Monday, 15 September 2025, 11:02
| Updated 12:26h.
Fears that pro-Palestinian demonstrations and protests against their alleged genocide at the hands of Israel would disrupt the final stage of the Vuelta a España pro cycle race materialised just after 6.20pm on Sunday. After protesters breached the police cordon at various points and blocked the riders’ path, the organisers decided to end the race with 50 kilometres remaining to reach the finish line. Normally, this is the leisurely leg of the race that the cyclists ride year after year amidst the applause from fans of this sport.
The political reactions to the incident came in fast. Especially when, just hours before the arrival of the peloton race in Madrid, the Spanish Prime Minister declared his admiration for “people who are mobilising for a just cause”. Opposition Partido Popular leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo accused PM Pedro Sánchez (PSOE) of inciting trouble at La Vuelta with his words, adding to the damage being done to the sport: “an international ridicule being televised around the world”.
He continued: “The Prime Minister will be proud of the behaviour of a few who, in order to show their support for Gaza, have thrown barricades at the National Police officers, but I’m not.”
The opposition leader added that political leaders failed to guarantee the safety of cyclists and members of the race organisation, despite the deployment of 16 police officers for each participant in the race.
Madrid’s PP leaders also spared no criticism of the PSOE leader. Isabel DÃaz Ayuso remained faithful to her straightforward speaking style to sum up what happened: “What the politically-motivated street protests encouraged by Pedro Sánchez and his ministers achieved was to have families and children running off in tears.” Ayuso went on to criticise Sánchez for adding fuel to the fire when, out of political responsibility, he should have called for coexistence and understanding. “This goes against sport, it goes against freedom, it goes against Spain, it goes against our image,” said Ayuso.
Hate speech
The mayor of Spain’s capital, José Luis MartÃnez Almeida, also expressed regret that violence had spilled over into sport. Like his party colleagues, he pointed to whom he views as a culprit: “I hold the Prime Minister responsible.” In his opinion, what happened in Madrid “is the fruit and result of the hatred and violence that was irresponsibly encouraged over the last few days by leaders of the left.”
Conservative sources added that “Spain is the only democratic country in which it is the government itself that encourages violent demonstrations on national territory.”
Vox’s spokesperson at Madrid city council, Javier Ortega Smith, accused the PM of “encouraging violence and confrontation”. In his opinion, it was clear that the calls for demonstrations by the left “always have one objective, which is to coerce those who are exercising their freedom”.
The PSOE leaders in Madrid’s city council and the regional government, Reyes Maroto and Óscar López, responded to the criticism by condemning all forms of violence while at the same time applauding “the spontaneous reaction of the public against war and genocide”.