16-05-2025
Giro d'Italia protester charged after almost causing major crash
A protester has been charged with bodily harm and resisting a public official after almost causing a major crash during stage six of the Giro d'Italia on Thursday, race organisers told The Athletic.
Breakaway riders Taco van der Hoorn and Enzo Paleni led the peloton by around 12 seconds with 3km remaining on Thursday, when two people ran out into the road in front of them.
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Footage released by Van der Hoorn's Intermarche-Wanty team shows the protestors holding a rubber hose and two pieces of red and white tape, with both riders forced to take evasive action to avoid being knocked off their bike. A piece of the tape appears to briefly wrap around Van der Hoorn's head.
The Athletic has contacted Naples state police for comment.
UNACCEPTABLE 🤬 RESPECT THE RIDERS
— Intermarché-Wanty (@IntermarcheW) May 15, 2025
According to Neapolitan newspaper Il Gazzettino Vesuviano, the activists held a banner which read 'Israel out of the Giro d'Italia', appearing to protest against the presence at the race of the Israel-Premier Tech team.
Israel-Premier Tech is not state-owned, but was set up as a private team by former cyclist Ran Margaliot and businessman Ron Baron. Canadian-Israeli co-owner Sylvan Adams has previously referred to himself as 'a self-appointed ambassador at large for the state of Israel'.
'With 3km to go, those protesters came onto the road,' Van der Hoorn told Eurosport post-stage. 'Suddenly, there was someone in front of me with a ribbon and who knows what else he had.
'I drove straight through them, but I came to a complete standstill because they completely blocked the road. Then you have to get going again, while you are completely wasted, so to speak. That is difficult.
'It did have an impact. I don't know if we would have made it otherwise, I don't think so. But it is a shame that it has to end like this.'
Following the protest, both breakaway riders were quickly caught by the peloton, before Australian sprinter Kaden Groves won the stage in Naples from a reduced bunch.
Earlier in the day, several riders had been forced to abandon the race after crashing amidst slippery conditions, with Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe's Jai Hindley the most high-profile withdrawal.
