“I feel manipulated and people must feel that too”

The Vuelta 2025, with a route that began in Italy and continued in France and Andorra before ending in Madrid passing through the north of our country, was deeply marked by the protests of pro-Palestinians against the participation of Israel Premier Tech in the race.

Actually, the organization was forced to shorten the stages of Bilbao and Mos due to pressure from pro-Palestinian movements. The final stage, ending in Madrid, was also canceled.

As La Vuelta progressed and protests took place, TVE commentator Perico Delgado became more vocal in his criticism and pointed to the government as primarily responsible for the level of protests reachedwhich interrupted the normal course of the race at many points along its route.

The former cyclist criticized the government on television and on his “X” profile (former Twitter). “They have been ruling for years and selling weapons to Israel, so don’t be ashamed of that,” Perico Delgado said on social media. “You provoke violence, who thinks that one has more rights than the other! “Why don’t you respect the runners?” he said live on television as one of those frequently repeated scenes occurred during La Vuelta, that of protesters blocking the path of cyclists.

Perico Delgado remembers his criticism of the government

Now, a few months later, Perico Delgado was asked again about these criticisms it put him in the spotlight and it even called into question his continuity as a cycling commentator on the public channel.

“I am calm. What happens is we live in a society in which we seek confrontation where none exists. I feel manipulated and I think people must feel manipulated too. You have to have a little peace, calm and I think that fortunately time gives us that.“, said Perico Delgado in a circle in front of the media before participating in the traditional Turkey Race every December 25 in Segovia.

Perico also took the opportunity to guess what La Vuelta 2026 could be, with a route through the south and avoiding passing through conflicting locations for the race due to pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

“For those who like numbers, in terms of meters of positive slope, what that means the mountain, it has more than the Giro and the Tour de France next year, so we can say that This is the most difficult return of the three major races which will take place in 2026“, he said.

Segovin, like Spanish cycling fans, surely wants La Vuelta 2026 to be the scene of a battle between Pogacar and Vingegaard for the red jersey. “There is a monster which is Pogacar, and then another, Vingegaard, who is a notch below. But the others are two or three steps behind.”