Vuelta a España Bilbao: Stage Result & Israel Protest

What should be a cycling party in Bilbao ended up becoming an episode that reminds of past times of the history of the Vuelta. The protests against the presence of the Israel Premier Tech team marked the stage and end stage in Bilbao and forced the organization to make the decision to conclude the race three kilometers from the finish line. The times were taken at that point, but there was no winner. Neither podium, nor celebration. A day in which sport was in the background. The incidents resulted in three detainees, five identified and four injured, according to the Security Minister Bingen Zupiria.

Throughout the route there were several episodes of tension: from the neutralized exit, where the protesters already stopped the squad, or the second ascent to the nursery, where a banner partially blocked the passage of the runners and some, as Pidcock, had to remove it by hand to continue. However, the incidents that caused the suspension of the end of the stage occurred in the finish line, in full Gran Vía.

Various blockages

The first interruption occurred as soon as the stage began. A group of protesters stopped the platoon in the esplanade of San Mamés, in protest of the presence of the Israeli team. The break lasted about five minutes and forced the organization responsible for dialogue with the concentrates, who finally retired from the road in the direction of the Alto de Enekuri. The cut had no sports consequences, since it happened before the real exit of the stage. Once the road was clear, the stage could begin, although the squad was rolling with the restlessness already installed.

Cyclists had already made their concern public. The previous day, in Navarra, the Italian Simone Petilli had suffered a fall after another protest on the road. Some cyclists expressed their fear and even stated that Israel Premier Tech left the competition. But it was not possible: without being a World Tour team, it has a guaranteed invitation for the most important races of the season for its results of last year, so its participation is protected by the ICU regulations. The seven runners that the Premier Tech Israel has in the race took the exit.

On the bicycle, the race moved. The visma soon took the command, determined to control any leak. Mads Pedersen tried strongly in the Biscay Tooboganes, later accompanied by Orluis Aular and Marc Soler. The Catalan, with good memories in Bilbao after winning there in 2022, tried luck in Morga, although his adventure did not go far. Everyone’s effort, however, would end anything. Four hours of struggle to end without crossing under the goal arch.

Mikel Landa also tried. He attacked in the first step by the nursery and arrived in Bilbao with an advantage for the first step by the goal. The fervor for the cyclist Alavés is still there, but could not go more because his back created him. He had to get caught.

While Jonas Vingegaard squeezed her teeth in Pike Bidea, the real agitation was far from the road. The Gran Vía de Bilbao, guarded by Ertzaintza, was already a hotbed. The cameras focused what should be the last kilometers of a vibrant stage, but the attention was put on the incidents.

In the first step through the finish line, Quiens protested in the finish line with Palestine flags and even Iran tried to throw the fences and cut the race. Seconds before the platoon passed, just over 30 cyclists. Security managed to contain it. But they were not sure they were going to achieve it for a long time.

Another delicate episode came in the second climb to the nursery from Galdakao. There, two people planted with a banner in the middle of the road. The head corridors managed to dodge it, while others, like Tom Pidcock, were forced to take it away and go underneath to continue.

The tension reached its maximum point a few kilometers for the arrival at the finish line. The security fences on arrival were being shaken again and security could not guarantee a clean end or the integrity of cyclists. There, Javier Guillén, director of the Vuelta, crossed his arms with an impotence gesture. Three kilometers from the finish line, in the descent to San Ignacio, the organization turned off the music and ordered the teams to go to the buses. The clock stopped at that point and the stage was neutralized.

On the strictly sports plane, Jonas Vingegaard, leader with the red jersey, managed to scratch a few more seconds in the general compared to the Portuguese Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates). The Danish and Tom Pidcock managed to take off in the ascent to the Alto de Pike, a third category port, and opened a small gap close to ten seconds. The advantage remained during the descent and until the moment of neutralization of the race three kilometers from the finish line.

Vingegaard, after his arrival at the finish line, said that «the police have done a great job. The first time we have gone through the goal we had already seen some agitation. There has also been some conato in the second step by the nursery, to block the race. Throughout the stage we have been calm ».

“They are in all their right to protest, but do not use cycling to do so,” Carlos Verona, of Lidl-Trek, lamented, at the end of the day. «There are many people who pay for this. I ask for common sense and leave quiet cycling. When they tell you in the absence of 15 kilometers that the stage ends three from the finish line and that it cannot be disputed, it is a penalty, but security is the first ».

Announced protests

The Speaker, Juan Mari Guajardo, a veteran of almost three decades in the arrivals of the Vuelta, remained yesterday without announcing a winner. The moment of acclaiming the winner became political proclamation. “Bicot Israel, Palestine Askatu!” The protesters chanted.

The protests were not unexpected. The Gernika-Palestine organization had already announced mobilizations throughout the stage to denounce what they describe as “genocide” in Gaza. Before the departure, representatives of teams and organizers met with the cyclist union to assess security and even the withdrawal of the Premier Tech Israel was raised.

Last week, incidents were already lived in the team counterreloj in Figueres, where a group of protesters momentarily blocked the passage to the Israeli team, although without serious consequences. The general director of the Vuelta, Javier Guillén, then warned that legal actions would be undertaken: «We are going to file a complaint, we cannot allow what has happened. When it is claimed with violence, it ceases to be a fair cause ».