Vuelta organisers defend decision to keep Israeli team in race after protests in Madrid finale

Spanish Vuelta organisers on Monday defended their decision to keep an Israel-based team in the cycling race despite pro-Palestinian protests that ultimately provoked chaotic scenes in a disrupted finale in Madrid this weekend.

Sunday's final stage had to be cut short after protesters threw barriers onto the road and clashed with police near the finish line in the Spanish capital.

The Vuelta race director condemned calls for the boycott of the three-week-long race that became a diplomatic battleground as protesters called for team Israel Premier Tech to be expelled. Javier Guillen said there was nothing organisers could have done regarding the presence of the Israeli team.

"The Vuelta's position was clear: we had to abide by the norms of the International Cycling Union. It's the UCI that regulates the right of admission to the race,'' Guillen said in a news conference. ''We never got into any other type of debate. All we wanted to do was to be able to finish the race with normalcy, and that wasn't possible." Spain's left-wing government expressed sympathy with the protesters and suggested Israeli Premier Tech should withdraw from the race. The team removed the team name from its uniforms but remained in the race until the end. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Sunday criticised Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for what he said was encouragement for the protesters. Madrid's conservative mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, also criticised Sanchez and described Sunday's events as a sad day for the Spanish capital.

"When you call for a boycott of the race and the race is boycotted, that obviously hurts those who are involved in the race," Guillen said, adding that he was not referring specifically to Sanchez's comments.

Guillen noted that Israeli teams and athletes have been allowed to compete everywhere else in the world, and that the Vuelta had no right to try to keep them from racing in the Grand Tour event in Spain. Guillen said the Vuelta protests will likely force authorities to look at preventive actions ahead of other sporting events.

"After this Vuelta, the international entities will need to make decisions and cycling will need to have some internal discussions to find solutions," he said.

Guillen said he hopes there will be solutions in place by the time next year's Tour de France begins with a stage in Barcelona. "Hopefully, everything will be solved by then," he said. "I don't want to speculate on any possibilities. I'm sure Barcelona will have a great Tour de France." Guillen said the UCI wants information about what happened during the Vuelta so it can try to "confront the future." The race in Spain was disrupted during several stages, with some having to be cut short and others interrupted. Authorities said that on Sunday, two people were arrested and 22 were injured, none of them seriously, in the confrontations between police and protesters.

The central government's representative for the Madrid region said an estimated 100,000 people were on the streets during the protests.

Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard, who was leading the overall classification going into the final stage, was declared the winner of the Vuelta, but the customary podium ceremony was cancelled.

"It's a pity that such a moment of eternity was taken from us," Vingegaard said. ''Everyone has the right to protest, but not in a way that influences or endangers our race." The teams reportedly improvised a private podium ceremony later so riders could celebrate.

"Everything that happened was unacceptable," Guillen said. "Obviously, it was a very sad day. We faced very, very difficult moments. The images speak for themselves."

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