2018 Giro to start in Israel

[Ramon Koran]

Re: Re:

It's not a race issue, it's a political issue.

I disagree. Chinese athletes don't refuse to compete with Taiwanese at the Olympics or Ukrainians with Russians or Indians with Pakistanis.

The tension is caused by policies, not by race, it definitely is a political issue. You used examples that suited you but no conflict is the same, comparisons are useless and don't explain the nature of the tension.

 

[The Hegelian]

I think it is about race (widened to culture-ethnicity) - to what degree is an open question. i.e. If it started in Greece, no one would say anything. If it went to Turkey....people would say stuff. That it's in Israel, people will say stuff (or are saying stuff). Why: it's not purely European/Latin/Western.

Now this is not to say that there aren't multiple fair avenues to be critical ~ only that race/ethnicity is/will be one of those avenues.

 

[Gigs_98]

Great, they should make a prologue in Gaza, a stage around Jerusalem and as the highlight a stage which follows the border wall of Palestine. Seriously, what could possibly go wrong

 

[RattaKuningas]

Re: Re:

It's not a race issue, it's a political issue.

I disagree. Chinese athletes don't refuse to compete with Taiwanese at the Olympics or Ukrainians with Russians or Indians with Pakistanis.

EDIT: Responded to wrong post. My bad.

But there is no reason to make this political. Just ride the race and that's it. I mean if you make a World Tour cycling team you have to take into consideration the possibility that your team has to participate in countries that your own country doesn't have very good relationship with.

 

[Billie]

Disgusting

 

[Pentacycle]

Back in 1100 Grand Tours would start in Italy and end in Jerusalem, and they didn't even use bikes.

But seriously, bad idea whatever the monetary profit could be. If RCS wants to start abroad, most Mediterranean countries are ruled out due to instability, not counting France and Spain. Perhaps Greece or some former Yugoslavia(Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro) are a possibility if they had the cash.

 

[Ramon Koran]

Re: Re:

It's not a race issue, it's a political issue.

I disagree. Chinese athletes don't refuse to compete with Taiwanese at the Olympics or Ukrainians with Russians or Indians with Pakistanis.

EDIT: Responded to wrong post. My bad.

But there is no reason to make this political. Just ride the race and that's it. I mean if you make a World Tour cycling team you have to take into consideration the possibility that your team has to participate in countries that your own country doesn't have very good relationship with.

But there are no races in Israel at WT level, no one who creates a WT cycling team can anticipate the Giro starting there. These teams are funded from countries that don't even recognize Israel as a country, there is no way they will participate and you can't expect them too, there will be huge pressure from senior figures. What's more what possible justification can the Giro have for starting there? This could easily be seen as a provocation and isn't going to help anyone, it's totally unnecessary.

 

[amih77]

I know for a fact that all WT teams will participate.

 

[Poursuivant]

Pitiful from RCS. No shame

 

[rick james]

Re:

Maybe the can start in Palestine instead.

and that would ok?

 

[Sciocco]

The three stages will probably suck so who cares. I'm just hoping we get a better Giro route next year.

 

[Ramon Koran]

Re:

I know for a fact that all WT teams will participate.

Really? Struggle to believe that, how do you know for sure?

 

[Bavarianrider]

Very cool!

A prologue in Jerusalem would produce fantastic pictures
I fear that some rides might not show off due to safety concerns.

 

[staubsauger]

Israel might be safer than the whole Tour de France honestly!

 

[hrotha]

Absolutely disgraceful move to plead for the zionist overlords. Giro can go to hell if they pull this off.

See this is where "political concerns" stops being the whole story.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Re:

Israel might be safer than the whole Tour de France honestly!

Yea absolutely. From an objective Point of view Israel is safer than all of wetsern Europe!

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Maybe the can start in Palestine instead.

and that would ok?

I'd vote for a stage that goes through both Israel and Palestine.

Doesn't make sense logistically, bad choice politically, might cause the Middle Eastern teams to boycott the race and we'll probably see that piss poor Israeli cycling team in a GT don't think they could have made a worse choice.
By the way, I think GTs should only rarely start outside the main country and neighboring countries... the 3 rest days thing is a farce

 

[Echoes]

Re:

**** that.
Now I don't want Berto to ride the Giro.

Agreed, obviously. I've often been sad to see some of my favourite riders to start in races I think deserve a boycott (Tour of Qatar, Hammer Series, etc.) but I guess they have a job to do regardless of political dilemma's.

What is needed is a global dispute, a bit like there was in the eighties with Apartheid South Africa, when several South African athletes (in tennis, track & field, etc) were kept from international events while others were stripped of their licence for competing in South African events (tennis player Ivan Lendl is the one I have in mind). We are far from that time obviously.


By the way, I'm not sure about Bahrein and the UAE. Those countries proved to be Israeli allies for many years but there are so many shifts of alliance in the region. I'm a bit out of touch with that.

 

[Netserk]

Better than a start in Denmark.

 

[sixtyten]

Re: Re:

the "sport is not political" line doesn't really cut it given what israel does to palestinian athletes eg/ https://electronicintifada.net/content/palestinian-athletes-face-israeli-hurdles/18466 & https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/patrick-strickland/will-israel-be-kicked-out-fifa-abusing-palestinian-players

hope to see palestinian flags along the route if not a bigger boycott campaign.

 

[spalco]

^^^
Yeah, really unbiased links there.

 

[Fergoose]

Cycling is in a bad way if it is doing this at a time of highly questionable decisions by the Israeli government that are widely denounce globally. But, it is not as bad as letting a dictatorship like Bahrain fund an entire team.

 

[BigMac]

Absolutely disgraceful move to plead for the zionist overlords. Giro can go to hell if they pull this off.

See this is where "political concerns" stops being the whole story.

Please don't pull the racist card.

 

[Tonton]

Absolutely disgraceful move to plead for the zionist overlords. Giro can go to hell if they pull this off.

See this is where "political concerns" stops being the whole story.

Please don't pull the racist card.

mods watching...

Murito finish atop the Golgotha..

No seriously, I don't see how it would be feasible to start the Giro so far away from Italy. And yes, politics would be involved, ain't worth it.

 

[TMP402]

Re: Re:

I'd vote for a stage that goes through both Israel and Palestine.

Same but I just don't know how you could do it for security reasons.