During the tour of the Spain, protests caused the demolition of stages. At the Rad-European Championship in France, where a team from Israel also starts, security is now being reinforced.
The bike championships in Rwanda were organizationally a success story. The routes were cordoned off. Many drivers, among them vice world champion Remco Evenepoel, even adhered to the courtesy protocol desired by the organizers. This provided for the use of the Dixi toilet in the start and finish area instead of wild urination in the landscape. One “Perfect organization” Certified UCI President David Lappartient to the host country.
However, the Frenchman looked to Europe with worries. There, protests against the Gaza war and above all against the participation of the racing team Israel Premier Tech an der Vuelta had led to two early stages and many tumults.
Israeli team at the European Championship – Pogacar is also expected
“This is clearly a global topic”said trifling on the edge of the World Cup in Kigali. “We respect people in a democracy to protest people’s freedom”he sent ahead. But that must happen with respect and without endangering others. “We cannot accept that the safety of the drivers is at risk”he said with a view to the events in Spain.
Sportschau Tourfunk, September 15, 2025 8:44 p.m.
In his homeland France, the European European Championships will take place in road cycling from October 1 to 5. The cycling stars Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Evenepoel are expected at the street race on Sunday. According to the police, 80,000 spectators are expected from the EM. Michel Callot, President of the French Cycling Association FFC, announced increased security measures there in the expectation of possible protests. “We will work more closely with the authorities and coordinate with them what they consider necessary to ensure the safety of the drivers”he also said on the edge of the World Cup in Kigali the French sports newspaper L’Equipe. An Israeli selection also takes part in the European Championship.
Many police officers plus Drone monitoring
The prefects of the two host regions of the drome and Ardeche now expressed details of the measures in a communiqué. After that, around 100 gend arms are used in the drome for the time trials. You will take place without Israeli participation. 300 gendarmes, on the other hand, are used in the street races in the Ardeche. The a total of 13-member Israeli team starts here. “In addition, specialists are mobilized for the safety of large events, including a special unit for air monitoring through drones”it said in the communiqué. The prefects of both regions pointed out that they were “Additional measures for the security of threatened teams in an international context” act.
The head of the world cycling association also emphasized that security could only be achieved for all participants in cooperation between athletes and the host countries. “We ourselves as UCI are powerless. We have no police officers. Our task is to guarantee the security in the race itself, through the regulations for the width of the handlebars, the rims, the size of the frames and the helmets. We can also control the behavior of the drivers and the accompanying vehicles. But everything else is up to the organizers in cooperation between the police”he said at the request of the sports show.
Israel Prime Minister Tech unloaded in Italy
It is already clear that the organizers of cycling races come to very different solutions. At the urging of the city administration of Bologna, the organizers of the one -day race Giro dell’emilia Israel Premier Tech invited. Bologna has a traditional left -wing student body, and protests similar to those in Bilbao or Madrid were feared. The race is planned for October 4th.
If the example makes school, the next problem arises. Israel Premier Tech has a World Tour license and has also acquired the right to start the most important races in the cycling calendar. The Giro Dell’emilia is not part of the World Tour Calendar and can therefore decide for itself which teams are invited.
However, more and more drivers are leaving the racing team of Israel Premier Tech, so far there are 15 out of 32. In most cases, the contracts expire. Only a few expressed political considerations. The Danish veteran Jakob Fuglsang said at the last race of his career, which he had no longer completed in the dress of Israel Premier Tech: “It is more beautiful in these times without driving the Israel logo than with him.”
The drivers are only a game ball in the whole scenario anyway. You meet the protests directly. However, they can do little. So far, the drivers have not been involved in the debate about increased security measures or even unloading Israel Premier Tech. “Nobody has contacted this topic with us. We only know that the Italian racing organizers of Israel do not want to start”Adam Hansen, President of the driver union CPA, announced the sports show on request.
Radicalization the protests
Good solutions have not yet been on the table. The problem could also be tightened, the UCI President fears trifle. “Protests passed in the past and they will continue to happen in the future. We had this again and again at the Tour de France. However, the difference to the past is that activists only wanted to draw attention to their concerns at the time. The Vuelta had a different quality.
No sanctions against Israel
Giving in the protests and excluding Israeli athletes and teams from competitions, the UCI president did not consider an option. “Sport is not an instrument for sanctions, but a way to bring people together and combine”he said, and pointed out the fact that at the World Cup in Kigali delegations from Israel and Palestine, from Russia and Ukraine were together in one room.
The fact that the Russian cycling association is sanctioned and whose athletes competed at the World Cup under a neutral flag justified the Lappartitian with the violation of Olymic Peace by the War of Agency in Russia. That is why the IOC Russia sanctioned. With Israel and the war in Gaza, the legal issue is different.
Criticism of interference by politics
The Spanish government finally criticized the LappArtient massively. “I know that they wanted me to take the team out of the race”he referred to the vuelta. “But on the basis of which legal basis they strived for? The team has the right to participate. It would also be a dangerous precedent. If we now banish a team, which team will it happen due to what political development?”he thought. And expressly defended the autonomy of sport towards politics.
The head of the UCI could not present a solution either. In the countries of France, in which the European Championships are now taking place in October, the mobilization of 100,000 demonstrators is likely to be more difficult. At the Giro dell ‘Emilia in the Bologna area, the assessment was already different. And the scenes of Madrid and Bilbao could repeat themselves next year, while continuing the war in Gaza.