The tension rises from a notch on the Vuelta. Due to incidents that occurred this Wednesday, September 3, with Propalestinian demonstrators on the arrival of the 11th stage, in Bilbao, the organizers of the Tour of Spain decided that the times would be taken 3 km from the finish and that there would be no winner. How did we get there?
What happened?
This new incident was too much. This Wednesday, on the occasion of this 11th stage around and in Bilbao, many Propalestinian activists, sporting flags and banners, were massaged along the last straight line. Supervised by the police, several of them tried to force the barriers before the first pass of the peloton on the finish line.
This massive presence of Propalestinian demonstrators and these overflows led the organizers of the Tour of Spain – Unipublic, a subsidiary of ASO, organizer of the Tour de France – to shorten the 11th stage and not to designate a winner while the runners had left for a tour around the Basque City. According to Bingen Zupiria, security advisor to the Basque regional government, five people were identified by local police, three others arrested and four police officers were injured in the incidents.
How is it new?
This is not the first time that this 80th edition of the Vuelta has been disturbed by Propalenian demonstrations. A little earlier in this same stage on Wednesday, runners had to go under a tight banner in the middle of the road. A few days before, during the team time trial of the 5th stage, in Figueras, in Catalonia, activists carrying banners and Palestinian flags, had tried to block the runners of the Israeli-Prime Tech Israeli formation.
On Tuesday, on the occasion of the 10th stage, Propalestinian demonstrators disrupted the race, causing the fall of a runner, Simone Petilli. Several other runners almost collided when demonstrators positioned themselves on the road, forcing them to brake suddenly.
The Vuelta was not the only cycling event faced with this kind of incident. In July, during the Tour de France, a Propalestinian activist disrupted the arrival of the 11th stage, in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne). In May, during the 15th stage of the Tour of Italy, two Propalestinian activists had drawn a rope across the road. But it is the first time, on this Vuelta, that the protests are also recurrent and especially that they have a direct consequence on the good resistance of the race and the safety of the runners.
How did the runners react?
Rather bad. After this truncated stage, it is especially frustration that predominates in the peloton. Like this runner who wonders aloud: “But what am I causing again?” There are few, however, to speak officially. Vingegaard and Pidcock, the two animators of the day, who came at the top of this stage without winner, reacted. “The first time we’ve passed the line, we saw the demonstrators trying to go on the road and the police try to contain them,” said the Danish Jonas Vingegaard, a double winner of the Tour de France (2022 and 2023) and leader of the race. Today is my son’s first anniversary. I wanted to win for him, it’s really a shame. »»
The organizers’ decision is wrong with the British Tom Pidcock. “I don’t want to enter politics, but sometimes it’s a bit scary in the peloton,” said the 4th in the general classification. On paper, I had a good chance of winning, it is a disappointment. Putting the runners in danger will not help the cause of the demonstrators. Everyone has the right to protest, but it is not the right way. »»
What do the demonstrators claim?
The Propalestinian demonstrators during the Vuelta ask for the end of the war in Gaza. To alert to the terrible humanitarian situation in Palestinian territory, they try to disrupt the race. And demand for many the withdrawal of the Israel-Prime Tech team because of its links with Israel. The subject has grown in recent days, in a country where the Palestinian cause is popular and strongly supported by members of the leftist government of the socialist Pedro Sánchez.
“We saw for a few days more and more demonstrators on the side of the roads,” says a follower present on the Vuelta. It was expected that Bilbao was a peak in protests. The Palestinian cause is supported by political parties. We saw that it looked organized … With the canceled step, they succeeded. What will happen if they feel the desire to do this every day on arrival? »»
Is the Vuelta threatened?
No, not for the moment. But the time is serious. “The phones had to heat up a lot after the stage, between team leaders, the organizers and the International Cycling Union (UCI),” said another French follower. The situation cannot remain as it is, it is unheard of. The UCI, then the organizers, ended up reacting in a statement condemning the demonstrations and calling for political neutrality.
But the looks turn to the Israel-Prime Tech team, which concentrates the criticisms of the demonstrators. “There is no way to force Israel-Prime Tech to leave the race,” recalls a follower. They alone can decide to leave. The pressure must be enormous on leaders and runners … “
Confirmation shortly after, with a pressure stroke by Kiko Garcia, technical director of the Vuelta, on the social network X. “There is only one solution: that the Israeli team considers that being here does not facilitate security. But the regulations do not allow it to be excluded. He then put a layer of it, according to the team, saying favorable to the withdrawal of the Israeli team: “Should we protect the Vuelta or should we protect a team?” »»
Under pressure, the team finally reacted in the evening. “Israel Premier Tech is a professional cycling team. As such, it remains determined to participate in the Vuelta. Any other decision would create a dangerous precedent in the world of cycling, not only for Israel – Premier Tech, but also for all the other teams, “his leaders wrote in a press release.
