One month after mass protests against the presence of the Israel–Premier Tech team at the Vuelta a España brought the race to its knees, the rest of the cycling world has picked up where Spanish protestors left off. It is impossible to rule the protests as anything other than a categorical success, as sponsors are fleeing, the team is changing its identity, and riders are doing everything they can to leave the team. The protests functionally ended IPT's season. The question now is what form the team will take, and whether the Barcelona crowds will allow the reformulated squad to start the 2026 Tour de France.
The day after the Vuelta ended, a number of Spanish polities made it clear that they would follow the protestors' lead and refuse to let IPT race. The 2026 Vuelta was rumored to finish with three stages in the Canary Islands, though Antonio Morales, President of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, told AS, "I have to say with absolute conviction that if Israel is participating, then no. Gran Canaria is not willing to whitewash genocide and Israel's actions through sport or any other means." The next day, several Barcelona politicians also spoke to AS and echoed Morales. Barcelona is set to host the Grand Depart for the 2026 Tour de France, which is a significantly bigger deal than the Vuelta. "We cannot allow a team representing a genocidal state to parade through Barcelona," said former deputy mayor Janet Sanz. "We demand their expulsion from next year's Tour."
If IPT's problems were limited to races in Spain, it would make the team's time in the World Tour next season difficult but not impossible. But their issues very clearly transcend one country. After the Vuelta comes the World Championships, then the part of the road season that matters ends with a bunch of one-day races in Italy. Organizers of the Giro dell'Emilia rescinded IPT's invitation after student groups in Bologna, where the race finishes, announced plans to protest. That was the first big race IPT was asked not to attend, and it happened before Italians staged some of the country's biggest anti-Israel protests as the Sumud flotilla, carrying many Italian citizens and politicians, was forcibly halted and boarded by the Israeli military.
On the day over 2 million Italians participated in a general strike, the team dropped out of the Coppa Bernocchi, Tre Valli Varesine, and Gran Piemonte one-day races. A team spokesperson told the Athletic "that no other withdrawals are foreseen for the remainder of the team's season." A few days later, they withdrew from Il Lombardia, the last of the five Monument Classics of the cycling season, and by far the biggest race on the post-Worlds calendar.
While the team was dropping out of races, they were also being pressured by sponsors to drop their Israeli identity and, if possible, their Canadian-Israeli billionaire owner Sylvan Adams. The team denied rumors at every turn that they would ever remove the word Israel from their team name, both at the Tour de France and at the Vuelta, where they eventually did so. Escape Collective's Jonny Long obtained and published an internal IPT memo on Sept. 23 in which management told riders the team "was engaged in meetings and conversations regarding the team identity and branding looking ahead to the future." The team was having those conversations because the two most important companies associated with the team were demanding a name change. EC reported that IPT's bike sponsor Factor told the team it would terminate the relationship unless the latter dropped the word Israel and changed its national registration.
Factor founder Rob Gitelis said as much in an interview with CyclingNews, saying, "Without a name change, without a flag change, we won't continue." CyclingNews also reported that Adams had assumed he would simply be able to remove the word Israel but keep the team registered there. Interestingly, Gitelis did not make a moral argument, merely a business one. "It's not a matter of right or wrong anymore," he said. "It's become too controversial around our brand, and my responsibility is to my employees and my shareholders, to give them maximum space with which to grow this company and make it profitable." In other words, the protestors successfully made their case.
Canadian technology company Premier Tech is the team's co-name sponsor, and it released a statement saying more or less the same thing as Factor. Premier Tech wanted the name and flag changed, because it no longer wants to be associated with Israel. The statement added, interestingly, "the current situation regarding the team name is no longer sustainable to achieve our goal, which is the very reason for our involvement in cycling." That is worth emphasizing, as the benefits a company like Premier Tech could get out of its involvement in cycling as a co-sponsor are limited to good public relations and marketing. Sponsors don't get anything like profit sharing or a split of TV contract money; what they get is advertising on the jerseys, and in the name. If the jerseys have the word "Israel" right before your brand's name—if the team's name is literally "Israel" and then a dash and then your brand's name—then your brand is going to be associated with Israel. Clearly, that is no longer tenable for Premier Tech.
Riding for IPT was also no longer tenable for Derek Gee, the best rider on the team, who got into a somewhat mysterious contract dispute with IPT in August while trying to get out of a deal he'd signed that ran through the 2028 season. Gee released a statement on Thursday clarifying the situation and his reasons for trying to sue his way off the team. He says he terminated his contract with just cause and that he did "nothing more than exercising my 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." IPT, he says, is trying to claw back €30 million in damages over that choice. He added that the suit "strengthens my belief that leaving the team was the right decision, regardless of the recent announcement of branding changes and cosmetic structural shifts."
What of those shifts? The team announced a rebrand earlier this week, and said IPT "would be moving away from its current Israeli identity." Adams also said he would step back from day-to-day involvement with the team, and focus more on running the World Jewish Congress.
The last question is what happens with Adams, and to what degree IPT will still be his team. Adams is not like other cycling owners: He is an enthusiast and a real rider, winning masters world championships and regularly going to big races. He is not in this to make money. He runs a cycling team to promote the state of Israel and to feel like he is a part of the action. Absent the ability to do the former, will he really abandon the latter?
Adams says he will continue to spend some €10 million per year on the team. "I cannot at this time continue to take an active part in a team that does not bear the name of Israel," he said. "I therefore step aside and suspend all active involvement in the group at this time. I intend to cease representing the group and will no longer speak on its behalf."
IPT has not announced what its new identity will be yet. It has serious ties to Canadian cycling and seems likely to adopt a Canadian identity. Adams clearly accepts that the project is no longer associated with Israel, though if he is still in for €10 million per year, he will still clearly have some influence. Everyone involved wants to avoid a 2025 Vuelta situation at the 2026 Tour de France; the final call, and the judgment of whatever new arrangement arises, belongs to the people of Barcelona.
