The UCI has spoken out regarding the political protests that led to neutralising stage 11 at the Vuelta a España on Wednesday in Bilbao, saying that sport and cycling should “not be used as a tool for punishment”.
The sport governing body released a statement several hours after the race organisers and officials halted the 174.5km race with three kilometres to go due to “incidents” involving protests at the finish line.
“The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) firmly condemns the actions that led to the neutralisation of the 11th stage of La Vuelta Ciclista a España,” the statement read.
Many of the demonstrations have also targeted Israel-Premier Tech during the race, with organisers, Unipublic, unsure of the team’s ongoing participation due to safety concerns, and Technical Director Kiko García telling the media that he hoped a decision would be made quickly.
Although the decision was made to proceed with the stage 11 start on Wednesday, there was an unspoken agreement that if protests turned dangerous, riders could adjust their plans accordingly, with safety as their highest priority. The peloton was then stopped in the neutral zone as police moved…
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