There is confusion surrounding the Vuelta a España: pro-Palestinian protesters are creating a crisis for the race organizers. Last night, an article in the French newspaper L'Equipe caused disruption, hypothesizing a possible early closure of the race, avoiding reaching Madrid on Sunday.

The article, as we will see later, was then modified and Madrid, at the moment, remains the city that will host the final stage of the race. This is happening because among the participating teams is Israel-Premier Tech, which is the main target of the protesters, although the team - which in the meantime has removed its name from jerseys, as it had already done on vehicles - has always emphasized that the team includes riders from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Czech Republic, and Italy.

Aso, owner of the company organizing La Vuelta, and the International Cycling Union (UCI) have never supported or justified the protesters' behavior, specifying that they will always be on the side of the riders, whose safety must always come first, and that under no circumstances can they ask Israel-Premier Tech to leave the race.

After the incidents during the team time trial in Figueres and the neutralization of the Bilbao stage, where pro-Palestinian protesters invaded the road endangering the riders, Spanish Foreign Minister Albares had expressed support for expelling Israel-Premier Tech from the race. However, once again, both the race organizers and the UCI have reiterated that no one can remove a team from a race if it has not received a condemnation.

Returning to what was written in L'Equipe, at 8:13 PM it read: "Again disturbed by pro-Palestinian protesters, with particular reference to Javier Romo's fall, the Spanish race might not reach Madrid and could end on Saturday evening to avoid even more serious disorders".

Romo ended up on the ground because a protester waving a flag fell and landed on the race route while the group of riders was passing, with the Spanish rider suffering the consequences.

Further in the article it reads: "The organizers would like Matthew Riccitello's teammates to spontaneously abandon the race. This is not the first time the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has conditioned the Iberian test (Bilbao stage neutralized three kilometers from the finish and declared without a winner; the Israel Premier Tech formation hindered in its action during the team time trial). For a week, starts and finishes have been the scene of demonstrations wanting to denounce the war conducted by Israel in Palestine and demand the withdrawal of the team financed by Sylvan Adams. Something that the latter refuses, while his managers have eliminated the name referring to the Jewish country".

At 9:43 PM the article was then corrected, removing the part discussing an early Saturday finish, specifying that the organizers confirm the arrival in Madrid and therefore it reads: "With the final stage, next Sunday, which has relatively little sporting significance, the teams are wondering if the race will reach Madrid where pro-Palestinian protesters might show up in large numbers. The race direction has assured that the Vuelta will indeed conclude in the Spanish capital".

Clearly, the Vuelta was chosen by protesters for worldwide live image distribution but also because it takes place on open roads that are impossible to fully control: this is proven by the fact that no remarkable protest acts are recorded during major football, tennis, or other "stadium" sports events. It's not difficult to understand that a closed facility is more easily controllable by law enforcement. It's also evident that in Spain the Palestinian issue is particularly felt, so much so that the government recognized the state of Palestine as early as 2024.

From various quarters, as mentioned, an intervention by the UCI against the Israeli team has been invoked, as happened in the case of Gazprom Rusvelo: those requesting this, however, forget a decisive detail. The decision to exclude Russian and Belarusian teams and athletes from all competitions after the invasion of Ukraine (individual athletes have since resumed competing as "neutral individual athletes") was made by the IOC, the highest governing body of world sports.

If the UCI were to make a decision against Israel, it would inevitably place itself outside the IOC. It is clear, therefore - without absolutely entering into the merits of the matter - that the question should be addressed not to the federation led by Lappartient but to the highest levels of world sports governance and should concern all sports, not just cycling.

But the chances of such a decision arriving are practically nil: for the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, exclusion came immediately, in this case we are approaching two years of conflict and in between there was even an Olympic Games edition in which both Israel and Palestine participated.

As for the Vuelta, there is still an entire week of racing on Spanish roads, and what organizers, riders, and the public hope is that the race can continue without further incidents. But the situation, as we said, remains extremely confused and worrying.

photo: still from YouTube