Visma-Lease a Bike general manager Richard Plugge has further criticised the pro-Palestinian protestors who disrupted the Vuelta a España saying “I don’t believe at any point there was a noble aspiration behind it”.
“I’ve never experienced so much hate,” Plugge told Wielerflits. “[By the end] there really wasn’t any attention being drawn to anything any more. It was really about destroying things.”
On Sunday, Jonas Vingegaard was crowned Vuelta champion after the final stage in Madrid was neutralised before the riders entered the finishing circuit. The final official podium ceremony was also cancelled.
The disruption followed neutralisations and stage shortenings on three other stages, including the race’s sole individual time trial. Other incidents included the Israel-Premier Tech team being held up during the Team Time Trial, and several riders crashing due to protestors in or around the road. At least one rider, Movistar’s Javier Romo, abandoned due to the injuries sustained in a crash caused by a protestor.
Plugge, a former journalist and commentator, took over the Dutch team in 2012 when Rabobank withdrew as title sponsors following a series of doping scandals. The team subsequently became known as Belkin, Lotto-Jumbo and Jumbo-Visma before adopting its current name. The team has since won nine Grand Tours and become one of the most successful outfits in the history of the sport.
Plugge is also the former head of the AIGCP, a union representing professional cycling teams, and has been a public face of the Saudi Arabian-funded One Cycling proposal that seeks to reshape and organise the professional cycling calendar.
“As far as I’m concerned, the UCI should have given the Vuelta more support much earlier,” Plugge said.
“I’m not worried about the sport yet. This is something that went beyond sport, something arose in Spain. Normally, the demonstrations are always done with respect for the sport.”
The protestors in Spain were informally supported by the government, with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez praising their courage and several regional governments boycotting the ceremonies at the start and finish of stages. Following the race, the UCI and Spanish Government engaged in a heated war of words over their respective responsibilities and the place for sporting neutrality in light of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Barcelona, which is due to host the Grand Depart of the Tour de France next year, and Gran Canaria, which is due to host the finale of next year’s Vuelta a España, have since stated they will not host either event if Israel-Premier Tech is invited to the race, putting next year’s race routes in jeopardy.
Plugge’s criticism of the protestors’ cause as well as their methods goes further than the statements made by most riders and other managers. It also put his star rider Wout van Aert in bother.
Screenshot 2025-09-10 112330 (credit: Wout van Aert/Instagram)
In his weekly Instagram photo-dump, Van Aert included this photo of a Canadian poster calling on spectators to say ‘No to the Israeli team’ in reference to Israel-Premier Tech who were competing in Montreal and Quebec at the weekend.
As is the Belgian’s style, his post was light on a caption giving us no additional information to go off until yesterday when the post was suddenly deleted without explanation. Whether it was deleted voluntarily or not isn’t clear. But Van Aert signed a ‘lifetime’ contract with Visma-Lease a Bike earlier in the year, making it unlikely there will be any argument played out in public.