Multiple riders request Israel-Premier Tech to pull out of the Vuelta due to 'increased security risk'

Simone Petilli has called for calm following his crash on stage 10 of the Vuelta a España, which occurred after human rights protestors bearing Palestinian flags spilled into the road.

The incident took place near Lumbier with 75km remaining on the stage, when protestors demonstrating against Israel-Premier Tech’s presence in the Vuelta clashed with police on the roadside. At least two protestors ran into the road as the peloton approached, while police could be seen swinging batons to dissuade demonstrators.

Petilli crashed amid the disruption, though the Intermarché-Wanty rider did not sustain serious injury and he finished the stage. On Wednesday morning, he called on demonstrators not to put riders’ safety at risk on the Vuelta.

“I understand that is not a good situation, but yesterday I crashed because of a protest on the road,” Petilli wrote on social media. “Please, we are just cyclists and we are doing our job, but if it will continue like this our safety is not guaranteed anymore, and we feel in danger! We just want to race! Please.”

Petilli’s appeal echoed that of Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep), who wrote on social media: “We fully acknowledge that everyone has the right to protest. However, we kindly ask that this be done in a safe manner.”

The Vuelta has been marked by repeated protests at Israel-Premier Tech’s presence in the race. Israel-Premier Tech is owned by Canadian businessman Sylvan Adams and does not have direct ties to the Israeli state. 

Ahead of the Vuelta, the Izquierda Unida party called on the Spanish government to ask the Vuelta organisation to exclude the team from the race due to Israel’s ongoing invasion of Gaza.

According to Gaza health authorities and the United Nations, more than 58,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since Israel invaded Gaza in response to the October 7 terrorist attacks, which killed more than 700 people.

In August, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) declared that an “entirely man-made” famine is taking place in Gaza due to the Israel government’s refusal to allow sufficient humanitarian aid into the region.

In the stage 5 team time trial in Figueres – the first on Spanish roads – a group of protestors bearing Palestinian flags and a banner reading “Neutrality is Complicity. Boycott Israel” attempted to block the road the road during Israel-Premier Tech’s effort.

The team was forced to slow down, but police outriders quickly cleared a path for the riders. Directeur sportif Daryl Impey stated afterward that his riders had been “shaken” by the incident. “The organisers have measures in place, but you can’t control everything,” he said. “This is the first time, as far as I know, that this had a sporting consequence on the race.”

Vuelta director Javier Guillén vowed to take action against protests that disrupted the race. “We are going to file a complaint; we cannot allow what happened,” he told Marca. “When it is protested with violence, it ceases to be a just cause.”

The protests at the Vuelta follow similar demonstrations at the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France earlier this season. A man wearing a t-shirt bearing the slogan ‘Israel out of the Tour’ was arrested after running into the finish straight in Toulouse during the finale of stage 11 of the Tour.

The vast majority of demonstrations at the Vuelta have been peaceful, with Palestinian flags highly visible on the roadside, most notably during stage 10, which brought the race into Navarra.

Further demonstrations are expected in Bilbao on Wednesday, with Basque political party EH Bildu calling for Israel-Premier Tech’s withdrawal from the Vuelta. 

“Israel is not welcome in the Basque Country and we urge the withdrawal of the Israel-Premier Tech cycling team from La Vuelta 2025,” read a statement from EH Bildu. “We do not want a team that represents a genocidal state in our country. It is unacceptable that sport be used to whitewash genocide.”

Before the start of stage 11 of the Vuelta in Bilbao, there was a meeting between team representatives, the CPA (cycling's rider union) and race organisers. 

According to journalist Daniel Friebe, a number of riders had expressed a preference for Israel-Premier Tech to pull out given the increased and growing security risks after a number of pro-Palestine protests over the course of the race so far.

Elia Viviani, one of the CPA representatives at the Vuelta, told journalist Daniel Friebe, "riders said to commissaires/race organisation they would ride as long as protests are peaceful. If the race gets stopped, riders will reassess." 

As well that, Viviani also clarified that the CPA wouldn‘t demand Israel-Premier Tech riders pull out with. "We wouldn’t go against our colleagues," Viviani said.

Israel-Premier Tech's riders all lined up for stage 11, where in the neutral start, the stage was briefly stopped due to pro-Palestine protestors taking to the middle of the road.