"I was shocked when I saw the images" - Wout van Aert left stunned by Giro d'Italia protest

The presence of Israel - Premier Tech at the Giro d'Italia has seen a group of protesters get in the way of the riders in the finale of stage 6 into Napoli. Whilst some, like the breakaway duo Taco van der Hoorn and Enzo Paleni were directly affected by the absurd blocking of the road, others were left wandering why the peloton had suddenly swerved. Wout van Aert was shocked to learn what the reason behind that was.

"The peloton suddenly made some strange movements from left to right. But I didn't know why", van Aert recalls in an interview with Sporza. "I hadn't seen the demonstrators with my own eyes. So I was shocked when I saw the images afterwards. It was insane. I'm just glad they weren't glued to the ground."

A 67-year old man was arrested in the aftermath of the incident, in which two protestors put a tube in front of the breakaway riders. He then stood right by the full-speed peloton just 2 kilometers away from the finish, and almost caused others to crash right behind the peloton. Spectator footage has revealed the extent of the actions from the protestor that have shocked the cycling world.

"People are watching with amazement. But as riders, we have little influence on it. In a big city like Napoli, you should put up fences everywhere. But those people aren't deterred by a police motorcyclist riding 100 meters ahead of the peloton. So they would have jumped over the fences too," the Belgian argues.

"I hope they arrest these people and that they come to their senses. We, riders, can only condemn this behavior."