Protests against Israel are disrupting La Vuelta a España, to a level rarely seen in any sports competition anywhere in the world. Wednesday's stage finished earlier than anticipated so that riders could safely return to their buses in a deviated route, given the large amount of protesters in the finish line. They protest about the participation of one of the teams, Israel Premier-Tech, funded by Sylvain Adams, a Zionist billionaire self-proclaimed "ambassador of Israel".
With still ten more stages to go before the final stage on September 14, there are doubts that the race can continue safely, as protests will likely continue to grow stronger and louder. So what's the solution? For Kiko García, technical director of the Spanish Grand Tour, the only solution is for Israel Premier-Tech to voluntarily abandon the race.
"We all have to find a solution, and for me... there's only one right now: for the Israeli team itself to realise that being here doesn't make it any safer for everyone else. But we can't make that decision; they have to make it," explained García in radio station Cadena Ser.
The technical director explains that they cannot legally push a team out of the competition, under risk of UCI (International Cycling Union) taking the race out of the calendar. He said he explained his feelings to Israel Premier-Tech, but as expected, their answer is no: doing so would set a dangerous precedent in the sport, the team claims.
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"Israel-Premier Tech 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. The Vuelta a España race organization and police are doing everything in their power to create a safe environment and, for that, the team is especially grateful", but criticised Wednesday's protests in Bilbao, as "dangerous and counterproductive to their cause".
Also speaking to Cadena Ser, Óscar Guerrero, director of Israel-Premier Tech, said that they won't abandon the race because it would mean the end. "There are 180 families eating because of this team" and that the team does not have a political view and has riders from all over the world (only one of the eight riders from the team at La Vuelta is Israeli).