Vuelta a España 2025 Stage 11 Called Off After Protests

Stage 11 of the Vuelta a España 2025 came to an abrupt end after protests in Bilbao forced organizers to call off the finale. Tom Pidcock had attacked and put Jonas Vingegaard under pressure, but with just 3 km to go, the race was stopped to avoid clashes with Palestine-Israel protesters. The decision left riders and fans frustrated, as the General Classification remained unchanged. Gregor Brown reports from on the ground in the Basque Country. #Vuelta

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Well, what was supposed to be an exciting day of racing in the 2025 VoPa stage 11 here in Bill Bao, right outside the Athletic Club Stadium, well, it ended with a fizzle right there behind me. You see the police going by. Uh the riot police, they’ve been holding off protesters all day. In fact, there was a comment that their red helmets in fact look like Yonas Fingga’s time trial helmet. All joking aside, this was a serious day out there on the course. And just off camera there, I see Yonas Finger’s agent who’s having a laugh at me as I made the TT helmet comment. I told him that joke earlier. So, thank you for letting me know the joke. Now back to the serious stuff because out there on the day protesters, Palestine protesters here in the Bas country where protesting is essentially a sport uh part of Spain that’s fought for its independence for years is now here yelling and protesting for Palestine and their slice of independence or to at least hold their country with Israel. and Israel here racing in the race as Israel Premier Techch and many people including riders we’ve heard from the riders the race organizer and some teams want team Israel Premier Tech to leave the race so this protesting will stop because today’s race was shortened a day where Tom Pickock was attacking on the final PK climb. A day where he was threatening to put in time into race leader Yonas Fing. Well, it all came to nothing. And I can tell you when I got to the bus, sure Tom Pickcock was welcomed by his dogs, but licking his face and licking the salt off his face there, I think, with his fiance girlfriend. Uh that was no consolation for Tom Pickock who wanted to get time out there. But the organizers called the stage of 3 km to go because it was too dangerous to go up that finishing stretch where a lap before when the riders came through there, the police, we saw them there. I was shooting footage and we saw it on the race coverage. The police were holding back the protesters and you could just imagine when the riders came through on the finishing lap, if they were there, it was going to be chaotic. I walked up there before the finish and I could tell you I thought to myself, there’s no way the race can finish here. This is dangerous. In fact, I felt a little bit in harm’s way as well because at the protest kickoff, who’s to say we’re not caught in the crossfire and I was walking through the policemen down there, police officers up here, friendly faces, but I can tell you it’s serious business. So, the race organizer decided to cancel the race, cut it at 3 km to go after the PK climb where Pick was attacking. Just the GC times would be taken there. no stage winner and no podium celebrations which is a big deal for the city of Bil Bao for this region the Bass Country because they would have paid money to host the stage. Remember the tour to France when it began here such a festive atmosphere with the bass fans flags waving everywhere. But today we see more Palestinian flags than bass flags rightly or wrongly so you decide. But this shouldn’t be a political situation. However, it’s forced into one with Israel Premier Tech racing here. And I think the organizers tonight are going to have a serious conversation about where does the race go from here because if they have more stages like this that are forced to be cancelled, well, then they don’t have a race on their hand and we have a shortened race that doesn’t really represent the true winner and the true nature of the sport. Now, we heard this morning that the riders have been asking their fellow colleagues from Premier Tech to do something to not continue in this race and today the team owner co-owner Silan Adams was here in the team car and uh representing the team and I think wanting the team to go on and he the team’s not sponsored per se by Israel, but he chooses to keep that name on the team, Israel Premier Techch. Now, let’s get off of that for a minute and get back to the racing out there because we had some attacks going early on and we had the whole stage live which was great. A group had formed. Then it came back and it was Mark Solera out of that group that looked the strongest. Now Solera was there with our lab and I think it was Person and then Soler goes solo. I think around 80 km to go. Vervidges up to him and then Person again. Person’s on a ripper lead Danish rider in the green jersey. that all comes back together and they’re there on the VO. There’s two times at the VO. Between those two times, they come through the finish line here where we had the protest problems uh the first time up to Vo the first time. Home rider Mikuel Land. Who doesn’t love Mikuel Land Landimo? He goes on the attack. Isn’t it great to see? And I can tell you pressure right here inside the stadium. Such a cool little view inside the stadium in the red and white stadium outside here. The whole Bill Bao vibe. I love it here. It’s a great city of zoritos of pinchos and today what again their pastime protesting and I can tell you the police officers here they know how to handle the protesters. So land is off on the front. They go through