Cycling team to drop Israel name after mass pro-Palestinian Vuelta protests

Following repeated pro-Palestinian protests at the recent Vuelta a Espana bike race, the Israel–Premier Tech cycling team will no longer be associated with Israel.

Just after its sponsors began to pressure the company to change its name, the move was made public on Monday.

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The team, which is based in Israel and is owned by the Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams, has received a lot of negative press due to Israel’s war against Gaza, which has resulted in the killing of more than 67, 000 Palestinians by Israel, and which international experts have labeled as a genocide.

Despite the destruction of the Palestinian enclave, where famine has spread, Adams has previously claimed that Israel has “miracled” in its fighting in Gaza and elsewhere.

Due to the organization’s involvement in the prestigious three-week cycling competition, protesters last month disrupted several Vuelta stages in Spain.

Midway through the race, the team removed its full name from its jerseys due to public pressure. Later, when pro-Palestinian demonstrators broke into a portion of the course in Madrid, the Vuelta had to be abandoned.

Israel-Premier Tech was then forbaded from Saturday’s Giro dell’Emilia race because of concerns for the safety of the crowd. Following the protests in Spain, Israel-Premier Tech was then expelled from the competition.

The team stated on Monday that it was changing its name in response to a “steadfast commitment to our riders, staff, and valued partners” when it explained its decision to rebrand.

This step is crucial to ensuring the team’s future, according to the statement, which states that “progress frequently necessitates sacrifice.”

Additionally, the statement stated that the team’s owner, Adams, would no longer be speaking up. He will instead concentrate on running for president of Israel’s World Jewish Congress, according to the statement.

The multinational corporation with which Premier Tech co-sponsors the team from Canada had last month expressed its desire for change.

The situation on the global stage, which has significantly changed since our entry on the World Tour in 2017, is something that “we are sensitive and attentive to,” it said.

The team will adopt a new identity and brand image, and we anticipate that the name will change to something else, excluding the word “Israel.”

The equipment provider, Factor, also warned that its involvement would end unless there was “a change of flag.”