{"id":231760,"date":"2025-10-22T06:04:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T06:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/231760\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T06:04:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T06:04:13","slug":"some-teams-wanted-to-stop-the-whole-vuelta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/231760\/","title":{"rendered":"“Some teams wanted to stop the whole Vuelta"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nPeloton unity amid escalating protestsThe 2025 edition of the Vuelta was repeatedly interrupted by activists targeting the presence of Israel – Premier Tech<\/a>, with roads blocked and stages delayed in northern Spain. At one point, race organisers reportedly asked the Israeli team to withdraw from the event to calm tensions \u2014 a request the squad refused.<\/p>\n

Vingegaard said the riders had agreed internally on how to react if protests flared up again. \u201cThere was a lot of discussion about what the organisers and the UCI could do,\u201d he recalled. \u201cAmong the riders, we agreed that if something happened during a stage, we would stop racing. Then we\u2019d try again the next day. In the past, there was always at least one team that wanted to keep going, but this time there was unity.\u201d<\/p>\n

That consensus marked a rare moment of solidarity in a peloton often divided by team interests. According to sources within the race, the agreement was seen as a way of protecting both rider safety and the sport\u2019s credibility during one of the most politically charged Grand Tours in years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe realised how vulnerable we are\u201d<\/p>\n

The double Tour de France champion admitted that the unrest forced him \u2014 and many others \u2014 to reflect on how easily the sport can be disrupted.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur sport is very fragile,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s easy for someone to protest and block the road. After the stage in Bilbao, many people realised how vulnerable we are \u2014 and how simple it is to make headlines. I hope we don\u2019t face serious problems like that again in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2025 Vuelta became a flashpoint in wider debates over the intersection of politics and professional cycling, as protests against Israel – Premier Tech\u2019s participation brought the race to a standstill multiple times. The events prompted renewed discussions between the UCI, organisers, and the riders\u2019 union over how to handle demonstrations that directly target teams or sponsors.<\/p>\n

Empathy for Israel – Premier Tech riders<\/p>\n

Despite being at the centre of the controversy, Vingegaard expressed understanding for the Israel – Premier Tech riders caught in the crossfire. \u201cI spoke with a few of them,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of pressure on their shoulders, and all the protests were directed at them. I don\u2019t know whether they felt safe, but it must have been tough. It wasn\u2019t a pleasant situation for anyone \u2014 including them.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Vingegaard, the 2025 Vuelta will be remembered not just for his dominant ride to a third Grand Tour title, but for the off-bike turmoil that exposed just how fragile the sport can be.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter those days,\u201d he reflected, \u201ceveryone in the race realised how quickly things can change \u2014 and how easily cycling can become a platform for something much bigger than sport.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Peloton unity amid escalating protestsThe 2025 edition of the Vuelta was repeatedly interrupted by activists targeting the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-231760","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}