‘Weighed heavily on my conscience’ – why Gee left Israeli team

A former Israel-Premier Tech rider says he is facing a damages claim for 30m euros (£26m) after terminating his contract with the team over “personal beliefs”.

Canada’s Derek Gee was one of the Israel-registered team’s best riders, finishing fourth in the general classification at this year’s Giro d’Italia.

But he left the team days before he was due to compete in September’s Vuelta a Espana – the three-week Grand Tour which was subject to several pro-Palestinian protests relating to the Israel-Gaza war.

Gee, 28, said he did “nothing more than exercise his fundamental rights as a professional and as a person,” because “serious concerns related to racing for the team, both from a safety and personal belief standpoint, weighed heavily on my conscience”.

He added that ending a contract “is every person’s right when they are unable to continue performing their work under the existing circumstances”.

Israel-Premier Tech have said they are “unable to comment on the matter” because the case is being reviewed by the arbitral board of cycling’s world governing body the UCI.

The UCI has been contacted for comment.

Gee’s statement, which he posted on Instagram, also referred to an “irreparable relationship with the team principal”. That could refer to co-owner, Canadian-Israeli billionaire property magnate Sylvan Adams.

A passionate amateur cyclist and fan of the World Tour, Adams has become a public face of the team and has poured a lot of money into the project, including signing Britain’s four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome in 2021.

He has also overseen the building of a velodrome in Tel Aviv in 2018 and investments in Rwanda, which has just hosted Africa’s first Road World Championships.

Adams’ involvement in Israeli politics is well known, calling himself a “self-appointed ambassador to Israel”.

He supported Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on a trip to the White House to oversee the signing of an accord between arab nations and Israel during US President Donald Trump’s first term in 2020.

While Gee stops short of saying he left because of Israel’s role in the war with Gaza directly, he refers to his “personal beliefs”, and concerns for his “safety”. There has been a growing unease among riders about competing for Israel-Premier Tech, as alluded to by fellow riders in the peloton.

Since Gee’s decision to leave, Israel-Premier Tech has been subjected to much scrutiny.

At La Vuelta the team were the focus of several pro-Palestinian protests which affected the wider peloton. Riders crashed and were injured by protestors’ actions, which included pins being thrown into the road causing several punctures.

The final stage in Madrid was cancelled after it descended into chaos when protestors stormed the course and some riders were pushed off their bikes.

On stage five Israel-Premier Tech were targeted during the team time trial. Protestors ran across the road with a banner, causing four of the eight riders to take avoiding action and come to a stop.

Organisers of La Vuelta even suggested the team should leave the race for safety reasons. The name Israel was also dropped from the team kit during the race.

The team have since committed to rebranding without the Israel name after pressure from sponsors.

Last week they were then barred from the Giro dell’Emilia race over safety fears.

Israel-Premier Tech currently have five British riders on their roster. Alongside Froome, they have Jake Stewart, Ethan Vernon, Stevie Williams and Joseph Blackmore.

Israel launched the war in Gaza in response to the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023, when around 1,200 people were killed, mostly Israeli civilians, and 251 were taken hostage.