“Suspending a team could be an option – but I don’t know what the legal consequences would be” - Tour de Suisse boss fears for his race if protests continue

The chaos that engulfed the 2025 Vuelta a Espana has left a lasting mark on the peloton – and a warning sign for the rest of the racing calendar. For three weeks, pro-Palestinian protesters repeatedly disrupted Spain’s Grand Tour: invading finish zones, scattering thumbtacks and shards of glass across the tarmac, felling a tree on the race route and even targeting the Israel - Premier Tech team with direct threats.

It was a volatile cocktail of politics and sport that left riders shaken and organisers firefighting. Now, Olivier Senn, director of the Tour de Suisse, admits the events in Spain have forced him to consider uncomfortable questions about the vulnerability of his own race.

“Quite simply, it would be a nightmare,” Senn says in comments collected by Blick. “Cycling is a soft target for protests – we race on public roads, and the sport is accessible to everyone. That is our strength, but in moments like this it also becomes our weakness.”

Despite escalating disruption, the Vuelta organisers never considered expelling Israel - Premier Tech from the race, citing UCI regulations. The governing body backed that stance, but the refusal to act arguably emboldened demonstrators further.

Senn, though, believes organisers may need greater flexibility: “The UCI rules also state that the organiser is responsible for the safety of everyone involved. For me, suspending a team could be an option if it helped improve the situation. But I don’t know what the legal consequences of such a measure would be.”

It is a statement that cuts to the heart of cycling’s dilemma: how to protect riders and staff without trampling on the principles of inclusivity and fair competition.

In practical terms, the Tour de Suisse will now review its existing security protocols in partnership with cantonal police. The aim is to pre-empt similar scenes before they ever reach Swiss roads. “The events of the past weeks have caused me growing concern,” Senn admits. “I believe in freedom of expression. But when protests escalate to the point where athletes and bystanders are endangered, that is simply unacceptable.”

Cycling has faced politically charged demonstrations before, but rarely with the persistence and intensity witnessed at the Vuelta. To many, it feels like a watershed moment. “It’s a shame, because after these three weeks in Spain, from my point of view there are only losers,” Senn concludes.

His words will resonate with anyone who treasures the unique accessibility of the sport – the chance to lean over barriers, brush shoulders with champions, and watch the world’s best pass by for free. Whether cycling can preserve that spirit while guarding against politically motivated disruption may prove one of the sport’s toughest balancing acts in the years to come.