Pro-Palestine protests 'suspend' the Vuelta a España stage finish in Bilbao.

BarcelonaThe presence of the Israel Premier-Tech team in the Vuelta continues to raise a storm. This Wednesday, race organizers decided to cancel the planned arrival in Bilbao after seeing the number of protesters gathering with Palestinian flags. "For security reasons, the general classification times will be taken 3 kilometers from the finish line. There will be no stage winner. There will be points awarded for the mountains and those earned in the intermediate sprint, but not for the points classification," the Vuelta announced in response to the incidents on the eleventh stage.

The pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Bilbao overwhelmed the organizers. The race management was forced to take emergency measures to address the massive protests against the participation of the Israel Premier-Tech team. Already on Tuesday's stage, a group of protesters displayed flags and banners at one point during the stage, almost causing an incident with the riders traveling at high speed. During the first stage of the Vuelta a España, a group of pro-Palestinian activists held up the Israel-Premier Tech team's progress for several seconds during the team time trial in the Empordà region. Several people were then arrested. A growing number of riders are complaining that the protests against this team are causing other athletes to ride unsafely, fearing a crash.

The Bilbao stage was marked in red as one of the most likely to experience incidents, as it is a city where anti-Gaza war movements are very strong. And so it was. Before the start, in fact, meetings between the teams took place. Canadian-born businessman Sylvan Adams, the man who commands the Israel-Premier Tech team, spoke with his team's riders for half an hour to try to calm them down. Adams, who lives in Tel Aviv and is close to the Israeli government, insists that the team should be able to complete its participation in the race for which it qualified on sporting merit. He has given money to Netanyahu's party, defends his policies, and has used sport to promote a positive image of Israel, leading critics of the current government to call for his expulsion from the Vuelta. The organizers do not claim that the team qualified on sporting merit, having a good points ranking in the International Cycling Union.

The protests had already neutralized the start of the stage—which started late—which included a circular circuit that crossed the finish line more than once. The race followed the planned route, with the cyclists entering a road surrounded by Palestinian flags. At times, cycling took center stage, with the traditionally good atmosphere of Basque roads, where the sport is respected. Local rider Mikel Landa tried his hand at El Vivero, but without luck. With the breakaway neutralized, the favorites made a step forward.

First Joao Almeida, then Pellizzari, and finally Tom Pidcock, fourth overall. Only leader Jonas Vingegaard followed him. The Briton pulled away from the Dane in the final meters of the El Vivero climb and began a precipitous descent toward Bilbao. But with three kilometers to go, the organizers halted everything: there would be no winner. The general classification continues with Vingegaard in the lead, but with Pidcock reinforced, although he did not take advantage of his moment for the riots. On Bilbao's Gran Vía, pressure from the protesters had caused the organization's barriers to give way, seriously hampering a return pass through the same area that hosted the finish line.

The riders, scared

Patxi Vila, director of Red Bull-Bora, explained that "during the race, people demonstrated peacefully with flags." "We were safe at all times, and the security forces were phenomenal, but the finish area was a bit scary for the safety of the riders." Joxean Fernández, meanwhile, explained that "the race was a bit scary." Matchín, director of UAE Emirates, stated: "We were only told that there was a complicated area due to flags and that the stage was being called off three kilometers from the finish." The Vuelta organizers know that the protests could continue in the coming days, while pressure mounts on Israel-Premier Tech to abandon the race. In a statement, the team made it clear that it will continue.

"The UCI must take action on this matter. It's a shame that politics interferes in a stage like today. Everyone has the right to protest, but it shouldn't disrupt the work of others," says Carlos Verona of the Lidl-Trek team, who admits that there is debate among the participants about continuing the Israel-Premier Tech race. "The riders on his team are the first who don't want to be part of this problem," he adds.