DISCUSSION Vuelta a España Stage 16 | Should UCI kick Israel - Premier Tech out of the race to stop the protests?

The sixteenth stage of the Vuelta a España featured a hilly and explosive day, with a hard summit finish that promised a lot of action amongst the GC contenders.

The start was not easy, despite not including any categorized ascents. As usual in the Spanish region of Galicia, roads are never truly flat, and the willingness of almost every team to be present in the breakaway of the day made the pace extremely high.

Soon before the first climb (Alto de San Antoñino, 8.9km à 4.1%), a big group of 17 men went clear, forming the break of the day. There were some important riders like Mikel Landa, Egan Bernal, Marc Soler, Jefferson Cepeda, Kevin Vermaerke or Bob Jungels. The peloton never seemed interested in fighting to take the break down, allowing the gap to go all the way up to 7 minutes, which made it clear that the victory was in the group in front.

During the climb to Alto da Groba (11.4km à 5.4%), Landa attacked and went solo, being subsequently joined by Bernal, Afonso, Rolland and Denz. A chasing group was established behind, but it was never able to catch them, despite Soler’s continuous efforts.

Denz, Rolland and Afonso (due to a puncture) lost contact one by one, so it was eventually Landa and Bernal alone in front. As riders were approaching the final climb to Mos (8.3km à 5.2%), race organizers announced that the stage would be neutralized once again due to protests close to the finish line.

It was decided that the finish line would be situated with 8km to go, right before the final climb, with times for the GC also being taken there. Bernal outsprinted Landa with ease and took home the victory in an anti-climatic finish, with Rolland completing the podium. Behind them, the GC men arrived all together except for Felix Gall, who lost almost one minute.

Once the stage finished, we asked some of our writers to share their thoughts and main takeaways about what happened today.

A joke of the Vuelta at this point. The UCI has refused to take action upon Israel's actions, the Vuelta organizers rely on the indications of the UCI, and a portion of the protestors are focused in blocking the race. Anti-climax has reached a new peak, with a beautiful stage in Galicia now turned into another controversial episode and with no GC action.

It will continue to be this way all the way into Madrid, because everyone sees that the protests have an effect. The problem is they have an effect on the race. The best outcome for them is that Israel - Premier Tech leaves the race, but the truth is that this will in no way change the atrocious actions that Israel is commiting in Gaza. If the team left the race nothing would change, and the team's presence in no way helps the Israeli cause either because the hate for the team grows by the day.

But the team will not leave, because its owner is strongly for the ongoing war and there is direct support from the Israeli government as well. All-in-all unbreakable forces on all sides of this Vuelta discussion, with no-one taking a decision that will move the race forward. The riders lose and are endangered on the daily, the spectators and race organizers lose, and at the end of the day everything remains the same on what really matters. This was written right after the stage, so maybe in the coming hours something may change.

Egan Bernal took the stage win, the culmination of a three-year and a half comeback story, it is a shame that it took place in such circumstances, with barely a single fan cheering him on as he crossed the "line", and no celebration.

The UAE said they would fight for the red... but Soler broke away. What can I say? Bernal raised his arms again in a grand tour. Finally, what is the organization waiting for to send the IPT home? We'll keep up this nonsense. The protests won't stop. Sit down, make the right decision, and tomorrow don't let the IPT cyclists sign the attendance book and cross the starting line. Is it that difficult? Spain has already shown it doesn't want them there, and the people united will never be defeated.

The UCI continues to do nothing, and La Vuelta is paying the price for its complete ineptitude. Unfortunately, the organizers could not and still cannot expel the Israel team, since doing so would bring consequences that would economically destroy the race for doing something illegal.

It is the UCI alone that can ensure the race reaches Madrid. The pro-Palestinian protests will continue, and it is hard to think they will not affect the time trial in Valladolid, the finish at the Bola del Mundo, and the final day in Madrid. I repeat: either the UCI acts, or we won’t have a race.

On the sporting side, it’s a pity we didn’t get to see the final duel between Mikel Landa and Egan Bernal on the climb. It was Mikel’s big chance to win again after what feels like a million years. With a flat finish, he had no chance against the Colombian.

What began as sporadic demonstrations has become a rolling confrontation reshaping the Vuelta. Finishes have been altered or neutralized for safety, and stages rerouted at short notice. The race carries on under strain.

Benjamin Netanyahu turned up the heat with effusive praise for Israel–Premier Tech. Team owner Sylvan Adams—a close friend of Netanyahu—matched the euphoria. On the road, sports director Oscar Guerrero echoed that tone, insisting the squad would not step aside. That isn’t de-escalation; it only lit the fuse further.

The UCI is not a bystander here. It governs the calendar, controls race discipline through commissaires, and takes a slice of the sport’s economics. The regulator is financially and structurally embedded in this race. But Spanish cities are losing money now. Large amounts of money.

Crucially, the UCI’s budget leans on IOC distributions in the Olympic cycle. And the Olympic movement has not hesitated to exclude or suspend nations and teams when principles and safety demanded it. Cycling’s leadership cannot hide behind neutrality while the event unravels. If the IOC can act to 'protect' its competitions, so can the UCI.

We’re in the do-or-die phase. Ban Israel–Premier Tech so the Vuelta can finish where it should—in Madrid, not in a random suburb’s parking lot after a string of detours and neutralized stages. Removing the flashpoint is the least-bad choice to protect riders, staff, fans, and the host cities that paid for a real finish.

Every day of dithering damages cycling. The UCI must act now. Ban the team, save the Vuelta.

Because in the end, governing for safety isn’t capitulation; it’s responsibility. The decision targets a risk assesment, not a political viewpoint. When a single flashpoint repeatedly forces route changes, neutralizations, and public-safety emergencies, removing that flashpoint is a duty-of-care call to protect riders, spectators, and paying host cities.

Refusing to act actually rewards escalation by showing that chaos secures maximum exposure while the race lurches from crisis to crisis. A targeted, time-bound ban—paired with clear criteria for reinstatement when authorities can guarantee safety—denies that incentive, preserves the event’s integrity, and ensures the Vuelta finishes where it belongs: in Madrid. So i'll say it again: Ban the team, save the Vuelta.

Another day of the Vuelta and another surreal episode. I already said last week that protests would not go away anytime soon given that they are very effective. By disrupting the race, they gain so much visibility and put a lot of pressure on the organizers and Israel – Premier Tech. The team already said they will not abandon, and UCI do not dare to kick them out, so this situation will just persist in the next days.

You can criticize the police intervention and call it too soft or claim there should be more security, but the truth is that it is impossible to fully guarantee the security of the roads during 150-200km. I expect more incidents the next days, especially in Valladolid and Madrid.

Today they neutralized the stage, as they did in stage 11, but at least they awarded the victory, unlike that day. Egan Bernal has been fighting so much to get a stage win and his work paid off today. It was not the best terrain for him, also not for Mikel Landa, as both riders thrive in the high mountains, yet they proved to be the strongest.

After the horrific crash the Colombian suffered in 2022, he has been steadily progressing and getting closer and closer to a stage win, and finally today he got it. He didn’t win since 2021 (excluding nationals), when he won the GC of the Giro d’Italia, so it is great seeing him back in top shape. Winning the GC of a Grand Tour is probably too much for him, but I hope we will continue to see him in this shape and enlivening the races.

In the case of Landa, his last victory also took place in 2021 (Vuelta a Burgos GC). Today he had a great chance, but his explosiveness is almost nonexistent. He will have to keep trying…