‘There is no Plan B’ – Vuelta a España boss Javier Guillen insists race will continue to Madrid despite continued protests

Vuelta a España Director Javier Guillen insisted that despite the latest wave of protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza that resulted in a partial suspension stage 16, the race will continue as planned to Madrid.

The Vuelta a España has now been halted before planned finish lines on two occasions by protesters against the ongoing presence of the Israel-Premier Tech squad, both on stage 11 and again on stage 16 before the final ascent to Castro de Herville.

There have also been increasingly vocal protests both in and outside the race as well as at team hotels. The race radio has been hacked by demonstrators on two stages, and on stage 16 a tree was even felled in a suspected attempt to block the race.

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However, race boss Javier Guillen said in a hastily convened press conference on Tuesday evening that there would be “no plan B” and that the race would go on regardless.

While he recognised that what was happening in Gaza was “terrible” and that protesters had every right to demonstrate, he insisted that sport “was here to unite”, and that blocking the stages was “illegal both from a penal and sporting point of view.”

However, he also said that the situation was absolutely unprecedented in the history of the Vuelta, saying, “This isn’t a crusade, we just want the race to happen.

“From the Vuelta’s point of view, we want to express rejection of what we lived through today, again, as the race was blocked again, but fortunately the stage could be disputed and we had a winner, and we obviously didn’t finish where we expected,” Guillen said.

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“The message I want to give you is that we will continue. We will be at the start of the stage. It’s been a very tough stage, very intense, and we’ve never been in this situation before.

“We have rules, and we have to follow them. But it’s not just us that has to follow those rules.

“You can’t just block roads, you can’t stop a race. It’s not permitted from a sports regulations perspective, and it’s against the law as well. It’s illegal.

“Of course, it’s terrible what is happening, and what we all want is peace. But everybody has their own space, and we want to protect ours, which is the Vuelta.”

Guillen insisted that the Vuelta was a sporting event that could not, under any circumstances, resolve what was happening elsewhere in the world – a veiled but clear reference to the Gaza conflict.

“We are making huge efforts to keep the race going, but we need collaboration, and that’s what I want to communicate. Tomorrow we are starting and we are going to Madrid, can’t say anything more than that.”

The Vuelta has been facing increasingly large demonstrations, Guillen recognised, with an estimated 1,000 demonstrators at the finish line on stage 16, and around 150 actually invading the road.

“We had more security today, and in a sport like cycling, to be able to stop those kinds of numbers is virtually impossible, although we will try.”

But he also pointed out that football matches between Italy and Israel have continued normally, that other races like the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia had not been stopped – despite protests. The presence of the Israel-Premier Tech team was mandatory under the UCI’s rules of participation, and it is not something that they, as organisers, could change.

“This isn’t a crusade. I’m not fighting against anybody. We just want the race to go on. These actions have to stop,” he added, “because this [blocking of the race] can’t be legitimized. It’s putting the public’s, the riders’, and the protesters’ lives in danger.”

Meanwhile, Israel-Premier Tech owner Sylvan Adams confirmed to Cyclingnews that the team is not reconsidered its refusal to leave the race.

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