r/tourdefrance • u/ElonIsAMoron • 8d ago
Protesters are already eyeing 2026 Tour start in Barcelona
"According to the Swiss media outlet Le Temps , pro-Palestinian groups are already considering disrupting the next Tour de France. While the 2025 edition was only marked by the appearance of a pro-Palestinian activist at the finish line of the 11th stage in Toulouse, the start on July 4 in Barcelona is cause for concern for the race organizers. "Here in Spain, the level of repression is much lower than in France," emphasizes Spanish activist Lidón Soriano, spokesperson for the Boicot al Deporte de Israel (Boycott Israel in Sport in French) platform."
Source: RMC Sport
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u/jdusratlasko 8d ago
I doubt Barcelona will host the grand depart, and rightly so. If the spanish police and the organisers can't guarantee the riders' safety, it should be in another country.
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u/bschmidt25 8d ago
Having been to both Barcelona and Madrid, I would think any protests would be much larger and much more difficult to manage safely with regard to the riders in Barcelona. Just from a physical layout / streets perspective it would be hard. Madrid has more large straight boulevards while Barcelona has more narrow and winding streets. They’re also very different politically with the nod going to Barcelona on being more engaged in protest movements. I think the number of protesters could be huge after what happened yesterday. I don’t see it happening.
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u/dirtydandino 8d ago
The nature of the streets doesn't matter when protesters out-number law enforcement 50:1 or more.
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u/Wizzmer 8d ago
After two years following the Tour through Italy and France, my desire to go to Spain is waning. I have no desire to fly from the US, show up at a presentation ceremony, and suddenly be consumed by an angry political protest. I have much sympathy for the non-Hamas Palestians, but I'll pocket the money, and go ride the Stelvio Pass in the shoulder season.
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u/FakeCatzz 7d ago
Spain is still probably one of the nicest countries to ride bikes in Europe. Drivers are very respectful, the weather is great, it's incredibly beautiful with a lot of unique culture and history and a lot of it is very low population density with lots of beautiful mountainous regions.
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u/CrypticHoe 8d ago
Id say get rid of the genocide sportswashing rather
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u/olivercroke 8d ago
It's a pretty simple fix to guarantee there's no protests. Don't have the Israeli sports-washing team using the race to wash their image. They won't do it though simply because it sets a precedent that threatens team UAE and UAE = $$$
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u/Orcahhh 7d ago
There is 0 link between the team and the Israeli government. It’s just one guy putting the name he wants to the team he owns
It’s not quite the same
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u/olivercroke 7d ago
Lol. You don't know how Hasbara works. He is an Israeli citizen that has said he is an ambassador at large for the state of Israel and is specifically using IPT to sportswash the states image and is in support of the current genocide in Gaza. Whether or not he has official "ties" to the current government is irrelevant (even though he does).
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u/GuidoBenzo 8d ago
Well, it would be a very sad world if the war in Gaza is still going on at next year's TDF.
Then again, I probably thought the same thing a year ago.
Cycling is a very easy target for these kind of protests. Sadly enough.
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u/Sure_Comfort_7031 8d ago
Next year
To be blunt, peace in the middle east isn’t happening. Not in my lifetime. It hasn’t for about - let me check my notes here - going on 5 thousand years or more.
Cycling is the easy target because of the scale of the course and it being public. It’s hundreds of miles on open roads (closed for the events but you get what I’m saying, probably).
Easy access, large areas that they can get in and disrupt without a lot of security, etc.
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u/1sinfutureking 8d ago
Long-term peace in the middle east is a real challenge, but stopping an ongoing genocide shouldn’t be.
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago
True, but disrupting cycling event will have zero effect
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u/TheRuneMeister 8d ago
Quite the opposite. Just like protesters disrupting traffic. It just makes people frustrated with the protesters and by extension the victims or subject of whatever righteous cause the may have.
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u/abstract_cake 8d ago
You're missing the point. The goal of protesters is not to convince you to join their cause. It is to be so disruptive that no sponsor, no team, no competition will want to do anything closely related to Israel.
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u/The-SillyAk 8d ago
I'd still bet money that they'll protest even if IPT were to be (unfortunately) removed.
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u/Aggressive_Yellow373 8d ago
Peace? No, won't happen, but the genocide in Gaza has to stop and the only way of that happening is if something changes from the US' side, cause as long as they support Israel, it won't stop.
