Poels opens up on protest-hit Vuelta: ‘A weird experience’
Wout Poels (XDS Astana) was the latest guest on the Domestique Hotseat, reflecting on a Vuelta a España overshadowed by repeated pro-Palestine protests that ultimately forced the cancellation of the final stage in Madrid.
Poels described the atmosphere as “a little bit of a weird experience,” admitting that the demonstrations created uncertainty and unease in the peloton.
“I mean, to do the protest, I really have no problem with that. And I think it's really good when people do it, when they feel something. But if they're going to destroy the finish line, jump in the peloton, yeah, that's a different story,” Poels said.
The peloton was halted with 58km remaining on the final day after protestors spilled onto the course and blocked riders at the rear of the bunch. “I was held up, and then I touched a few people to get out of it because it was not really a nice atmosphere to stand in the middle. So yeah, then I was happy to be out of that,” he explained.
Poels expressed sympathy for the jersey winners and stage victors who were unable to celebrate their achievements. “It's also really a shame. I always feel really sorry for the winner, for the people who won the jerseys and all these other things that you cannot celebrate properly after three weeks of racing. You put so much hard work into it and then, yeah, you don't have a little party.”
He admitted the protests gave the race an unusual vibe. “It was a little bit of a weird vibe sometimes because some days it went without problem and some days it was just a big mess like the stage in Bilbao, the stage that Egan Bernal won and Madrid.”
Poels said he was not scared but felt the tension. “I was not really scared, but the vibe and atmosphere were getting a little bit into that. Like you saw these people, they were so angry, and I understand they're angry, but yeah, it was almost like, I was like, yeah, why are you so angry to me?”
He explained that riders tried to focus on the racing despite the constant distractions. “I think I tried to focus not to think too much about it. I was like, you know, it comes day by day, and we will see what happens because there is not so much you can do. But of course, in the back of your head, you are thinking about it.”
Summing up, the 37-year-old said the Vuelta was unlike any other Grand Tour he had done. “Not how you want to do a grand tour because you trained so hard for it, and you just want to perform and you want to be your best. And yeah, then you have all of these things around it that you cannot control and yeah, it's a very difficult situation.”
