Key piece of information missing from this story: the age of Nicholas Thomas-Symonds

But at the Vuelta, a quasi-state soft power project encounters actual protest, to the extent that races are altered. Rider safety is a legitimate concern, but people are demonstrating that spending money on sports soft power protests can make you a focus of very uncomfortable attention.

While listening to #Vuelta coverage, I’m behind on @footballweekly.bsky.social - but given the attention that they give to #sportswashing, I can imagine @philippeauclair.bsky.social @maxrushden.bsky.social & others finding this ⬆️ interesting. Sportswashing works as a form of insidious creeping,

… describing events and bringing different views from people involved to the listeners. A demonstration of how good sports journalism can be great journalism full stop.

And this phenomenon is not confined to England: www.theguardian.com/world/2024/a...