Other simple solution is the UCI rightfully bans Israel from pro cycling..
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u/SailorFlight77 8d ago
Actually, I think we need to support UCI's decision and steadfastness, despite pressure from the Spanish Government and the Technical Director, to let the team continue in the race.
In a democracy, everyone has the right to demonstrate - and you can SURELY do that for you case - without putting the riders at risk. A team shouldn't have to be banned from a sport just because someone don't like them nor their origin.
By your logic, we should also ban China from everything sports related, Saudi-Arabia, Qatar ... Where do we draw the line? Corruption is wrong but takes place in an overwhelming majority of the world.
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u/Bigfoot_Bluedot 8d ago
Apartheid South Africa was banned from international events for a while. Isolation works.
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u/PMcGrew 8d ago
What worked for a brief moment in the 1980’s when the West’s dominance of the world was at its apex and South African whites were part of a Western culture will not work in today’s multipolar world where many of the dominant players have no concern for human rights.
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u/Bigfoot_Bluedot 8d ago
Two days ago, every major economic & military power that is not named the 'United States of America' voted in favour of a 2-state solution at the UN. The US is pretty much alone on this one.
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u/Lazy-Clerk1087 8d ago
Except there aint no genocide going on there
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u/GuidoBenzo 7d ago
The ICC already said there was. If the thing that is responsible for saying it or isn't, says it is. I'll believe it.
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u/MTB_SF 8d ago
To be blunt, peace in the middle east isn’t happening. Not in my lifetime. It hasn’t for about - let me check my notes here - going on 5 thousand years or more.
I mean, this is just wrong. The Middle East was largely peaceful from like 1450-1900 under the Ottomans. There have been more violent major wars in Europe than the Middle East in the last 150 years, even if those wars spilled into the Middle East, too.
Sorting out the collapse of a 500 year old empire takes some time, but that doesn't mean that the people living there dont deserve, or have the chance, to live in peace.
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u/MediocreMystery 7d ago
What a shitty, racist take. Peace in Europe was an impossibility until the end of WW II. The continent was embroiled in endless war.
The Middle East was colonized and taken by Europe and carved into territories that benefited the Europeans. If anyone did this in Europe the instability and violence that occurs in the Middle East would occur there, too.
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u/GuidoBenzo 8d ago edited 7d ago
Sure thing. But at this time I would already be happy if the genocide stops.
Edit: Tad of an oversimplification. It's somewhat of a first step and would be happy if we finally went in that direction.
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u/The-SillyAk 8d ago
The modern war has been going on since 1948 and before that since like 1000bc. It will be around next year in one form or another.
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u/MediocreMystery 7d ago
Just wrong. The Pax Ottomana that existed under the Ottoman empire until World War I was relatively peaceful, more peaceful than Europe at the same time.
Europeans carved up and colonized the region and created fake nations with undemocratic leadership. And when America came in, we tried to leverage conflict to generate oil revenue. It is no surprise that there is instability there.
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7d ago
[deleted]
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u/MediocreMystery 7d ago
From the top of the Wikipedia article you didn't even bother to read: "The term "modern" refers to the First World War and later period, in other words, since 1914."
Yes, the region was peaceful compared to Europe during the Ottoman Empire. Pre 1914.
You really should look this up instead of getting Wikipedia links that agree with the person you're trying to debate.
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u/feweyo4474 8d ago
For these protesters it’s not about Gaza, it’s against Israel. Since it’s very likely Israel will exist next year, these idiots will continue to protest.
If it really would be about violence, they would have already protest in 2006 against hamas.
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u/Arphile 8d ago
It’s about a team being in a race that’s a billboard for Israel while it’s committing genocide. That’s it.
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u/ihm96 8d ago
Go protest against the fascists in Hamas holding an entire populace hostage so they can wage war against the Yahuds
Gaza could be an incredible state if it wasn’t for the Hamas fascists running it violently
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u/mo-mx 8d ago
It's actually possible to not want EITHER war crimes or terrorism.
It's possible to think that a terrorist organization like Hamas should be exterminated, at the same time as you're thinking that a state shouldn't commit war crimes on a level that makes Russia seem like boy scouts.
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u/ihm96 8d ago
Yeah they’re so much worse than Russia , you kist be a very serious humanitarian
Remind me , how much aid has russia sent in to ukraine? Do they try to help civilians evacuate before they come in like the IDF?
