Everything seemed to indicate that the 2026 Vuelta a España would not finish in Madrid, but in the Canary Islands. Due to massive protests against the participation of Israel-Premier Tech in the recent edition, there were already doubts about whether this would go ahead. Now the plans appear to be completely off the table.
A four-day finale in the Canary Islands, with a finish on the Teide. It seemed only a matter of time before these route plans for the 2026 Vuelta would be officially announced, but that now seems to be changing. The main headache: the fact that Premier Tech is allowed to participate in next year's Vuelta based on criteria set by the UCI.
And this has upset the island council of Gran Canaria. "I must say with absolute conviction that if Israel participates, the answer is no. Gran Canaria is not willing to whitewash genocide and Israel's actions through sport or in any other way," stated Antonio Morales, president of the local council of Gran Canaria, to the Spanish AS.
Now that the much-discussed team has distanced itself from its Israeli identity and will compete next year under a different name and (possibly) a Swiss license, the tension seems to have eased, but nothing could be further from the truth. The island council is standing its ground. They refuse to host the Vuelta as long as the team takes part in the three-week race, despite recent developments.
The island council of Gran Canaria has told several Spanish media outlets—including AS—that they will not change their position. And so a Vuelta trip to the Canary Islands seems unlikely. Tenerife Weekly previously reported that while there is a preliminary agreement between the islands and the Vuelta organizers, nothing has been definitively signed yet.
UCI follows IOC example
The UCI has repeatedly stated that they do not want to exclude the Israel-Premier Tech team from their cycling races. The federation follows the advice of the IOC, as they have done with Russian teams. The Olympic Committee's decision to bar Russian teams was followed by the international cycling federation.
