Israeli cyclists blocked by pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Vuelta a España global race in Spain

The Israel-Premier Tech cycling team was targeted on Wednesday at the Vuelta a España multi-stage road race in Catalonia, northeastern Spain, when pro-Palestinian demonstrators attempted to block the Israeli riders from continuing, putting them at risk.

At the beginning of the fifth stage time-trial, several protesters were seen on video waving Palestinian flags and holding banners with the inscription, “Neutrality is complicity. Boycott Israel” in Catalan. The riders were forced to slow down, but no accidents were reported.

The Vuelta a España is one of the three Grand Tours of professional cycling, alongside the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia. The race is held annually in Spain, covering about three weeks of daily stages that include flat sprints, mountain climbs and time trials.

The incident is one of many attempts by demonstrators to block Israeli participation in international sports events while simultaneously drawing attention to the Palestinian cause.

The Israel-Premier Tech team, owned by Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams, was also targeted during the Tour de France in July in Paris, when a pro-Palestinian protest erupted along the roadside. Former Israeli hostage Ofer Calderon spent 484 long days in Hamas captivity in Gaza before being released this past January. On Sunday, Calderon – an avid cyclist – accompanied the Israel Premier Tech pro-cycling team at the prestigious Tour de France competition.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Israeli cycling team said it “absolutely condemns the dangerous acts of the protesters on stage 5 of the Vuelta a España, which not only compromised the safety of our riders, race personnel, but the protesters themselves.”

Relations between Spain and Israel have long been strained by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In May, Barcelona's City Council – the country’s second largest city – voted to sever institutional ties with the Israeli government and suspend its 1998 friendship agreement with the city of Tel Aviv, citing allegations of violating international law and the rights of Palestinians.

The motion, calling for an end to all official relations with Israel “until respect for international law” and the “basic rights of the Palestinian people” are restored, was supported by the governing Socialist Party in Barcelona, the far-left, and leftist pro-independence groups.

“The suffering and death in Gaza over the past year and a half, and recent attacks by the Israeli government, make any relationship unviable,” Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni said during the council session.

Barcelona’s actions came a year after Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognized a Palestinian state in a coordinated decision, prompting condemnation from Israel.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been among the European Union’s most outspoken critics of Israel’s military operations in Gaza, launched in response to the brutal Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, having declared in May: "We don’t trade with a genocidal state."

Also in May, ahead of the Madrid Summit at the end of May, where more than 20 European and Arab nations gathered to advance a two‑state solution, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares urged an end to Israel’s offensive in Gaza, saying Madrid was committed to “stopping this war, which no longer has any goal.”

However, a shift in Spanish politics indicates that Israeli-Spanish relations may have the potential to improve soon.

According to Politico, Spain’s current governing party, the Socialists, only has 29% of the country’s support compared to 34% support for the center-right People’s Party, which has steadfastly supported Israel.

Additionally, Vox, a political party founded in 2013, is gaining momentum in Spain, polling at 14%. From the outset, it has strongly supported Israel and condemned the Spanish government’s actions against Israel. Party leader Santiago Abascal criticized Spain’s recognition of a Palestinian state and, after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli, pledged that under his leadership, there would be “no prizes for terrorism, no state for Palestine.”