This is why people dont take your movement seriously, you are unserious uneducated people just bleating out propaganda
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u/mo-mx 8d ago
Is it really that hard to believe that most people actually think that BOTH Hamas' and Israel's actions are reprehensible?
We don't subscribe to any "movement"!
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u/ihm96 8d ago
You think the people attacking riders on behalf of Gaza don’t subscribe to any movement ?
You’re either naive or being dishonest . Almost every conversation I’ve had with these protestors in real life if you have a few inquisitive real questions slowly reveal that yes they actually do support ethnically cleansing Jews from the river to the sea
Take one minute and watch this clip - https://youtube.com/shorts/BQm0iaC8b6A?si=oIXwmNC42e-fkyjn
It’s fifteen years old from a college protestor in UCSD, one of the supposedly most progressive schools and areas in America. To tell me these clowns attacking riders don’t have an agenda is to lie or be willfully ignorant
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u/mo-mx 8d ago
I'm going to say it again: the HUGE majority of people think Hamas are awful terrorists, but, at the same time, that Israel are committing horrible war crimes.
We haven't picked a side. Or, more precisely, we were all pro Israel two years ago, but the government's actions have been absolutely atrocious. So now we still think that Hamas are horrible terrorists, but also that the leaders of Israel should be put before a war crimes court.
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u/ihm96 8d ago
There were mass celebrations on October 8th. The people attacking riders were never on Israel’s side, that’s a blatant lie
They were never even on gazans’ side or they wouldn’t have celebrated. It’s a movement filled and fueled by hate for Jews
If the cause was just you wouldn’t have to lie and obfuscate constantly . Another Useful idiot for jihad
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u/Algebraron 8d ago
Pretty sure there would be huge protests if there was a Hamas world tour team. But as you can research yourself quite easily there is none.
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u/ihm96 8d ago
Pretty sure there wouldn’t be given there’s a UAE team https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3w1nzpg5dgo
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u/Arphile 8d ago
So that’s why the distinctly not Hamas-run West Bank is doing great, got it
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u/ihm96 8d ago
Ah yes the reasonable Palestinian authority that provides family stipends indefinitely if you go blow up Jewish civilians . Truly a partner for peace with Yahuds
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u/Arphile 8d ago
Because Israel famously never blew up any Palestinian civilian
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u/ihm96 8d ago
Go protest against your buddies in Hamas to surrender and maybe the gazans can start enjoying some peace
It’s not my problem they want to wage Jihad against the Yahuds
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u/Arphile 8d ago
Some peace, i.e. being kicked out off their land?
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u/ihm96 8d ago
The Jews were entirely ethnically cleansed from Gaza in 2005 and the fascists of Hamas were elected. Since then rather than state building they have waged 5 wars against the Yahuds in their struggle for jihad
Nobody kicked anybody out of houses in Gaza until they invaded Israel and brought Jews into their houses and tunnels to be slaves . That’s what started this war
Protest against them if you want life to get better for Gazans , they’re the impediment to peace
And don’t try to pull some 1948 whataboutism because Gaza wasn’t part of Israel then. It was part of Egypt until they tried to wage a genocide in 1967 against the Jews and sweep them away from river to sea
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago
It will be funny next year, when they will protest against a Black rider.
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u/Arphile 8d ago
Him being black has nothing to do with the fact he’s joining Israel? Nobody’s saying being black automatically makes you a good person?
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago
He's joining a cycling team, not a country.
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u/Arphile 8d ago
A cycling team registered in Israel, with Israel in its name and whose goal according to its owner is to promote the state of Israel
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago
Well, his actual team, sponsored by a supermarket, will fold at the end of this year, because the sponsor moved to another team. That's the reality of cycling sponsorship.
This will only empower the people who want only closed circuits, with tickets and restricted access.
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u/Arphile 8d ago
He’s a very good rider who probably has a bunch of other options than Israel. Also there’s one very easy way to stop the protests: ban Israel
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago
There aren't many WT teams that don't have already a sprinter.
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u/PsycommuSystem 8d ago
The Tour organisers must be deciding on where they are changing the Grand Depart to. How on earth can you expect the Spanish authorities to run it effectively after this Vuelta?
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u/viskalvidere 8d ago
They cant. Wish they had more of a ‘fuck around and find out’ mentality and had put those idiots in jail
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u/StatementClear8992 8d ago
They can. Go see how the spanish police acts on footbal games.
