Stage 11 of the Cycling Tour of Spain had to become a sport party. The route, with departure and goal in Bilbaowas designed to show the best of cycling and, also, the passion with which the the Basque Country Live every arrival. But what should be a sports show ended up tarnished by a protest that interrupted the competition, altered the outcome of the day and left open wound to heal in the organization of the race.
A marked stage
From the beginning of the day it was sensed that the stage would not be one more. The recent background were not minor. In Figduring the time trial, activists had broken into the passage of Israel Premier Techthe Israeli team that from the beginning of the lap became blank of the controversy. In Lumbiera few days later, another manifestation put the integrity of the runners at risk, with scenes that touched the tragedy. The commissioners, aware of this growing tension, held meetings before the exit in Bilbao with the equipment to address an issue that was no longer secondary: the safety of the race.
When Jonas Vingegaard y Tom Pidcocktwo of the great animators of this return, began to shape a vibrant outcome, the toughest blow came: the final protest in the Gran Vía impossible the pass of the platoon. The fences yielded, a group of activists threatened to invade the road and the organizers, in a drastic turn, suspended the stage. The sport was in the background.
The debate went on immediate. Could such a situation be repeated in the next few days? Is the continuity of the Israel Premier Tech In the race? And, above all, how to guarantee that Vuelta Can it be disputed without the runners being exposed to this type scenarios?
Juanma Castaño’s opinion
Juanma Castañoin COPE, he offered a reflection that did not leave anyone indifferent. For him, what happened was something that was seen coming:
“There was a group of 150 activists, the most dangerous, who came to break an area of fences and threatened to reach the road. It was sung, it is not normal for a security device to fail in the goal, where there is supposed to be a safe and controlled environment. The situation is limit, will it repeat today?” He wondered.
The complaint of Chestnut I pointed directly to the security device. The journalist stressed that the most critical point, the finish line, is precisely the one that must be armored in front of any contingency. And in Bilbaoin his words, that armor did not exist.
But beyond organizational criticism, his latest statements touched an even more sensitive nerve. “There are people who slide that the best thing is to leave the team Israelwhich is still a victory for those who are extorting in some way the Cyclist return to Spain”With this phrase, Chestnut The focus was placed in a background dilemma: the pressure of certain sectors so that the Israel Premier TecH Abandon the competition, which, if produced, would be equivalent to giving in to the protest.
However, the journalist wanted to clarify his position with a balance exercise. “We do not agree with this type of protests, but it does not mean that we do not condemn and we are what is happening in Gaza. There are people affected in Gaza and of course its protest is respectable. ”Thus, he recognized the legitimacy of the pain of those who suffer from the conflict, but without accepting that suffering justifies the blockade of a sporting event.
Radical independence in protest
The most controversial section of his words came when he referred to certain sectors that are mixed in these protests: “I also mean that among the affected people there were some that two days ago they celebrated the murder of Civil guardscouncilors … Surely not some of those who wore Palestine flags were celebrating the death of innocent people. ”In this statement, Chestnut He stressed that behind the protest there was not only a humanitarian clamor, but also a radicalized political agenda that, in his opinion, instrumentalizes the Palestinian cause for other purposes.
The case of Bilbao It will not be easy to forget. The image of a braking platoon, the impossible goal of reaching, the disappointment of those who expected a vibrant ending, and the feeling that the sport was cornered by politics will mark this edition. As he warned Chestnutthe truly serious thing is that what happened “was sung.” And what remains to be resolved is if it will be repeated again.
