“Still emotional in the evening from the hate in their eyes”: Visma | LaB shaken by aggression and intimidation from protesters

The war in Gaza is an issue that is top of mind in Spain, and in recent weeks it showed during the Tour of Spain. Countless Palestinian flags were visible at stage finishes, and demonstrators also made themselves heard along the route. Several times the finish line had to be moved, and it even led to a crash involving Javier Romo (Movistar), who later had to abandon due to the injuries. Despite massive police presence, the final stage ultimately had to be called off.

All of this created great uncertainty and fear among the riders. Unpredictable actions could easily lead to dangerous situations, such as crashes. “It was definitely a Vuelta never to forget,” said Vervaeke. According to him, the turning point was the 11th stage to the Basque city of Bilbao. From that moment on, what had started as a calm Vuelta turned into an unpredictable circus.

“Before that we were fairly relaxed, but Bilbao was an eye-opener at the first pass of the finish,” said Vervaeke, who then painted a frightening picture. “You’re not supposed to say it like this, but they were almost like wild animals behind a barrier trying to break out.”

The TV audience mainly saw that the finish was moved forward several kilometers a few times, and that the peloton was held up on a couple of occasions. But according to Vervaeke, the craziest situations never made it to the broadcast. “There were also places where they threw thumbtacks, that goes pretty far, doesn’t it? And team directors even told me protesters jumped from bridges with ropes to stop the cars. Not everything was on camera, but it was spectacular.”

The unpredictability understandably caused plenty of fear among the riders. After all, cyclists are riding on public roads and are therefore extremely vulnerable to unexpected events. The protesters’ ignorance also played a role. “They don’t realize how dangerous it is to try to stop a rider going forty to fifty kilometers per hour,” Vervaeke said.

“We just wanted to race, and we didn’t want the race to be compromised. But we were in danger. That can’t be the intention. It felt like we were caught in a political conflict. That goes way too far, and in Madrid it just became untenable,” said Vervaeke, noting how the organization and authorities lost control of the situation.

Vervaeke also saw how the riders from Israel–Premier Tech struggled with it. “This wasn’t their choice either. They wear that jersey with that flag, and today that’s enormously charged. They really suffered from it and just wanted the Vuelta to be over.”

It even led to remarkable requests from Israel–Premier Tech riders. “Some riders even asked if we didn’t have a spot on the team for them next year,” Vervaeke revealed. “They felt they couldn’t just go home, because they’re under contract and feared they’d risk being fired. That was really very sad for them.”

The cancellation of the final stage and the scrapping of the podium ceremony cast a shadow over the celebrations at Visma | Lease a Bike. Jonas Vingegaard secured overall victory for the team, and for the last day everything had been prepared: a red bike for Vingegaard and a special kit. In the end, Visma’s riders never got the chance to celebrate their triumph in the spotlight.

Although general manager Richard Plugge admitted it was a pity they couldn’t celebrate the victory in grand fashion, he and other team members were mainly shaken by the hostility of the demonstrators. “What really struck us was the enormous aggression and intimidation from those demonstrators toward the riders.

“Some of our people were really shaken by what they saw,” Plugge continued. “Everyone was extremely scared and saddened by it. That was the worst part for me. Missing the champagne moment, that’s unfortunate. But the fact that people were still emotional in the evening from the hate they saw in the eyes of those demonstrators, that touched me the most,” said Plugge.