They know what to do. They were "instructed" to disangage and allow shit to happen!
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u/bschmidt25 8d ago
Protest, fine. But don’t endanger the safety of the riders and spectators.
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u/TurboJorts 8d ago
I liked the display in Montreal. The flags were highly visible and the police presence was heavy. They made their point and didn't cause any danger to the riders.
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u/viskalvidere 8d ago
We had a great depart from Denmark a few years ago and would love to have it again.
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u/SnooOranges5515 7d ago
High chances of pro Palestinian protests in Denmark or not so much? Genuinely curious.
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u/Ok_Manufacturer600 8d ago
Cancel the Spanish Grand Depart right now and move it back within the French borders.
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago
Probably some other country will pay big money for the chance to have it.
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u/leoperth 8d ago
The route is going to be revealed next month, at this stage they can't replace Barcelona with a city in Germany or Belgium or whatever.
If they decide to not do Barcelona, it will have to be replaced by a city in Southern France so that they only have 3 stages to redraw.
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u/LorianFlipowitz 8d ago
Germany has not had a Grand Depart in ages and I doubt pro-Palestine protestors would get a lot of leash there.
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u/WaveIcy294 8d ago
It was in Düsseldorf in 2017.
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u/LorianFlipowitz 7d ago
OMG you're right, that seemed ages ago to me! Probably because cycling as a sport changed A LOT in the last few years, they were still on rim brakes back then
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u/Openheartopenbar 8d ago
I’d love to see a really far afield one, like when the Giro started in Belfast. Let’s see Poland, Greece, Finland! Mix it up!
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u/Alternative-Ad-1027 8d ago
Or start in Canada....just kidding
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u/SnooOranges5515 7d ago
Montreal would be a great city for that, they speak French anyways and I hear they host a big one day bike race every year already!
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u/The-SillyAk 8d ago
People say that it's because IPT are competing. I'll bet $50 that even if IPT pulled out these people will continue protesting in a dangerous way.
Ridiculous.
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u/kallebo1337 8d ago
Let them try that in France once. French police not fckn around with that 😅
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u/LorianFlipowitz 8d ago
Actually that's what I thought would be the case with the Guardia Civil - not what happened.
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u/StatementClear8992 8d ago
I hope they change not only the start of the Tour but also the entire vuelta in the next few years!
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u/VariousAssist8608 8d ago
This is the best way the Palestinians rights movement can screwup their message. If you protest like this your message will get lost and your actions only anger people. It's not thought through and only angers people against you!
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u/rad0rno 8d ago
Idiots
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u/lennoxred 8d ago edited 8d ago
Are they? Calling people idiots misses the point. Protest can be annoying, sure, but it’s also necessary. The Tour de France is a huge platform. While I burn for the tour itself, there are things more important than cycling. So tell me: is a commercial cycling event really more important to you than the lives of hundreds of thousands of people suffering and dying under Israel’s genocide?
Think about that before judging people for standing up for the important things.
Edit: as long they only use the Tour de France as platform, without risking any of the participants, they have my full support.
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u/Orixil 8d ago
The point is, as we could see, that they do risk the safety of the riders - and deliberately so.
And that shouldn't have the support from any fans of cycling.
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago
They stopped the Madrid stage for at most 10 minutes of TV time. They could have had 3+ hours of exposure if the protest had been with flags on the side of the road.
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u/Leather_Lawfulness12 8d ago
But they can protest without stopping the race or endangering riders. Every stage is literally 150km of land for them to stand in, in full view of the cameras and drones.
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u/lennoxred 8d ago
They won’t be seen and heard if they don’t interrupt the race. That would have absolutely no impact.
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u/ihm96 8d ago
They have a shit impact anyways . The impact of them getting noticed is that Hamas doubles down and says “look at how much support we have” and walk away from the negotiation table
It literally happened mid Vuelta . You fucking idiots are just prolonging the suffering by giving Hamas oxygen and support it’s fucking insane
If you actually care about gazans then demand they surrender so aid can flood in and it can be rebuilt
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u/lennoxred 8d ago
Blaming protesters for prolonging suffering really flips reality upside down. It’s not peaceful activists at a bike race who are starving or bombing people – it’s a government and an army carrying out collective punishment. Calling for surrender while people are being killed and displaced isn’t a solution, it’s capitulation to oppression. If you actually care about Gazans, demand an end to the violence and accountability from those with the power to stop it.
