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Brandon McNulty crosses the finish line ahead of Tadej Pogacar, both racing for UAE Emirates XRG, during the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal on Sunday.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
The Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal was completed without incident on Sunday despite hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters lining the route amidst a wave of demonstrations against Israeli sports teams worldwide.
The protesters in Montreal were objecting to the Israel-Premier Tech team, an outfit founded by the Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams, participating in the city’s flagship cycling race.
Although the team has no formal ties to Israel, Adams has called its riders ambassadors for the Jewish state and acknowledged that the team’s goal is to burnish Israel’s image. Activists denounced the team for “sports washing” during the country’s escalating war in Gaza, where authorities have already estimated that more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Protesters booed and yelled “shame” at the passing peloton while waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans near the finish line on Parc Avenue at the base of Mount Royal.
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Pro-Palestinian demonstrators hold flags and a sign during Sunday’s race in Montreal.MATHIEU BELANGER/AFP/Getty Images
But on a day when the final stage of Spain’s prestigious La Vuelta cycling race was cancelled because of similar protests, riders were able to finish Montreal’s 209-kilometre circuit uninterrupted.
The Slovenian superstar Tadej Pogacar came in second after entering as the heavy favourite, just months after winning his fourth Tour de France. He finished a split second behind his teammate, the American Brandon McNulty, after the UAE Team Emirates-XRG colleagues agreed to let the less-heralded rider cross the line first.
In a postrace press conference, McNulty called the recurrent protests “an unfortunate situation.”
“Everyone is just trying to do their job, and we’re fortunate that it wasn’t violent like we’ve seen at the Vuelta. They got to get their message out and we got to race, which I think is how it’s supposed to be.”
Cycling fans were outnumbered along several stretches of the route near the finish by protesters chanting slogans such as “Israel murders Palestinian children” and “No Zionists on our bike paths.” Flares of red and green smoke clouded the air near the finish. A row of riot police faced the protest.
The United Nations has declared a famine in Gaza as a result of continued fighting and Israeli aid restrictions. Numerous human-rights organizations, including two in Israel, have concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters attacked Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took hundreds more hostage.
Israel-Premier Tech has refused calls from some European politicians and cycling officials to withdraw from competitions. On Sunday, the team was racing in kit bearing only its initials, a move it made partway through the Vuelta for the safety of its riders. Demonstrations against the team have marked professional races from the Tour de France to the Giro d’Italia since the war in Gaza began.
Opinion: Pro-Palestinian activists are applying a double standard at one of pro cycling’s premier events
The protests have ramped up in the past three weeks during the Vuelta, where a number of stages had to be stopped short or interrupted. Spanish politicians in the country’s left-wing government, up to the Prime Minister, have encouraged the demonstrators.
Israel-Premier Tech features several Canadian riders, including Tour de France stage winner Hugo Houle. He was booed by protesters while receiving his award for best Canadian in the Grand Prix on the podium Sunday.
Canadian star Derek Gee announced in August that he was quitting the team for unspecified reasons as pressure mounted on the squad; IPT leadership has maintained that Gee’s contract remains binding.
Bill Van Driel, a spokesperson for the Montreal-based Bikers for Palestine, condemned Israel-Premier Tech’s participation in the race on Sunday.
“As Montreal cyclists, we’re outraged by this. … We’re saying there can be no promotion of genocide.”
Israeli teams have faced protests in a variety of sports around the world. Canada beat Israel in a Davis Cup tennis match in Halifax Friday before an empty stadium where fans had been barred for security reasons, with protesters rallying elsewhere in the city.
