Israeli cycling team vows to ‘race on’ at Spanish event after disruptive protests, calls for it quit
Participants in Vuelta a España warn that anti-Israel protesters pose threat to all competitors, after demonstrators cause cyclist to crash, prevent declaration of stage winner
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleZev Stub is the Times of Israel's Diaspora Affairs correspondent.
Despite rising pressure from cyclists at the Vuelta a España race in Spain for Israel to withdraw from the competition, the Israeli cycling team declared it “remains committed to racing on.”
The integrity of the entire race has been threatened by anti-Israel protesters who have repeatedly interfered in the competition, members of the peloton say.
Pro-Palestinian protesters on Wednesday disrupted stage 11 of the prestigious annual road race, leading judges not to award a winner for the 157.4km (98-mile) stretch of the race, which began and ended in Bilbao.
“Due to some incidents at the finish line, we have decided to take the time at three kilometers before the line,” the race director announced on Radio Vuelta. “We won’t have a stage winner. We will give the points for the mountain classification and the intermediate sprint, but not on the finish line.”
The disruption came a day after pro-Palestinian protesters stormed the track during stage 10, causing a member of Belgium’s Intermarché-Wanty team to crash and fall.
Video footage shared on X showed Simone Petilli hit the ground as protesters chanting pro-Palestinian slogans ran onto the road; police tried to restrain them.
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— Malcolm iXa ???? (@ideiazabaldub) September 2, 2025
Last week, during stage 5, around 10 protesters ran out onto the road with banners and Palestine flags in an attempt to slow down the Israeli team.
In a video circulating on social media, three people can be seen holding a banner with the inscription “Neutrality is complicity. Boycott Israel” in Catalan while flanked by Palestinian flags, before being removed by race officials.
Footage of ???????? Israel-Premier Tech held up by protestors in Vuelta team time trial
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— Domestique (@Domestique___) August 27, 2025
More protests are expected throughout the remaining 10 stages, although they are likely to be more subdued now that the race has left the Basque Country, an autonomous area where residents are sympathetic to armed nationalist independence movements.
The Israel – Premier Tech (IPT) said in a statement Wednesday that it “remains committed to racing on,” adding that “any other course of action sets a dangerous precedent in the sport of cycling not only for Israel – Premier Tech, but for all teams.”
The team “has repeatedly expressed its respect for everyone’s right to protest, as long as those protests remain peaceful and do not compromise the safety of the peloton,” it said. “However, the behavior of protesters in Bilbao today was not only dangerous, but counterproductive to their cause and deprived the Basque cycling fans, some of the best cycling fans in the world, of the stage finish they deserved.”
IPT is a professional team that doesn’t officially represent the State of Israel. The team’s owner, philanthropist Sylvan Adams, is a pro-Israel advocate known for his vocal support of the country.
Nevertheless, calls to disqualify the team from participating have persisted.
Last week, Izquierda Unida, a Spanish left-wing party, called for IPT to be excluded from the Vuelta. Reports said multiple riders have also requested privately for the team to be removed from the race.
According to media reports, Vuelta a España organizer Unipublic is unsure how to proceed, with technical director Kiko García saying he hopes for “rapid changes.”
“We know that if there are no reactions or there are no changes in any way, then the protests will continue,” García said. “Our duty is to protect the race, of course, the riders and the teams, and we’re moving on that.”
The organizers of the race asked the Israeli team to withdraw from the competition, Adams, the team’s owner, told Channel 12 news on Thursday.
“They called us and asked us to withdraw from the competition,” Adams said. “We’re not leaving. I’m proud of our Israeli name.”
Adams referred to the protesters disrupting the race as “terrorists.”
Meanwhile, many just want the race to proceed as normal. Petilli, who was knocked down in stage 10, posted to X on Wednesday, “Please, we are just cyclists and we are doing our Job, but if it will continue like this, our safety is not guaranteed anymore, and we feel in danger!
“We just want to race! Please,” he added.
This year’s Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, the other major cycling events, were also disrupted by anti-Israel protesters.
The Times of Israel Community.