Pro-Palestinian protesters crash Spain’s cycling grand tour

The calls for a professional cycling team made up of Israel to abandon the great tour of Spain have overshadowed a large part of the Vuelta a España this week.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators targeting the Premier Premier technology aligned themselves along the road to Bilbao, waving the great Palestinian flags and the signs that read “neutrality is a complicity. Boycott Israel “and” La Vuelta continues deaf and stupid “in Catalan and Spanish, respectively.

They protest against the bombing by Israel of Gaza, who killed tens of thousands of civilians, in retaliation for the attack on Hamas on October 7, 2023.

The owner of the technology of Israel First, the Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams, denounced the demonstrators as “violent terrorists” and said that the primary Israel technology would remain in the race until it ends in Madrid on September 14.

“Any other action plan establishes a dangerous precedent in cycling – not only for the technology of Israel First, but for all the teams,” the team said in a statement on Wednesday.

The State of Israel does not sponsor the cycling team and only three of its 30 cyclists are Israeli, according to the official list.

Adams, who was born in Canada, is a vocal supporter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and qualifies as “self -proclaimed ambassador for Israel”. Last week, he said that Israel lost the “communications war” concerning the war in Gaza and described his work with Israel Premier Tech as a source of diplomacy.

“When my cycling team Israel behaves well in a big race, television advertisers could mention the word” Israel “150 times, still a positive day,” said Adams in a January interview with EU Reporter. “This is how we can bring our right name to the majority of people.”

Netanyahu expressed his support for the team and Adams on Friday.

“Excellent work for the cycling team of Sylvan and Israel for not having given in to hatred and intimidation. You make Israel proud,” wrote Netanyahu on X.

Adams representatives did not immediately return a request for comments.

His public statements have been the subject of a renewed examination, as a growing choir inside and outside the peloton call for Israel’s technology to abandon the race.

Earlier this week, its sports director suggested that the team was apolitical and should be allowed to compete.

“We are a sports team and we do not mix it with politics,” Daryl Impey told Israel Premier Tech to the journalist.

But at least one of the recently retired cyclists of the team, who drove for the last time on August 17, suggested that it was relieved not to be associated with Israel.

“I do not want to get involved in what is happening politically, but it is certainly more pleasant to drive without an Israel logo than with an Israel logo,” Jakob Fuglsang told Danish journalists.

Inside the peloton, friction within the cycle community continues to degenerate. The technical director of the race, Kiko Garcia, said earlier this week that he would be in favor of the withdrawal of the team belonging to Israeli.

“Everyone must try to find a solution,” he told Spanish media. “For me, it is that the Israeli team realizes that by being here, it does not help everyone’s security. But we cannot make this decision, the team must do it.”

On Thursday, the Spanish Foreign Minister weighed on the issue, saying that he would support the withdrawal of the Vuelta team.

“We must send a message to Israel and Israeli society that Europe and Israel can only have normal relations when human rights are respected,” José Manuel Albares told Spanish media.

The Spanish left government announced earlier this year that it would officially recognize Palestine as a state.

The Palestinian flags have become a regular show along the roads of the Grand Tour all the season. They were widespread in the Italia Giro and, to a lesser extent, on the Tour de France.