Anti-Israel protests turn Spanish Vuelta cycling race into a diplomatic battleground
toggle caption Miguel Oses/AP
BARCELONA, Spain — As an alderperson in northwestern Spain, Rosana Prieto tends to the running of her tiny village and is far removed from major cities, often rocked by protests over geopolitical issues. But with one of the world's biggest cycling races coursing through the bucolic hills nearby, she and hundreds of like-minded townspeople sensed a chance to make their small voices heard, denouncing Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
Palestinian flags in hand, they stood precisely where they knew the television cameras would broadcast their message to the world: the last turn before the finish line of the 15th stage, as cyclists of the Spanish Vuelta whirred past. Further up the road, a protester carrying a Palestinian flag got too close to the speeding peloton and caused a pair of cyclists to crash.
Protests targeting an Israeli-owned team have repeatedly seized the limelight at the Vuelta, Spain's version of the Tour de France, in which over 180 cyclists pedal 3,100 kilometers (1,900 miles) through rural Spain's sleepy back
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