{"id":378683,"date":"2025-08-27T21:57:20","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T21:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/378683\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T21:57:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T21:57:20","slug":"israel-premier-tech-team-time-trial-interrupted-by-pro-palestine-protest-at-vuelta-a-espana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/378683\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel – Premier Tech team time trial interrupted by pro-Palestine protest at Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel – Premier Tech were targeted by pro-Palestine protesters during today’s team time trial at La Vuelta a\u00a0Espa\u00f1a.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the team do not have significant GC ambitions at the Grand Tour nor were they one of the favourites for the stage win, the protest represents the latest public demonstration against their participation and follows protesters making their thoughts clear at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.<\/p>\n

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Protesta en favor de Palestina en la #VueltaRTVE27a<\/a> al paso del equipo @IsraelPremTech<\/a> en la crono por equipos de 24 kil\u00f3metros en Figueres.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfaEN DIRECTO @la2_tve<\/a> y @rtveplay<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/Z2Lhn6fTon<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/TfG00s0FVf<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Teledeporte (@teledeporte) August 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

During the Tour de France, a protest\u00a0accused the race of being “complicit in genocide” and “helping restore the image of the Israeli colonial regime” by allowing Israel-Premier Tech to participate<\/p>\n

In recent months too the discourse around\u00a0Israel – Premier Tech has spread from protesters and fans to riders too, former employees Alessandro De Marchi and Jakob Fuglsang both expressing relief at no longer representing the Israel-branded outfit<\/a>. Ahead of the Vuelta, expected team leader Derek Gee said he had terminated his contract<\/a> with the team, the Canadian rider stating “certain issues simply made my continuation at the team untenable”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

>\u00a0“It’s better to follow your morals”: Former Israel-Premier Tech rider “relieved” to no longer represent team, urges cycling world “to show awareness of what’s going on in Gaza”<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

While the team is not state-owned, and is funded by\u00a0Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams, they have received a “small amount from Israel’s ministry for tourism”.\u00a0Owner Adams, who attended Donald Trump’s inauguration and encouraged US attacks on Iran in June, has called the team “ambassadors” for Israel and a means of promoting a “more realistic vision” of modern Israel.<\/p>\n

There have now been pro-Palestine protests at each of this seasons Grand Tours, as well as smaller races such as the Tour Down Under and last year’s Tour of Britain. During today’s fifth stage of La Vuelta, a 24km time trial in\u00a0Figueres won by UAE Team Emirates, protesters ran into the road ahead of the Israel – Premier Tech riders.<\/p>\n

\"IsraelIsrael – Premier Tech team time trial interrupted by pro-Palestine protest at Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a (credit: TNT Sports)<\/p>\n

The team slowed to avoid a collision as motorbike outriders tried to move the protesters out the way. Half of the eight-man team came to a complete stop as the protesters displayed\u00a0banners and Palestinian flags. British riders Jake Stewart and Ethan Vernon are both riding for Israel – Premier Tech at La Vuelta, fellow Brits Chris Froome, Stephen Williams and Joe Blackmore also under contract with the UCI Pro Team.<\/p>\n

\"IsraelIsrael – Premier Tech team time trial interrupted by pro-Palestine protest at Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a (credit: TNT Sports)<\/p>\n

At the finish, the team were 14th fastest, although as we mentioned earlier, Israel-Premier Tech’s lack of GC or stage ambitions mean the protest is unlikely to have impacted too much on a sporting level for the team.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the team has this evening told road.cc that they “absolutely\u00a0condemn the dangerous acts of the protesters on stage 5 of the Vuelta a Espana which not only compromised the safety of our riders, race personnel, but the protesters themselves”.<\/p>\n

“Israel \u2013 Premier Tech respects everyone’s right to freedom of speech, which includes the right to protest peacefully, but we absolutely condemn the dangerous acts of the protesters on stage 5 of the Vuelta a Espana which not only compromised the safety of our riders, race personnel, but the protesters themselves,” the spokesperson commented.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The team continues to work with race organizers and relevant authorities to ensure our safety at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a and all races and ensure any protests do not impact our safety, nor our right to race.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

UAE Team Emirates won the stage, beating Visma-Lease a Bike by eight seconds. Jonas Vingegaard will be in\u00a0the red jersey tomorrow, although Juan Ayuso and Jo\u00e3o Almeida have cut the gap to the Dane\u00a0to eight seconds.<\/p>\n

Last week, Danish pro Jakob Fuglsang, who retired earlier this year after spending the last three and a half years of his career with Israel-Premier Tech,\u00a0said it was “definitely nicer to ride without an Israel logo than with it”<\/a>\u00a0while\u00a0reflecting on his departure after protests at major races this year,\u00a0including\u00a0the Tour de France, targeted the team’s presence in the peloton.<\/p>\n

Jayco-AlUla rider Alessandro De Marchi, who represented IPT in 2021 and 2022,\u00a0similarly told the Observer he was “happy and relieved”\u00a0<\/a>not to race for the squad any more, before calling on the UCI to “show that as a cycling world we care about human rights and international law violations”.<\/p>\n

“We need to see real action from our governing body to position the cycling world on the right side and to show awareness of what’s going on in Gaza,”\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most major protest at Israel-Premier Tech’s prominence in the sport came during this year’s Tour de France, an Extinction Rebellion demonstrator\u00a0wearing\u00a0a t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan ‘Israel out of the Tour’ at the end of stage 11\u00a0in Toulouse.<\/p>\n

The protestor was arrested and will stand trial for endangering the riders, the Tour’s general commissioner St\u00e9phane Boury\u00a0intercepting them\u00a0just as Uno-X Mobility’s Jonas Abrahamsen and Jayco-Alula’s Mauro Schmid were sprinting for victory.<\/p>\n

\"Anti-IsraelAnti-Israel protester runs onto road during sprint finish, 2025 Tour de France, stage 11, Toulouse (credit: Zac Williams\/SWpix.com)<\/p>\n

Claiming responsibility for the act, Extinction Rebellion said the protest was carried out “to denounce Tour de France’s complicity in the genocide”\u00a0and accused the race of “helping restore the image of the Israeli colonial regime”\u00a0by allowing Israel-Premier Tech to participate.<\/p>\n

>\u00a0Chaos follows the Tour: Protests, arrests, and apathy as anti-Israel activist \u2013 briefly \u2013 disrupts the Tour de France’s shiny fa\u00e7ade<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

XR Toulouse also criticised the team’s\u00a0owner Adams, claiming that Israel-Premier Tech was created with the aim of “bleaching the image of the Israeli colonial regime”.<\/p>\n

\"TourTour de France stage 11 protester (credit: Ryan Mallon)<\/p>\n

“Neutrality does not exist. Not acting in a situation of oppression is like taking the side of the oppressor,”\u00a0the group said in a statement.<\/p>\n

At the Giro too, during the finale of the stage to Naples,\u00a0pro-Palestine activists ran into the road<\/a>,\u00a0on that occasion in front of a charging peloton, and not a two-up sprint. Other protests were seen at the Tour Down Under in Australia at the start of the season.<\/p>\n

\"SuspectedSuspected protesters run onto road during stage six, 2025 Giro d\u2019Italia (credit: TNT Sports)<\/p>\n

Last year,\u00a0Israel\u2013Premier Tech\u00a0removed mention of Israel from\u00a0team vehicles for the 2024 season as a “precautionary measure”, replacing\u00a0explicit mention of Israel with an “IPT monogram, comprised of the Star of David and the Premier Tech ‘PT’, on the team vehicles and other branded elements”.<\/p>\n