Riders at the Vuelta a España have spoken out over protests at the race, after a crash seemed to have been caused by pro-Palestine activists on stage 10.
On Tuesday, Intermarché-Wanty’s Simone Petilli crashed after protestors ran onto the road, with police unable to hold them back. The accident was not shown on television, but was shared on social media, with most of the peloton dodging the protestors on the road, but Petilli being unfortunate.
“We remind everyone that cyclists are not involved in political or social disputes — they are simply doing their job: racing,” he wrote on X. “Their safety must never be put at risk. While we respect the right to peaceful protest, actions that endanger athletes cannot be accepted. Rider safety must remain the highest priority. The CPA stands firmly with the riders: they just want to race in safe conditions.”
On Wednesday, the commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa), Philippe Lazzarini, warned that Gaza is “becoming the graveyard of international humanitarian law”.
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez said this week that Europe’s response to Gaza had been a “failure”. “What we’re now witnessing in Gaza is perhaps one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21st century,” he argued
Explore More
