Spain’s most prestigious cycling race, La Vuelta a España, has been thrust into political controversy this week as pro-Palestinian protesters targeted Israel-Premier Tech, an Israeli-owned professional cycling team. Demonstrations have erupted along several stages of the route, with activists calling for the team’s expulsion from the race.
In Bilbao, protesters lined the course waving Palestinian flags and holding banners that read “Neutrality is complicity, Boycott Israel” and “La Vuelta continues deaf and dumb” in Catalan and Spanish.
The protests come amid Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, launched in retaliation for Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack, which triggered months of violence and left tens of thousands of civilians dead.
Sylvan Adams, the Israeli-Canadian billionaire who owns Israel-Premier Tech, has fiercely condemned the demonstrations, calling the protesters “violent terrorists”, The team has vowed to remain in the race until it concludes in Madrid on September 14.
“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 said in a Wednesday statement.
The dispute has reached the political stage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Adams and the team for standing firm, posting on X, “Great job to Sylvan and Israel’s cycling team for not giving in to hate and intimidation. You make Israel proud.”
Meanwhile, Spain’s foreign minister has suggested he would support removing the team from the Vuelta, deepening tensions between activists, race organizers and political leaders as the tour heads toward its final stages.
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