the finish line. Oh, land has a puncture is unable to continue on in his quest and it all comes back together. We’re at the second time up to Vivo over that and we can see the attack. I think Almeida threw it down. Auso was off the back. He’s still in the race, believe it or not. He’s still under the regime, under the dictatorship of UAE team Emirates. I’m surprised the dictator is allowing Aayuso to maintain his spot in the land of the oppressed. UAE team Emirates won a USO’s held down yet paid a lot of money. I can tell you he’s probably paid 2, three million a year at UE. I wonder what he’s going to get on his new team and how that’s all going to play out. What would you pay him? I’m guessing he’s probably going to earn one a.5 million if it’s at Legal Trek. Anyway, over to the PK. Now, we were super excited for a race on her hand. And around this time, I was uh making my way. I was up at the finish line, but I tell you, I wasn’t really concentrated. Uh it was during that time at the second time the VTO. I wasn’t really concentrated cuz I was filming that footage of the protesters. Normally, I just head down, get to the finish, but it was out of control. You could hear the chance. And I was thinking to myself, this ain’t going to happen for the bike race. But there we are. This is bike racing. I’ve seen it in snowstorms. I’ve seen it in hard rain. And I’ve seen fist fights. I’ve seen Beredo pull out his wheel. Yes. Says at the turn of France when he’s beating Ruie Costa with this front wheel back when they had quick releases. You could take your wheel off quickly to beat your fellow rider if you needed to. Now the rider would have to have a Allen key or one of those screw guns. You can hear the sirens of the police officers if he wanted to pull out his front wheel whack his other teammate or rival rider. Anyway, off the violence and back to the racing. And here we are though after all the snowstorms, the heavy rain, the beatings, the punch-ups by the riders. We got protest from the Palestinian supporters. I love you guys. I think the riders love them, too. But they don’t want you getting in the road and holding up the race, but you have to hand it to them. You’re thinking if the organizer doesn’t want to have this on their hands, they could do something themselves. If the race uh governing body, excuse me, if the cycling governing body, the UCI, Union Chist International wanted to do something about this, they could make a stand. But we’re at this point now, this juncture where it’s being forced upon us by protesters. Vasp organizer is all coming to a frothy head out there. And unfortunately, the writers are saying, “Hey, look, you’re endangering us out there.” Well, that’s because the higherups aren’t making a decision to clarify the air. the clouds that are over us. So, let’s hope for some clarity as we go on because we want to see a real race on our hand. We want to see Pitcock throwing it down, throwing it at twotime tour to France winner Yonis and the red lake race leaders jersey. We don’t want to see this protest going on, but it could continue to happen as long as the situation’s not changed. Now, over there at the bus, we heard from Pitcocking he had to bite his lip a few different times, bite his tongue. I forget the phrase cuz I’ve been out of the United States. I’ve been out I’ve been living in Italy for so long my brain’s a bit fried. Another hard run today out there. If you want to see it, check it out on Strava in the Bass country. We stayed at a parador. There’s about 99 paradores in all of Spain. One in every region, excuse me, every province 99 uh except for a pizza. I think they’re building one there. It’s they started them in 1928. Run by the government. former m uh palaces, monasteries, castles that have been converted into hotels as a way to promote Spanish tourism. So if you get over here to Spain, look up Pador. Stay in a Pador. It might cost a little bit more, but if you can do it, go there because they also have regional food, regional wine. I can tell you I got into the regional wine as well. And this morning on the run, we had a good time. Gravel roads, sunrise coming up. The last thing on our mind was protesters, but we were thinking about it. We heard about it overnight. We did see the situation over there Israel because when they decided to not have the finish line out there, they moved, they told the riders to come directly here to the bus. We shot some footage there of team Israel bus. Police all around the team Israel premier tuck tech bus. Yonas came to the bus in the red jersey. Unfortunately, as a solo crew out here, I had to stay with one bus or another. And I was with the Q36.5 bus because I knew Tom Pickcock, the British rider, have a few things to say and be fired up because apparently I didn’t catch it. But he rode past that 3K point where the rider supposed to be detourred here to the buses, continued on to the finish line. And Pickcock says, well, he was just doing Tom Pickcock things again, biting his tongue, biting his lip, however you say it, and and holding himself back a little bit, not wanting to get involved. He did say he wished the protesters would protest in a in a way that’s not holding up the race. But here we are. It was Jiao made up briefly it looked like put on the ropes. Jorgensson teammate Visma with Vingaga helping his race leader his teammate his team leader get back up there to Tom Pickock and Tom Pickock showing he really does have guts. We’ll say uh not what Jer was referring to the other day. Tom Pickock on the charge with no stage winner, but we hope to have more racing ahead. No more protest and pure cycling, pure chismo at the 2025 Walespa.