"We are not running a damn cycling tour": Pidcock's anger in Bilbao

The 11th stage of the 2025 Vuelta a España, which was supposed to conclude in the heart of Bilbao, ended without a winner. A pro-Palestine protest at the finish line forced the organization to suspend a finish that was looking very promising for the British rider Tom Pidcock.

Pidcock: "Cycling has nothing to do with what is happening"

The protest, motivated by the participation of the Israel-Premier Tech team in the race, caused strong discomfort in the peloton and especially in Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), who had opened a gap with Jonas Vingegaard (Visma Lease a Bike) on the Alto de Pike and was dreaming of his first stage victory in a grand tour since 2022.

Pidcock did not hide his frustration after the finish and spoke openly:

"It's hard to describe the disappointment, to be honest. I felt like today was my day. I think there should always be a finish line. We're not running a damn cycling tour, right?" he stated to the media, still sweating on the roller after crossing the finish line on his own, even though the organization had directed the rest of the riders straight to the buses.

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The British rider acknowledged that he knew the neutralization would take effect 3 km from the finish line, but admitted that he did not know exactly where that point was: "It was just a Tom Pidcock thing, right? I already knew the neutralization was coming at 3k, but I didn't know exactly where that point was. I was too busy trying to take turns with Jonas, and when we passed by there, I realized there wasn't going to be a winner".

Although he initially tried to choose his words carefully, he ended up speaking firmly about the protests: "It's not easy. I think the Vuelta did what it could to keep us safe. I don't want to say anything political because I would get in trouble, but I think a lot of people have avoided talking about this publicly. And the truth is that sometimes it's scary in the peloton".

He then sent a direct message to the protesters: "As long as our safety comes first, we can keep racing, which is what we're here to do. Cycling has nothing to do with what's happening. Putting us in danger is not going to help your cause. Everyone has the right to protest whatever they want, but putting us in danger is not the way".

"A lot of people talk about what's on paper. I'm not saying I would have won, but I had a good chance. It's disappointing, but I'm not going to waste energy on that. There's still a long way to go in this Vuelta". "From what I was told, today was going to be the day with the most protests, so I hope that from now on everything will go better". Pidcock concluded.