"The worst 15 days of my life" - Former Tour de France winner and Vuelta organizer states the race has "been used politically"
Cycling
Óscar Pereiro, winner of the 2006 Tour de France and part of the protocol and organization team of La Vuelta a España, talked about the difficult situation experienced during the recently finished 2025 edition, the protests, the role of politicians, the words of Borja Iglesias and the possible participation of Spain in the World Championships with Israel in the qualifiers.
These were his words in an interview on El Chiringuito, where he normally talks about soccer:
The Vuelta a España
Personal difficulty
- "I'm better, but I was really screwed up. It's probably been one of the worst 15 days of my life. So much pressure, so much helplessness... for so long, I've never experienced it before."
Insults and hostility
- "We have been riddled with insults and there is not a single worker of La Vuelta a España, not a single person who is following the Vuelta a España, who is in favor of what is happening in Gaza. And simply for wanting to do our job and wanting to run a race we looked like the enemy of the same thing we are fighting for, which is for there to be peace in the world."
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Attacks received
- We have received, from the moment we entered [Spain from] Figueras to Madrid.... They have called us murderers, genocides and sellouts a meter away from our faces. They have spat on us and thrown urine. They have thrown tacks at the cyclists. They have thrown several cyclists [to the ground].... Everything was distorted, everything was that we were the bad guys in the movie and that we were whitewashing.... Whitewashing who? What could we do? Absolutely nothing."
Impossibility of arriving in Madrid on Sunday
- "We knew we weren't going to make it."

There were many altercations at La Vuelta a España 2025. @Imago
Politicians
Abandonment
- "I'm going to talk as far as I can talk. We have felt that we have been left to our own devices. No protection. The UCI was saying absolutely nothing. The IOC was silent."
Blockages
- "Politicians in this country, former ministers and MPs, encouraging and cutting the road. Trying to throw cyclists off."
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Protest approval
- "The Minister of the Interior applauding that the demonstration was peaceful. The President of the Government too. These people have come to see if this was peaceful? I have not seen that it was peaceful.... absolutely nothing!"
Police officers injured
- "In Madrid 22 policemen injured and without charging. Because the order was not to charge. And this country is thinking of organizing the [football] World Cup?"
Political use of La Vuelta a España
- "La Vuelta a España has been used politically. Nobody has done anything to help us and we've had to run away."
Boycott
- Since when have the demonstrations in Madrid been peaceful? How can a president of the government say this? The Vuelta a España could not finish in Madrid because someone had it between his eyebrows to boycott it."
Challenge to the Government
- "We'll see if the government has the balls for Spain not to play in the World Cup if Israel is there."
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- for what?frieders311-11-2026
- Blah blah blah!frieders311-11-2026
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- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
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