutting his forehead open.
It can’t get much worse, right?
Well, thanks to the Spanish National Police, it didn’t get a lot worse yesterday.
The video posted to Twitter by Policía Nacional shows the remains of an oily trap Wile E. Coyote would have been proud of. According to the police, there were two barrels holding approximately 400 liters of oil (~200 liters each) that were rigged up to a hose system aimed at the road from an overpass. The plan was apparently to spray the road and the incoming peloton as they passed through the area.
But also like Mr. Coyote, the criminal’s plans failed to produce the desired effect as police were able to break up the operation before a drop was spilled. For more details, check out the press release on ‘Operation Splendor’ below.
Maybe now the race can finish without incident?
Press Release
The National Police arrests four people accused of trying to sabotage La Vuelta as it passes through the province of Lleida
Those arrested were surprised when they tried to activate a mechanism with which they intended to spill about 400 liters of liquid, similar to motor oil, on the road to the passage of the cyclist platoon during the stage on Monday, August 28, between the towns of Suria (Barcelona) and Arinsal (Andorra)
08/29/23
National Police agents arrested four people on Saturday who were surprised when, allegedly, they intended to sabotage the Vuelta Ciclista a España 2023 as it passed through the Ilerdense region of Solsonès
Specifically, the agents surprised the detainees in a wooded area of the Ilerdense region of Solsonès at the moment when they were preparing to activate an ingenuity with which hundreds of liters of liquid would be spilled at the passage of the peloton of the Vuelta Ciclista a España 2023 in its stage this Monday, August 28, between the towns of Suria (Barcelona) and Arinsal (Andorra).
The artifice consisted of two drums, with a capacity of 200 liters each, as well as an activation device with an electrovalves and a timer. The mechanism was hidden among the vegetation, including the hose that was going to pour the liquid and that extended to the aforementioned road, making it difficult to detect. The localized liquid, similar to motor oil, is pending analysis by Scientific Police specialists to determine its final composition.
The investigation has been carried out by agents of the General Information Commissariat and the Provincial Information Brigade of Barcelona, under the direction of the Court of First Instance and Instruction of Solsona (Lleida). Specialists from the General Commissariat of Scientific Police and the Superior Police Headquarters of Catalonia have also participated in the final operation.
The agents have found that those arrested adopted numerous security measures to prevent their detection and surveillance. At the time of their arrest, no one was carrying a mobile phone and they had used secondary paths – of complex passability – to reach the point where they had installed the mechanism.
The detainees were placed this Monday at the disposal of the head of the Court of First Instance and Instruction of Solsona (Lleida). The proceedings have been declared secret and those arrested are charged with the crimes of belonging to a criminal group, public disorder, against road safety and against the environment.
