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

BarcelonaThe presence of the Israel Premier-Tech team in the Vuelta a España continues to raise a storm. Today, 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 a España organizers announced in response to the incidents on the eleventh stage.

The pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Bilbao have overwhelmed the organization. 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 who were 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 openly complaining that the protests against this team are causing other athletes to ride unsafely, fearing a crash if someone crosses their path.

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, several meetings were held between the teams. 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. Adams 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 have already neutralized the start of the stage—which started late—which featured 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 luck at El Vivero, but without luck. With the breakaway neutralized, the favorites stepped up. First Joao Almeida, then Pellizzari, and finally Tom Pidcock, fourth overall. Only leader Jonas Vingegaard followed him. The Briton managed to pull away from the Dane in the final meters of the El Vivero climb, beginning 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 couldn't take full advantage of his momentum due to the riots. On Bilbao's Gran Vía, pressure from protesters had caused the organization's barriers to collapse, seriously hampering a return to the same area that hosted the finish line.

The riders, frightened

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, said: "They only told us that there was a complicated area due to flags and that the stage was over three kilometers from the finish." The organizers of the Vuelta know that the protests could continue in the coming days, while pressure is growing on Israel-Premier Tech to abandon the race.

"The UCI must take action on this matter. It's a shame that politics interferes in a stage like today's. Everyone has the right to protest, but it shouldn't interrupt the work of others," said Carlos Verona of the Lidl-Trek team, admitting that there is debate within the participants about continuing. "The riders on their team are the first who don't want to be part of this problem," he added.