Spanish Vuelta restarts a day after pro-Palestinian protest leads to stage being cut short

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LAREDO, Spain (AP) — The Spanish Vuelta restarted without incident on Thursday, a day after organizers cut the stage short when pro-Palestinian protestors interrupted the racing in Bilbao.

Wednesday’s protest targeted the Israel Premier Tech team while Israel continues its military invasion into Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of civilians in retaliation for the Hamas attacks in October 2023.

The protest produced chaotic scenes of a crowd pushing against temporary metal barriers along the final kilometers of the course with police and security personnel holding them back. Many protestors carried Palestine flags and pro-Palestine signs.

Race officials called off the stage about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the end of the circular route out of and in to Bilbao.

Vuelta technical director Kiko Garcia said on Thursday there was a risk of more protests if the Israeli team kept racing.

“Everyone needs to try to find a solution,” Garcia said, “which for me right now is that the Israeli team realizes that by being here it doesn’t help the safety of everyone else. But we can’t make that decision, the team has to do it.”

Israel Premier Tech, however, said it was not pulling out.

“Any other course of action sets a dangerous precedent in the sport of cycling — not only for Israel Premier Tech, but for all teams,” it said.

Cycling’s governing body, the UCI, condemned the incident.

It added that “cycling in particular, has a role to play in bringing people together and overcoming barriers between them, and should under no circumstances be used as a tool for punishment.”

Bilbao is an industrial city in Spain’s Basque Country, a region known for political strife and protest due to its now dormant separatist movement — as well as for its love for cycling.

The Vuelta stayed away from the Basque Country for more than three decades until its return in 2011. That hiatus came after supporters of Basque independence caused a Vuelta stage to be canceled in 1978 when they rolled logs onto the course.

The Palestinian cause is backed by many Spaniards, including its left-wing government.

Thursday’s stage is outside the Basque Country in the neighboring region of Cantabria.

The peloton started the 12th stage from the costal town of Laredo, about 60 kilometers (47 miles) west of Bilbao along the Atlantic coast. The stage takes riders on a 145-kilometer (90-mile) route featuring mid-size mountains to Los Corrales del Buelna.

Former Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard leads the three-week race.

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AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling