Protestors have thrown a spanner in the works for the Israel Premier Tech squad in the Vuelta a España team time trial on Wednesday, with the squad delayed by a demonstration on the route.
The riders were in the early kilometers of their effort in the 24.1km TT and had not reached the first checkpoint.
Protestors held a banner across the road, forcing the lead motorbike to come to a stop and forcing the majority of the team to slow and to weave around the blockage.
Juste avant le passage d’Israël-Premier Tech, cinq manifestants pro-Palestine ont bloqué la route sur ce contre-la-montre par équipes. Les coureurs ont dû ralentir, perdant quelques secondes. #LaVuelta25
via @machefer_tompic.twitter.com/9Ijs7tB4nJ— Le Gruppetto (@LeGruppetto) August 27, 2025
It was unclear how many seconds were lost in the incident but the team was last of the 17 squads who had started at the first checkpoint.
They were 47 seconds behind Ineos Grenadiers, which had set the provisional best time there.
The team ultimately finished 14th, 39 seconds back.
The squad has been targeted by protestors at races this year due to the IDF’s actions in Gaza. The official Palestinian death toll is approximately 62,700, of which Israel’s own data indicates 83% were civilians.
Earlier this week five journalists and several medical workers were killed in a direct strike on Nasser hospital.
There were protests over Gaza at this year’s Giro d’Italia and Tour de France. Demonstrations at the latter event included an individual who ran on the race course at the finish of stage 11 wearing a t-shirt stating ‘Israel Out of the Tour.’
Responding to the protest on Wednesday, the squad issued a statement.
“Israel-Premier Tech respects everyone’s right to free speech which includes the right to protest peacefully, but we absolutely condemn the dangerous acts of the protestors on stage 5 of the Vuelta a España which not only compromised the safety of the riders, race personnel, but the protestors themselves,” it wrote.
“The team continues to work with race organizers and relevant authorities to ensure our safety at the Vuelta a España and all races, and ensure any protests do not impact our safety, nor our right to race.”
Marco Frigo was best placed of the team riders before the TT stage, starting 16th overall, three places in front of the young US rider Matthew Riccitello. They were both 16 seconds behind race leader David Gaudu.
They ended the day 16th and 17th overall, 47 seconds off the new leader Jonas Vingegaard.