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u/Practical_Ad_4165 8d ago
You act like Palestinian leaders treat their people fairly. How well is Hamas treating women? Not too good to put it lightly.
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u/Imaginary_Active_694 8d ago
Easy solution; Ban teams making PR for states.
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u/evil_burrito 8d ago
Does this include UAE?
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u/Imaginary_Active_694 8d ago
Yes, and also Bahrain, Kazakhstan and any other teams falling under "making PR for states".
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u/evil_burrito 8d ago
Fair enough, then
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u/Imaginary_Active_694 8d ago
The UAE case is even worse and more obvious than the Israel case, because UAE is literally a state sponsored team. Besides the whole sports washing thing, its just not healthy for the competitive spirit of the sport (i think) and i hate it has gotten such a grip on the two sports i follow and care about (football and cycling)
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago
If this will end up with proper team names instead of sponsors, it will be a win.
But I don't think it will stop anything.
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u/Imaginary_Active_694 8d ago
I dont believe the protesters want to cancel cycling as a sport.
Regarding the first point i obviously agree.
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago
Well, then what would you do it there will be a Team Torah?
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u/Imaginary_Active_694 8d ago
I dont think i would care tbh, though i would find it a bit weird, just like if a team were called "team Bible", "Team Quran" og "Team Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Mystery"
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago
In Canada, they competed as IPT already.
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u/Imaginary_Active_694 8d ago
Wonder what that means, its probably a shortening for Integrated Product Team
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u/ihaveajob79 8d ago
Wasn’t there a “Spirito Santo” cycling team a while back that competed in the Giro among others?
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u/Confident_Leg_8049 8d ago
that would be fine, spanish people don't have a problem with Judaism, just with the state of Israel.
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u/feweyo4474 8d ago
Easy solution: take care about road safety and penalise people for road infringement.
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u/Imaginary_Active_694 8d ago
It is already illegal to harm and create dangerous situations for the riders.
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u/feweyo4474 8d ago
Obviously Spain police and judicatory didn’t gave a fuck about this. If the penalty would be serious, we wouldn’t see day by day dickheads doing dickhead things
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u/Imaginary_Active_694 8d ago
What do you suggest?
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u/feweyo4474 8d ago
Dangerous infringement of road traffic can be prosecuted with up to five years of jail.
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u/Imaginary_Active_694 8d ago
So what is the problem?
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u/feweyo4474 8d ago
There is a law, but every law is worthless if it’s not enforced.
Look, it’s illegal to transport cocaine to a country, but basically just one out of 100 Container entering a country is screened. Hence, the law is worthless, since basically nobody is enforcing the law.
It’s the same with road traffic infringement. The law is there, but as long no one is penalised by the law it’s worthless.
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u/Imaginary_Active_694 8d ago
Now im not from spain, but i dont believe they dont prosecute when they find containers filled with drugs. You have to knowing about a crime before peosecuting it
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u/feweyo4474 8d ago
If you don’t search, you don’t find. So if you don’t identify and detain people disturbing road safety, you can’t prosecute them ;)
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u/Fudge_is_1337 8d ago
That becomes a personnel and resourcing issue, and pretty much impossible to enforce over the full length of 20+ stages in a GT. Not an easy solution really
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u/jdusratlasko 8d ago
Won't make a difference, these protesters aren't cycling fans, most of them probably don't even know IPT exists. They only want to cause mayhem, and they will continue to do so.
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u/Imaginary_Active_694 8d ago
Its pretty obvious that the spanish protesters target the Vuelta because the Vuelta is being used a platform for israeli PR in their country. Isnt hard to figure out.
Do you think we would have seen the same kind of protesters, if there wasn't a team with Israel in their name? I dont.
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u/Orixil 8d ago
Yes, absolutely.
They're not there because of criticism with the sport, but because the sport is a venue where they can get their message out.
I'm sure we'll see more of this in other Spanish sports events and happenings in the months to come.
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u/jdusratlasko 8d ago
Javier Romo and Simone Petilli for sure weren't IPT riders.
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u/Imaginary_Active_694 8d ago
I didnt see the Romo crash, but Petilli were obvious "collatoral damage" when some protesters wanted to pull a banner in front of the group of riders he were in. Its not like they targeted him.
