Regarding the videos I linked to earlier, here's a
link that has some additional videos that show more.
The Spanish cop pushed the fan for running along and getting to close to the rider. He was apparently unaware he was pushing the fan right into the neutral service moto. It was a bad idea, since he could also have pushed the fan into a rider instead, but I understand that those guys are probably on high alert after the terror attacks in Spain in the last few weeks. We've repeatedly seen the police pushing the fans back along the side of the road, which I've never seen before. It's a little less exciting, but it's the rational thing to do.
And I read in the comment section on the page I just linked that the fan who pushed the rider over has Down's Syndrome, so it apparently was a fluke thing where the poor guy was reacting to all the overexcited fans around him.
As for the excitement of the Vuelta, it seems to me that the somewhat shorter stages, along with the depleted teams, is making for more exciting and desperate racing.