Race organizers at the Vuelta a España, the third and final Grand Tour on the cycling calendar, said the Israel-Premier Tech team should leave the race after pro-Palestinian protestors disrupted Wednesday’s stage.
Protests have followed the race since it started in August, largely focusing on one team, which is backed by Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams. There is no direct connection between the team and the Israeli state, though Adams reportedly refers to himself as a “self-appointed ambassador-at-large for Israel” and is close with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu.
Wednesday’s Stage 11, scheduled to finish in the city of Bilbao, was halted about 3 kilometers early, and no winner was declared. Protestors near the finish line were moving the barriers that protect riders in the finishing straight and organizers feared for their safety. Afterward, Vuelta technical director Kiko García told Spanish radio network Cadena Ser that he believes the team should, for the safety of the race, drop out.
“We need to find a solution, [and] for me … there is only one right now: that the Israeli team itself realizes that being here doesn’t make it any safer for everyone else,” he said in Spanish. “However, we can’t make that decision; they have to make it themselves.”
The team responded shortly after, saying it would remain in the race.
“Any other course of action sets a dangerous precedent in the sport of cycling not only for Israel-Premier Tech, but for all teams,” the team said in a statement. “Israel-Premier Tech has repeatedly expressed its respect for everyones’ [sic] right to protest, as long as those protests remain peaceful and do not compromise the safety of the [riders].”
The statement added that the protestors’ behavior in Bilbao was “counterproductive to their cause.”
Adams, who is worth $2.8 billion, according to Forbes, is an avid cyclist and in 2018 paid millions for the Giro d’Italia to start in Israel. He was recently appointed as the next president of the Israel region of the World Jewish Congress, and has spoken publicly about the war in Gaza, now in its 22nd month.
“On the physical war, we have done miracles with things that seem like science fiction,” he told Israeli media organization JNS at a charity event in Tel Aviv. “But on the communications war, we are failing miserably. It is getting worse and worse out there for us.”
Pro-Palestinian protests have occurred at sporting events all over the world, but cycling has stood out. For one, it has a team that bears Israel’s name, but the layout of the Grand Tour races provides a unique security challenge. Races take place over weeks, and hundreds of miles of countryside. At most points, spectators could freely walk in front of riders. Pro-Palestinian protests have been notably prominent in Spain, particularly in the Basque Country, where the Vuelta is currently.
Protests occurred at both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, the two other Grand Tours of the year, but none have been as prominent as those in Spain. During Stage 5 last week, protestors carrying a banner that read, in Spanish, “Neutrality is Complicity. Boycott Israel”, pulled it across the road in front of the Israel-Premier Tech squad during its team time trial, forcing some riders to stop completely. The team has had extra police protection during stages at the race.
Thursday’s Stage 12 was held without disruption.
With assistance from Sebastian Milo.