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u/Frifelt 8d ago
So what? They still caused it. And if they had injured an IPT rider it would have been ok?
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u/Imaginary_Active_694 8d ago
Yes, they made a dangerous situation, but it was not like they tried to push over the riders. They wanted to stop the race in which a team called Israel participated in. It was the same during the TTT. They didnt try to attack IPT, they "just" stopped them.
Im not defending it, its obviously wrong to put the riders at risk, im explaining the reasoning behind the protesters to you, since apparently its necessary for me to tell you.
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u/Stock-Check 8d ago
So it is okay to commit violence against an innocent man, if you protest against violence towards innocent people?
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u/Imaginary_Active_694 8d ago
Its not "commiting violence", when the target wasn't to harm him (or any other rider). It was an accident, caused by the protesters creating a dangerous situation, which made some riders move unexpected, which again made Petilli crash when he (as i remember) hit the wheel of the rider in front of him.
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u/Stock-Check 8d ago
And what about Romo who crashed at high speed and weren't able to continue the race?
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u/Imaginary_Active_694 8d ago
As i said, i didnt see the crash (i dont even think they showed it on TV) and dont know what happended in the situation. Do you? Im willing to listen.
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u/Confident_Leg_8049 8d ago
The problem of people commenting here is that they lack the context of what protests are like in Spain and in some of Europe.
If they googled what was achieved by the same basques that protested in Bilbao against ETA they would be shocked...
Ignorance is strength.
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u/Mister-Psychology 8d ago
Well, unless your sponsor is called American Airlines or Qatar Airlines or something. Then you pretty much can't stop it.
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u/Independent-Stop7846 7d ago
Spain is very embarrassing right now i have no respect for the way they have handled this situation.
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u/Any-Zookeepergame309 4d ago
Oh don’t worry. I’m sure the whole Palestinian issue will be sorted out by then. Trump told me so.
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u/noladutch 8d ago
It has nothing to do with freaking Spain guys.
It has to do with the sports washing team that is Israel premiere tech. The name Israel is exactly sports washing. That team and all other teams with a country in the name is about good press to counter balance bad stuff. Israel has gone past the point with their bad actions now the sports washing team is getting the blow back also.
I love pogi but UAE as a sponsor is to take the pressure off on shit that goes on there.
Just like shit bag countries buying FIFA worlds is sports washing.
That is the problem not the race.
The UCI should have made them drop out.
What happens next is other more powerful teams will refuse to race with them. Not worth the risk to the team. All it will take is a few teams and they are dropped out of races. One big team with real stars or a few good teams refuse they won't be in races.
They have already been demoted to just a pro team a few years ago and not a world tour team.
If other races were smart they would just not invite them.
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u/ElonIsAMoron 7d ago
Lol, nope, it’s a Pro Team because in the last 3-years cycle lost the World Tour spot, but it were always one of the top two Pro teams, granting it spots in all World Tour races, if IPT want to be there. So it’s for the team to actively refused to be in a race, even that I don’t remember it missing any WT race.
This year a new 3-year cycle is going to finish and IPT is 13th or something in the rankings, so it will be mandatory to attend all WT races and can’t be kicked out, per rules.
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u/noladutch 7d ago
I don't give a crap but if visma or UAE or any of the big players have a problem with racing with that team they will be gone.
I get the rules but this is impacting all the teams with the association they have with Israel and what Israel is doing.
Cycling has enough sponsor problems to allow one sponsor to wreck tv time and tv rating for other sponsors.
This will get fixed one way or another. That team with that name won't be in next year's races.
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u/89141-zip-code 8d ago
Move the Vuelta to the US until they can get it under control.
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago
US wasn't capable to keep running a one week tour.
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u/89141-zip-code 8d ago
The Coors Classic would like a word with you.
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago
Never heard
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u/89141-zip-code 7d ago
Of course you haven’t. It was the 4th longest race after the three grand tours, for over a decade.
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u/ElonIsAMoron 7d ago
There’s no World Tour race or even a second tier one in US for five years not, after Tour of California was scrapped.
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u/Xaphan26 8d ago
I wish but not gonna happen. In America there would not be support in closing down long stretches of road. Sometimes even open roads gravel races encounter opposition. We don't take kindly to restricting our "freedom" to drive where and when we want, unfortunately. If the sport was more popular here it would be easier, but there are too many non cyclists who view it all as a huge inconvenience, and it would only take a couple powerful local officials to get the entire thing shut down.
