UCI blocked Vuelta's wish to exclude Israel-Premier Tech, protesters already target Tour start in Barcelona

The organizers of the Vuelta a España remained silent on Sunday. The stage was halted, and it was eventually announced that the official celebration would not take place in the center of Madrid. A press conference was announced for Monday, attended by Vuelta boss Javier Guillén, who was clearly still disappointed.

It had been three intense weeks for the Spaniard, who had to deal with pro-Palestinian protests throughout the entire Vuelta. These were relatively peaceful at first, but on day 11 in Bilbao, on day 16, in the individual time trial on day 18, towards the Bole del Mundo on day 20, and then on the final day in Madrid, the incidents became more serious.

At the press conference, Guillén expressed his indignation and anger at the way the protesters behaved in the Vuelta, particularly in Madrid. “What happened in Madrid is unacceptable. The vulnerability of the riders has been compromised,” Marca quoted him as saying. He also addressed the Spanish government on statements that had encouraged a boycott in Madrid.

Similar statements had already been made by the riders, who had also seen that the protesters were given free rein. “I condemn the events in the final stage. The images speak for themselves; what we saw there is unacceptable. We wanted to reach the finish line behind the car, but three kilometers from the finish line, there was another invasion, causing riders to crash.”

It was already clear from statements made by the technical director that the Vuelta a España organization was considering excluding Israel-Premier Tech after the stage in Bilbao was suspended. However, Guillén emphasized on Monday that this was not possible. “No federation has excluded Israel from participating in competitions, not even the EU. The UCI knew what was happening.”

In a statement, the cycling federation backed the participation of Israel-Premier Tech, the main reason protesters continued to demonstrate. “We spoke with the UCI, and they took a position with a statement, namely that they had to keep Israel in the race. There was nothing we could do about it; without their permission, there would have been legal consequences.”

“We demand respect; this must not happen again,” Guillén added. But it does not seem likely that we will suddenly see an end to demonstrations after the Vuelta. In fact, RMC Sport reported on Monday about protesters' potential plans to target the start of the 2026 Tour de France in Barcelona on a large scale.

As the situation in Gaza seems to be getting worse by the day and a solution seems far off, the Tour may have to fear a similar invasion in July next year. Activist Lidón Soriano, spokesperson for the Boicot al Deporte de Israel platform, said honestly: “Here in Spain, repression is much lower than in France.”

This means that there is more room for protest in Spain due to a lack of measures. And then, in July 2026, the world's biggest cycling race will pass through Spain for three days, with Barcelona as its capital and Catalonia as its region. The full route of the Tour de France will be presented in Paris on October 23.