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

The Israel–Premier Tech cycling team will drop its ties to Israel from the 2026 season, following repeated pro-Palestinian protests against it at the recent Vuelta a Espana bike race.

The move was announced in a statement on Monday, just weeks after pressure from its sponsors to change its name.

The team, which is based in Israel and which is owned by the Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams, has been subjected to widespread criticism over Israel’s war on Gaza, in which more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel, and leading experts have called a genocide.

Adams has previously said that Israel has done “miracles” in its fighting in Gaza and elsewhere, despite the devastation of the Palestinian enclave, where famine has spread.

Last month, protesters disrupted several stages of Spain’s Vuelta because of its participation in the prestigious three-week cycling event.

Amid the public pressure, the team removed its full name from its jerseys midway though the race. Later on, the final stage of the Vuelta had to be abandoned when pro-Palestinian demonstrators entered part of the course in Madrid.

Following the protests against it in Spain, Israel-Premier Tech was then excluded from the Giro dell’Emilia race on Saturday because of concerns about public safety.

Explaining its decision to rebrand, the team said on Monday that it was moving away from its Israeli identity out of a “steadfast commitment to our riders, staff and valued partners”.

“In sport, progress often requires sacrifice, and this step is essential to securing the future of the team,” it added.

The statement also confirmed that Adams, its owner, would no longer speak on behalf of the team. Instead, he will focus on his position as president of the World Jewish Congress, Israel, it said.

Premier Tech, the Canada-based multinational company that co-sponsors the team, had voiced its desire for change last month.

“We are sensitive and attentive to the situation on the international scene which has evolved considerably since our arrival on the World Tour in 2017,” it said.

“Our expectation is that the team will evolve to a new name excluding the term Israel, and that it will adopt a new identity and a new brand image.”

Factor, the company that provides the team with equipment, also warned that its involvement would end unless there was “a change of flag”.

Israel has grown increasingly isolated internationally as the war on Gaza continues, with an effort on the part of many countries to exclude Israel from sporting and cultural events, in a similar manner to Russia’s exclusion following its war on Ukraine.