“I expected major protests during the Tour” – Zonneveld weights in on Vuelta protests

The Vuelta a España’s eleventh stage in Bilbao should have been one of the most exciting stages of the race, but instead it was brought to a halt when pro-Palestinian demonstrators forced organisers to neutralize the finale. Riders were stopped three kilometres from the line, wiping away Tom Pidcock’s impressive attack on Jonas Vingegaard and the efforts of teams like Visma who had committed fully to the stage. What unfolded on the road was overshadowed by protests targeting Israel - Premier Tech, a team whose sponsorship has become one of the most contentious issues in the sport.

Dutch journalist Thijs Zonneveld gave his verdict in his podcast In de Waaier. “It actually took a long time. I expected major protests during the Tour. The financial backer of the Israel-Premier Tech team is Sylvan Adams, who has very close ties to the Netanyahu government. He is an outspoken advocate for eliminating all evil in Gaza, meaning everyone who doesn't have an Israeli passport.”

He went on to argue that dismissing the team’s identity as separate from the Israeli state is misleading. “Then you could say that it's not officially the Israeli government that's on the shirt, but that's just a nuance. Gazprom isn't directly the Russian government either, but it is one of the state-owned companies that enables the government to wage the war in Ukraine. I think those two examples are closely related.”

According to Zonneveld, there are voices in the peloton who believe Israel-Premier Tech should be removed from the race. But he condemned the lack of leadership from officials. “I think there are definitely teams that think Israel should be removed from the race. But that's not a decision you can leave to the riders. The organizers and the UCI are backing off, and the riders are allowed to meet half an hour before the start to have this discussion. Which is, of course, completely idiotic.”

Zonneveld added that cycling is facing a political dilemma with no easy resolution. “But you're still left with a huge political problem, namely, a team riding around with the name of a country on its jersey that is currently carrying out genocide in Gaza.”

He closed by outlining what he believes are the only two possible outcomes. “I think there are two options. Either you take Israel off course, or you all take those logos off your chests. I think that's an option, but Sylvan Adams doesn't agree with it. He considers all arguments against the Netanyahu government antisemitic.”