Activists hack Vuelta race radio to broadcast pro-Palestine songs and slogans

Spanish news agency EFE reported that the incident took place during stage 14 to La Farrapona on Saturday, when activists succeeded in hacking into the frequency of ‘Radio Vuelta’ to broadcast slogans and songs in solidarity with Palestine at various points during the stage.

The Vuelta’s radio frequency is ordinarily used to relay information from the race organisation to the team cars in the convoy. A spokesperson for the Vuelta said that the incident had not caused any significant disruption.

“Hacking a radio station is simple, it’s nothing unusual,” the source said, according to El País. “A radio amateur with a bit of skill can tap into a frequency. What happened yesterday was purely incidental and poses no danger.” 

Israel-Premier Tech’s presence in the Vuelta has been the subject of protests throughout the race. Human rights activists briefly blocked the squad during the team time trial in Figueres on stage 5, while stage 11 to Bilbao was halted 3km from the finish due to a demonstration in solidarity with Palestine on the finishing straight.

On stage 15 on Sunday, Movistar’s Javier Romo crashed heavily after a police officer ran into the road to apprehend a protestor bearing a Palestinian flag. According to Marca, Romo had initially sought to confront the protestor after his crash, but the newspaper reported that “the situation didn’t escalate.”

Romo rejoined the peloton and completed the stage with the main peloton. He declined to speak with reporters at the finish.

In his post-stage press conference, overall leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) said that he wasn’t aware of the circumstances of Romo’s crash, but he acknowledged that he could understand the protestors' motivation.

“We didn’t hear anything about what happened. We saw Javier coming back after a crash, but we didn’t know exactly what happened to him,” Vingegaard said. “To be honest, I think we all feel with what’s happening there, and I think all the people who are demonstrating, they are just searching for a way to get to the news. 

“I think they think it doesn’t get enough attention and they’re really desperate and that’s why they do it here, I guess. Of course it’s, unfortunate that it has to happen here in the Vuelta. But I think they are desperate, and they want to have more attention.”

Over 64,000 people, the vast majority of them civilians, have been killed since Israel invaded Gaza almost two years ago in response to the October 7 terrorist attacks, which killed more than 700 people.

During the week, Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares expressed support for Israel-Premier Tech’s removal from the Vuelta, telling public-service broadcaster RNE, “We have to send a message to Israel, to Israeli society.”

Team owner Sylvan Adams has rejected the idea of withdrawing his team from the Vuelta, though Israel-Premier Tech have since opted to remove their team name from their kit for the remainder of the race.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement in support of Israel-Premier Tech’s presence at the Vuelta on Friday: “Great job to Sylvan and Israel’s cycling team for not giving in to hate and intimidation. You make Israel proud!”

It is expected that demonstrations against Israel-Premier Tech’s participation will continue in the final week, but the head of the Guardia Civil at the Vuelta expressed confidence that the race will proceed.

“This situation doesn't surprise us,” David Rebate told EFE. “We’ve gone through much more complicated times, like in the years of terrorism. Our unit was created to respond to these situations, and we have enough experience to deal with whatever arises.