Cyclists threaten to quit Vuelta if more protests disrupt race
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People with Palestinian flags (far left) protesting against the participation of Israel in the Vuelta on Sept 10, ahead of stage 17.
PHOTO: EPA
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- Vuelta a Espana riders voted to neutralise stage 17 if pro-Palestine protests disrupt it, potentially ending the race.
- Stage 16 ended early due to protesters blocking the road; riders feel like "pawns," says Jack Haig of Bahrain Victorious.
- Spanish authorities are deploying 1,500 extra police to balance safety and citizens' right to protest, says Interior Minister.
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PARIS/MADRID - Vuelta a Espana riders voted on Sept 10 to neutralise stage 17 if pro-Palestine protests disrupt the stage rather than race to an “undefined finish line” as Spanish authorities announced “extraordinary” security measures for the final two stages.
They could even quit the Grand Tour race altogether, a riders’ union (CPA) senior official said on Sept 10.
After a group of protesters holding Palestinian flags stopped the Israel-Premier Tech team in the stage five team time trial, more stages - including stage 16 - ended before the scheduled finish due to protests.
Stage 16 on Sept 8 ended 8km before the scheduled finish at Castro de Herville after a large group of protesters, waving Palestinian flags, had completely blocked the road on the ascent to the line.
“The riders voted by a majority to stop in case of a new problem. They will then decide whether to continue or to end the event,” CPA vice-president Pascal Chanteur told Reuters.
“We decided that if there is an incident that we would try to neutralise the race and then that would be it, because in the end racing to an undefined finish line is not really fair sport,” Bahrain Victorious rider Jack Haig told reporters.
“Unfortunately, we’re being caught in the middle of something that maybe doesn’t even really involve us. At the moment, we are kind of just the pawns in a very large chess game that unfortunately is affecting us.”
Spanish authorities said they would deploy an additional 1,500 police officers over the weekend, adding they sought to balance safety at the event with citizens’ right to protest.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska expressed confidence in achieving such a balance.
“All I ask, is that the exercise of this absolutely legitimate and, I would say, currently necessary right to protest does not disrupt security,” he told reporters.
According to the ministry, it will be the largest public security deployment in Madrid since the Nato summit was held in the Spanish capital in 2022. REUTERS
