The Protestants were taken the Gran Vía de Bilbao and prevented a stage from return to Spain to end there. EFE/ Miguel Toña
Photo: EFE – Miguel Toña
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Daily protests and incidents caused by the proportional mobilizations contrary to the participation of the Israel Premier Tech team in the return to Spain have jumped from the roads to the international political scene.
This is corroborated by the latest statements of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in support of the cycling training, or the opposite of the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, supporter of expulsion. Meanwhile, the Asturias government urged the Israel Premier Tech team to leave the return.
Gimena Llamedo, vice president of the Principality, was blunt: “We cannot remain impassive before Gaza's massacre.”
Netanyahu: “Great work of the team for not giving in to hate”
Benjamín Netanyahu went on stage on Friday to congratulate the team “for not giving in to hatred” in the Tour of Spain, where there have been protests against the participation of Israeli formation in that cycling race.
“Great work by Sylvan Adams and Israel's team for not giving in to hatred and intimidation. You are making Israel feel proud!” He said in his account in X the prime minister.
The presence of the Israeli team runners has been received at different stages of the Vuelta with demonstrations with Palestinian flags and banners in which you can read “Genocidal Israel” or “Stop Genocide”.
This Wednesday, for security reasons, the protest starring that day forced even to shorten the eleventh stage in Bilbao and leave it without winner.
The owner of the team, Sylvan Adams, dismissed the possibility that the team that directs to be called simply Premier Tech: “We will never run without the name Israel,” Sport Channel said on the Israeli Canal.
Adams even claimed to have received the support from David Lappartient, president of the International Cycling Union, emphasizing the idea that if they abandon the evidence it would be “the end” of his set and of all others. “
However, this Saturday the team has announced the withdrawal of the country's name in the shirt to “prioritize security.”
“To prioritize the safety of our cyclists and the entire platoon, given the danger of some protests in the Vuelta, Israel-Premier Tech has provided cyclists with a uniform with the team monogram for the rest of the race”, uniform with a logo in which the name of Israel does not appear, as explained in a statement.
Partisan officials of the expulsion of Israel
The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, expressed his opinion on the National Radio of Spain (RNE), a supporter of expelling the Israel Premier Tech team from La Vuelta.
The head of Spanish diplomacy considered it necessary to “send the message” to Israel that you cannot continue “as if nothing happened” with sports competitions while its offensive against Gaza continues.
Albares clarified that the decision to expel the Israeli cycling team does not correspond to the government, but to the International Cycling Union (ICU), and that the Executive has not had “anything to say in participation.”
The Asturias government does not participate in acts of the Vuelta
The Principality of Asturias, who lives the most transcendent mountain days of the Vuelta, has not had its leaders in any act of the race. Neither its president, Adrián Barbón, nor any member of the Governing Council attend the Asturian stages of the competition.
However, the Asturian Executive asked that “any type of protest be peaceful and does not put the safety of cyclists at risk or prevent the development of the test
Gimena Llamedo, vice president of the Principality, said they cannot “remain impassive before the massacre of Gaza”, and was in favor of the withdrawal of the Israeli team from the Vuelta.
“It would be the best for everyone, including competition itself,” said Llaldo. “We have no capacity to prevent their participation. Nor does it even have the Government of Spain. But what we can and want to do is manifest our disagreement,” said the vice president.
The protests continue in each of the stages of the return. In the outputs, the goals and some sections of the route, the proportional mobilizations are noticed.
The Final Ascension to the Farrapona-Lagos de Somiedo, with prolonged ramps, will be one of the decisive moments of the race, in a chain that will punish the runners and offer an ideal scenario for favorites to measure forces before the last week.
After the epic passage through the Angliru, where João Almeida (UAE) won with authority but Jonas Vingegaard (Visma) retained the red jersey, the return to Spain 2025 faces this Saturday another decisive day.
Stage 14, of just 135.9 kilometers between Aviles and El Alto de la Farrapona, presents an explosive and mountainous tour that can make important differences in the general classification before the second day of rest.
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