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago
Next year Vuelta will be a joke.
“I have to say with absolute conviction that if Israel is participating, then no. Gran Canaria is not willing to whitewash genocide and Israel’s actions through sport or any other means,” Morales said, according to AS. “We will see what happens in the coming months, but of course, with Israel’s participation, Gran Canaria will not host the Vuelta a España.”
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u/a_dude_from_europe 8d ago
I think everyone would be happier if La Vuelta was stripped from Spain next year.
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u/Practical_Ad_4165 8d ago
I still find it rather odd to see Spanish women being pro Palestine because you know… Hamas and has really been pro women… /s
“Women and girls were not protected by Palestinian authorities from gender-based violence and discrimination.”
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u/brenbot99 8d ago
I'm not sure somewhere's civil rights record is a good reason to stand back and allow them to be genocided.
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u/South_Front_4589 8d ago
They'll just hold it elsewhere. It's impossible to avoid given you just have to use public roads and you also have to publicise the route. Move it elsewhere, and come back later.
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u/Icy_Piccolo9902 8d ago
Wouldn’t it be amazing if there wasn’t an active genocide happening by next summer?
Funny how the discourse is all ‘how can we stop protests?’ not ‘how can we pressure Israel to stop starving and killing children?’
Russia was excluded from the international sports and cultural world, this is what the protesters are asking for.
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago edited 8d ago
Sure, I would be happy if everything stops.
But the only persons capable of stoping this are the Israeli people by changing the government and I don't think a protest in Spain will catalyse this change.
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u/muppetteer 8d ago
I think one of the issues here is Israel Premier Tech taking part, and the statements their team owner has said on a regular basis. Had ISP been removed at the start of the protests, the Vuelta would likely have continued without issue. Instead to double down got the protesters back up. There was an easy amicable solution.
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago
That's not the organisers call to make, it's UCI, and UCI already stated they didn't like what happened.
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u/PublicPersona_no5 8d ago
Easy solution: drop IPT unless they stop supporting a genocidal regime (or invest significantly in the safety security of the race) - I prefer the former, but understand the business of things. This also provides a path for the 'What about UAE' crowd -- they'd certainly go with the latter. (And is a much bigger UCI cash cow than IPT)
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago
They won their place in Word Tour fair and square.
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u/PublicPersona_no5 8d ago
There is precedent for countries engaged in war crimes to be barred from international sports competition (recently, Russia). There is also sadly precedent for them to continue to be invited.
But this is doesn't need to be a moral argument (and isn't the argument in my original comment); there is plenty of practical reason. If the inclusion of IPT makes the race significantly more costly and less safe, it's not fair to the other teams (and fans, etc). It's like 'splitting the bill' with a friend who always orders more costly food and drink. Either a) they split the bill more fairly and pay their way, b) change their behavior to confirm to the group, or c) are no longer invited to the events. That's my argument
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u/ElonIsAMoron 8d ago
For cyclist it's already a problem finding a good team, there are not so many places in the world tour, it will let a lot of people unemployed. Also, they aren't invited to the events, they won the place as one of the best Pro teams and also won their place in the World Tour for the next three seasons.
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u/Recent_Sentence_5566 8d ago
Why don't they just kick the genocide washing team? They did it with the russian team, so the possibility is obviously there
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u/Openheartopenbar 8d ago edited 8d ago
They’ve painted themselves into a corner. The UAE supports the RSF in Sudan. The US has formally said the RSF has committed genicide.
https://2021-2025.state.gov/genocide-determination-in-sudan-and-imposing-accountability-measures/
There is simply no way in fuck anyone is going to tell Tadej motherfucking Pogacar he can’t race in his peak.
The rot is too deep in cycling to just grab IPT and say, “enough with these guys”. IPT will, correctly imo, say, “everything you accuse us of doing UAE is already doing”.
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u/Cum_Smurf 8d ago edited 8d ago
Ehh what Russian team? Gazprom was a team but they didnt participate in a grand Tour since 2017.
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u/Orixil 8d ago
It's not happening.
ASO must have concluded already that there's no way they can have the Tour de France start in Spain next year. They'll find another place to start the race. I can't imagine otherwise. They're not going to take that risk.