Pidcock worries for targets of pro-Palestinian protests

After extensive pro-Palestinian protests during the Vuelta a Espana, Britain’s Tom Pidcock says he worries about riders being targeted.

The 26-year-old’s career-best third placed in his new Q36.5 team’s final Grand Tour of the year, which was held over the course of three weeks.

The Danish champion Jonas Vingegaard won the Vuelta, but protests broke out in at least eight of the race’s stages, which caused crashes in the peloton and early ending stages for organisers.

Two British riders made up the eight-man Israel-Premier Tech team, which was specifically targeted during stage five’s team time trial.

Pidcock stated, “I’m not going to comment on why people are protesting, but I worry about my friends who ride for the Israel [Premier Tech] team.”

They don’t ride to support Israel, but they do so because they have the chance to compete on bikes all over the world. They just look like the rest of us, after all. The staff is also the same.

They had a good time of it, according to the Vuelta, which they have had for a while.

As the three-week race progressed, Pidcock explained that some riders started to worry more.

Around 60 kilometers into the final stage of Madrid was abandoned as protestors stormed the course and had some riders engage in minor verbal altercations.

Pidcock, who has won two gold medals at the Olympics in mountain biking and one of the Tour de France’s most challenging stages, described how he witnessed the disruptions.

“The last stage was when Felix Gall was pushed off his bike just before the race was over,” said Pidcock.

“A number of riders were punctured by pins that they threw into the road on one occasion. But overall, I wasn’t particularly scared until it reached that point.

Pro-Palestinian protestors wanted to stifle the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict in the Vuelta.

In response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people and the hostage of 251, the Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry of the Hamas-run region, at least 65,141 people have died as a result of Israeli attacks in Gaza since then.

On the time trial, protestors blocked four riders from continuing by sticking a banner across the road and praised the Israel-Premier Tech team.

Nadav Raisberg, an Israeli rider for Israel-Premier Tech, stated in a diary note: “What’s waiting for us today? ” Do they have any effects on us? rob us of it?

Israeli-Premier Tech was established in 2014, and billionaire Sylvan Adams, a Canadian-Israeli property investor, co-owns them.

Adams is a “self-appointed ambassador for Israel,” Adams has close ties to the Israeli government and has previously stated to BBC Sport.

Four other British riders are included in their squad, along with British four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome, who was signed for a big-money deal for the 2021 season.

However, several teams’ riders suffered harm, including Spain’s Javier Romo, who left after crashing onto stage 15 as protesters hurried toward the advancing peloton.

It’s unfortunate that we get swept up in everything, Pidcock said.

“Sport is about lighthearted entertainment for people,” I believe.

Some organisers are concerned about what might happen at future events, despite Pidcock saying he is not worried about it.

“I’m not concerned about it,” said Pidcock. The biggest players in the sport, in my opinion, are those who have more at stake.

This week, the Spanish government was condemned by cycling’s world governing body, the UCI, for its political stance and the negative impact it claimed it had had on the sport.

Before the final stage began, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared his admiration for the protesters.

However, the UCI did praise Vuelta’s ASO, which also runs the Tour de France, cycling’s biggest event. If political protests will be a factor in that race next year, it’s not yet clear whether that race will be affected.

In preparation for the Worlds, Israel-Premier Tech has made significant investments in the Kigali cycle infrastructure in Rwanda’s capital.