Pro-Palestinian protesters at the Vuelta bicycle race in Spain (Screenshot/YouTube)
A protester waving a Palestinian flag caused chaos at the Vuelta, sparking a crash involving multiple riders.
By World Israel News Staff
An anti-Israel protester waving a Palestinian flag disrupted the Vuelta bicycle race in Spain on Sunday, causing multiple riders to crash.
The incident occurred during Stage 15 of the race, on the course between A Veiga and Monforte de Lemos in a rural region of northwestern Spain.
Live broadcast footage showed the activist running out of the woods and onto a paved road just as a tightly packed group of cyclists approached. His sudden appearance caused several riders to collide and crash, including Spanish cyclist Javier Romo.
It remains unclear if any members of the Israeli team were involved in the incident.
The participation of an Israeli team in the prestigious race has sparked ire among Spanish pro-Palestinian activists, some of whom lined the route to harass riders.
The disruptions have been so serious that Stage 11 of the Vuelta was declared as having no winner after police failed to contain hundreds of anti-Israel demonstrators who stormed the course near Bilbao.
The backlash escalated to the point where the Israeli team was forced to remove the word “Israel” from their uniforms, despite the race already being underway.
In a statement, the team explained that the move was made “in the interest of prioritizing the safety of our riders and the entire peloton,” citing the “dangerous nature of some protests at the Vuelta.”
Last week, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said he would “understand and be in favor” of a move to remove the Israeli team from the race.
“We have to send a message to Israel and the Israeli society that Europe and Israel can only have normal relations when human rights are respected,” Albares said.
In May, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Israel was a “genocidal state” during a speech to parliament.
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